Circle - Harry Chapin

After all is said and done

You’re the one song that I need

You see, all my life’s a circle

Sunrise and sundown

The moon rolls through the nighttime

'Til the daybreak comes around

Well, all my life’s a circle

But I can’t tell you why

The seasons spinning round again

The years keep rolling by

You know, it seems like I’ve been here before

I sure can remember when

And I got this funny feeling

That we’ll all get together again

And again and again and again

There are no straight lines make up my life

And all my roads have bends

There’s no clear-cut beginnings

And so far no dead-ends

(You got it Steve, sing it with feeling, bro')

I found you a thousand times

I guess you’ve done the same

But then we lose each other

It’s just like a children’s game

But as I find you here again

The thought runs through my mind

Our love is like a circle

Let’s go around one more time

(Steve Chapin!)

Now before we go out with a blaze of glory, and before I get Yvonne to sing

this song for you, I’d like to make a short pitch.

As most of you know,

the group and I do about half our concerts as benefits.

Each of the last three

years we raised over seven hundred thousand dollars for things we believe in.

In 1980 we almost did eight hundred thousand.

And above and beyond that, we raise an extra hundred and fifty thousand through

the sale of concessions.

Tonight’s no different.

And, uh, on the way out there

is a guy from World Hunger Year, a foundation we started five and a half years

ago, who is, uh, selling copies of my poetry book.

Already sold about sixty

five thousand copies, all the money going to World Hunger Year.

I’m proud of

the book anyway.

It’s illustrated by a young guy who’s an extraordinary artist

named Rob White.

And, uh, also some, the last I think of the «Harry, it sucks!»

T-shirts.

God, I hoped, I hoped those weren’t gonna sell, but, uh, World Hunger Year

said, «Try 'em, Harry, people relate to this.»

Unfortunately they were right.

Also some new programs, tell you more about the group and, and what we’re

trying to do than you probably want to know.

I have no heavy plans after the concert so I’ll be over where they’re selling

those things.

Be delighted to sign anything you do buy.

Gives me an excuse to

say hello to everybody, kiss all the pretty women.

Sorry guys, maybe next year.

And, uh, I won’t give you a long pitch.

I uh, I’ve been trying to put my money

and my life where my mouth is.

And I think it’s truly unconscionable that in a

country that can feed everybody six times over we have twenty million Americans

hungry.

Half a billion people around the globe who go to bed chronically

malnourished.

And there’s a lot of other things we gotta be doing in this country.

And um, I don’t care whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, left-wing,

right-wing, conservative, liberal, there’s an awful lot of people who ain’t

pulling their share.

And it’s really — you can’t expect rich people to do much

'cause they always just hold on to the money.

You can’t expect poor people to

do much 'cause they’re struggling like hell to make do.

It really comes down to

people like you and I. And, uh, you know the people who put this country

together were silversmiths, lawyers, planters, merchants, printers,

all kinds of ordinary people who also found a different vision of what the way

they wanted this country to be.

And I think whether you’re a singer or a TV

commentator or a housewife or a businesswoman or a teacher or a student or an

accountant or whatever the hell you are, I think we’ve gotta lot work to do and

I’m looking forward to having you guys work with me.

Do you guys wanna hear Yvonne sing this song?

(Yeah!) Put down that cello.

Now I want you to give her a big countdown to get her excited.

Are you ready

out there?

Here we go, a-one, two, one two three four.

All my life’s a circle

Sunrise and sundown

Moon rolls through the nighttime

'Til the daybreak comes around

All my life’s a circle

But I can’t tell you why

Seasons spinning round again

The years keep rolling by

(All right Yvonne!)

(Are you ready New York? Your turn! One, two, one two three)

All my life’s a circle (Sunrise and sundown)

Sunrise and sundown (Moon rolls through the nighttime)

Moon rolls through the nighttime ('Til the daybreak comes around)

'Til the daybreak comes around (All my life’s a circle)

All my life’s a circle (But I can’t tell you why)

I can’t tell you why (Seasons spinning round again)

Seasons spinning round again (Years keep rolling by)

The years keep rolling by

(Big ending, lotta harmony, the years keep rolling by)

And the years keep on rolling by (By by)

All right!

Thank you everybody!

Steve Chapin, Big John Wallace, Howie Fields,, Doug E.

Walker, Yvonne Cable, and the Bottom Line Memorial Shit-Kicking Country Choir.

See you out front in about two minutes.