Will the Circle Be Unbroken?

"Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" is a popular Christian hymn written in 1907 by Ada R. Habershon with music by Charles H. Gabriel. The song is often recorded unattributed and, because of its age, has lapsed into the public domain. Most of the chorus appears in the later songs "Can the Circle Be Unbroken" and "Daddy Sang Bass".

This article is about a Christian hymn. For other uses, see Will the Circle Be Unbroken (disambiguation).
"Will the Circle Be Unbroken?"
Page from 1908 hymnal.
Song
LanguageEnglish
Written1907
Composer(s)Charles H. Gabriel
Lyricist(s)Ada R. Habershon

Lyrics
There are loved ones in the glory[1]
Whose dear forms you often miss.
When you close your earthly story,
Will you join them in their bliss?
CHORUS:
Will the circle be unbroken
By and by, by and by?
Is a better home awaiting
In the sky, in the sky?
In the joyous days of childhood
Oft they told of wondrous love
Pointed to the dying Saviour;
Now they dwell with Him above.
(Chorus)
You remember songs of heaven
Which you sang with childish voice.
Do you love the hymns they taught you,
Or are songs of earth your choice?
(Chorus)
You can picture happy gath'rings
Round the fireside long ago,
And you think of tearful partings
When they left you here below.
(Chorus)
One by one their seats were emptied.
One by one they went away.
Now the family is parted.
Will it be complete one day?
(Chorus)

The song is generally played to be uplifting to the congregation, and is a frequent standard in gospel revivals.

Ada R Habershon

Other versions

Tune variants

The Ballad Index [2] notes that the tune now commonly sung differs substantially from the original tune by Gabriel. It also notes the first known recording of this variant, by the Metropolitan Quartet in 1927.

Carter version
Main article: Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)

A reworked version of the song, intended as a funeral hymn, was written by A. P. Carter and released in 1935 by the Carter Family. The Carter version, titled "Can the Circle be Unbroken", uses the same music and the same verse structure but with different verse lyrics and a modified chorus. That version has often been recorded as "Will the Circle be Unbroken", including the 1972 performance by Mother Maybelle Carter and ensemble on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album of the same title.

The original version of the song does not insert "Lord" in lines 2 and 4 of the chorus,[1] though the Carter version does. Also, the third line of the chorus is phrased as a question in the original, but as a declarative sentence in the Carter version, and the Carter version as written begins the chorus with 'Can' instead of 'Will'.

The Carter version is still under copyright.

Less-known versions
  • In 1936, Bill and Charlie Monroe recorded yet a different version.[3]
  • In 1970, the music group The Doors performed their version live in Chicago. Changing the lyrics to "oh, the circle has been broken, me oh my Lord, me oh my." [4]
  • In 1988, folk singers Cathy Winter, Betsy Rose, and Marcia Taylor published an alternate lyric in the collection Rise Up Singing (ed. Peter Blood). A choral arrangement for treble voices was subsequently made by J. David Moore using these lyrics (pub. 2011 Fresh Ayre Music).
  • In 1988, Spacemen 3 released a version of the song titled "May The Circle Be Unbroken" as one of the B-sides on their single "Revolution". Aside from the change in the titular line, it is lyrically identical to the Carter Family version.[5]

Parodies

Recordings

The Pointer Sisters and Nell Carter sing this song in an episode of Gimme a Break! titled "The Return of the Doo-Wop Girls" that originally aired on February 13, 1983.

The song in its reworked version, "Can the Circle Be Unbroken," appeared in the 2004 film Iron Jawed Angels, although the film's website shows the original song as the title.[11]

June Carter's rendition of the song plays over the Deadwood season 1 episode 8 closing credits.

In the film 2012, the song can be heard on the family's way to Yellowstone Park.

In 2012, Belgian film The Broken Circle Breakdown (also known as Alabama Monroe) used the song on its soundtrack.

The song is covered in Treme season 2 episode 10, "That's What Lovers Do", at Harley's memorial service.

A season 3 episode of Pretty Little Liars was titled after the hymn and featured the song within the episode.

The hymn is sung every year at the Country Music Hall of Fame, at the conclusion of each medallion induction ceremony. It is performed by the inductees of that respective year as well as any previously inducted members of the Hall of Fame who are present.

Two versions of the hymn are featured in the soundtrack for the 2013 video game BioShock Infinite: a traditional choir version, performed by Maureen Murphy, and an award-winning acoustic version performed by Troy Baker (guitar) and Courtnee Draper, the voice actors of main characters Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth, respectively. The use of the original lyrics was controversial: some commentators, apparently unaware of the differences between the original and Carter versions, criticized the omission of "Lord" from the chorus as anti-religious censorship. The choice was explained as simply being consistent with the 1912 setting of the game, at which point the word "Lord" had not been added.[12][13] The song won "the Best Song in a Game" award during the VGX 2013.[14] In March 2013, the score for BioShock Infinite contained "Will the Circle Be Unbroken (choral version)" with Ada Ruth Habershon, Charles Hutchinson Gabriel (2:56) on Track 3.

Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke joined Willie Nelson onstage to play and sing "Will the Circle be Unbroken?" among other numbers at Nelson's annual 4th of July picnic, in 2018.[15]

14 July 2019 in Nowlan Park Hurling Stadium in Kilkenny, Ireland Neil Young joined Bob Dylan on stage to play guitar and sing "Will the Circle be Unbroken?" together.

References
  1. Habershon, Ada R., and Gabriel, Charles H. (1907) [2nd. Pub. 1910]. "Will the Circle Be Unbroken". In Alexander, Charles M. comp. Alexander's Gospel Songs No. 2. Fleming H. Revell Company, New York. p. 33, song 28.
  2. Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle (2019) The Ballad Index
  3. jomcg50 (25 January 2015). ""Will The Circle Be Unbroken" - Bill & Charlie Monroe" – via YouTube.
  4. ""The Circle has Been Broken" -The Doors". December 30, 2017 – via YouTube.
  5. jomcg50 (2 March 2011). "Spacemen 3 - May The Circle Be Unbroken" – via YouTube.
  6. bobpowers1bobpowers1 (28 May 2012). "Will the Fetus Be Aborted? - Jello Biafra and Mojo Nixon" – via YouTube.
  7. The Youngbloods, "Light Shine" single release Retrieved May 18, 2015
  8. "Soundtrack for a Revolution". Soundtrackforarevolutionfilm.com. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  9. "Susan Announces Sixth Album, 'Hope'!". December 15, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  10. "norrie-tago-maciver | Lyrics". norrie-tago-maciver. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  11. "Iron Jawed Angels - Songs and soundtrack music from the film". iron-jawed-angels.com. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  12. Kuchera, Ben (December 13, 2011). "Oh, Lord: Ken Levine didn't remove religious lyrics from Bioshock Infinite trailer". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012.
  13. Griner, David (December 13, 2011). "Good Lord: Video-Game Ad Accused of Religious Censorship". Adweek. Archived from the original on January 2, 2019.
  14. Jones, Elton. "VGX 2013: The Full List of Video Game Award Winners". heavy.com.
  15. Peter Blackstock. Willie for Beto: Nelson to headline rally for O’Rourke at Auditorium Shores. Austin 360, September 12, 2016

Bibliography
  • Alexander, Charles M. Alexander's Gospel Songs No. 2. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company (1910).
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