The Circle Game
Joni Mitchell - Ladies of the Canyon [1970]
Yesterday, a child came out to wonder,
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder,
And tearful at the falling of a star
And the seasons, they go round and round,
And the painted ponies go up and down,
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return, we can only look behind from where we came,
And go round and round and round in the circle game
Then the child moved ten times round the seasons,
Skated over ten clear, frozen streams
Words like, 'when you're older,' must appease him,
And promises of someday make his dreams
And the seasons, they go round and round,
And the painted ponies go up and down,
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return, we can only look behind from where we came,
And go round and round and round in the circle game
Sixteen Springs and sixteen
Summers gone now,
Cartwheels turn to car wheels through the town
And they tell him, take your time, it won't be long now,
Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down
And the seasons, they go round and round,
And the painted ponies go up and down,
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return, we can only look behind from where we came,
And go round and round and round in the circle game
So, the years spin by and now the boy is twenty,
Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true
There'll be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty,
Before the last revolving year is through
And the seasons, they go round and round,
And the painted ponies go up and down,
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return, we can only look behind from where we came,
And go round and round and round in the circle game
And go round and round and round in the circle game
