Willie Nelson And Tracy Nelson performs "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".

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 Carter Family Will The Circle Be Unbroken Lyrics

 

I was standing by the window

On one cold and cloudy day

And I saw the hearse come rolling

For to carry my mother away

 

Will the circle be unbroken

By and by Lord, by and by

There's a better home awaiting

In the sky, Lord, in the sky

 

Lord, I told the undertaker

Undertaker please drive slow

For this lady you are carrying

Lord, I hate to see her go

 

Will the circle be unbroken

Bye and bye Lord, bye and bye

There's a better home awaiting

In the sky Lord, in the sky

 

Oh, I followed close behind her

Tried to hold up and be brave

But I could not hide my sorrow

When they laid her in the grave

 

Will the circle be unbroken

Bye and bye Lord, bye and bye

There's a better home awaiting

In the sky Lord, in the sky

 

I went back home, the home was lonesome

Since my mother, she was gone

All my brothers and sisters crying

What a home so sad and alone

 

Will the circle be unbroken

Bye and bye Lord, bye and bye

There's a better home awaiting

In the sky Lord, in the sky

 

We sang songs of childhood

Hymns of faith that made us strong

Ones that mother Maybelle taught us

Hear the angels sing along

 

Will the circle be unbroken

Bye and bye Lord, bye and bye

There's a better home awaiting

In the sky Lord, in the sky