Arlo Guthrie is Woody Guthrie's son; Arlo was very popular in 1960's hippie… Read Full Bio ↴Arlo Guthrie is Woody Guthrie's son; Arlo was very popular in 1960's hippie communities for his lyrics, always looking for fun, chronicling the values of the day, sample verbiage "You can get everything you want in Alice's Restaurant" And Alice's Restaurant was also a movie as well as an album, Arlo Guthrie made the music for the film, devised it and featured in it. Woody Guthrie, obviously performing a generation earlier, was a folk-singer, singing solo songs to speak out for his fellow downtrodden Americans, as well as working children's songs, just using acoustic guitar, while Arlo had occasional, collaborating backgound musicians, such was the communal zeitgeist, adding to his sound and his much-acclaimed 1960's public stance.

Circles
Arlo Guthrie & Pete Seeger Lyrics

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Chorus:
All my life's a circle
Sunrise and sundown
Moon rolls through the nighttime
Till daybreak comes around
All my life's a circle
Still I wonder why
Seasons spinning 'round again

Years keep rolling by

Seems like I've been here before
Can't remember when
I got this funny feeling
We'll all be together again
No straight lines make up my life
All my roads have bends
No clear cut beginnings
So far no dead ends

Chorus

I've met you a thousand times
I guess you've done the same
Then we lose each other
It's like a children's game
But now I find you here again
The thought comes to my mind
Our love is like a circle
Let's go 'round one more time

Chorus

Overall Meaning

Arlo Guthrie's song "Circles" is a reflection on the cyclical nature of life. The chorus repeats the line "All my life's a circle", underscoring the idea that life moves in an ongoing cycle, going through seasons and years until the cycle repeats itself. The image of the sun rising and setting, and the moon moving through the nighttime, further conveys the idea of life as a repeating circle. The singer acknowledges that the feeling of deja vu is common, as if they have been in this moment before, although they cannot pinpoint when. The idea that their life has no clear-cut beginnings or dead ends emphasizes how everything is connected and intertwined.

The second verse speaks about the cyclical nature of relationships, particularly romantic relationships. Two people can meet and then lose each other multiple times, but they always seem to come back around to each other. The idea of the children's game of losing and finding someone again reinforces the cyclical aspect of relationships. The final line of the verse, "Our love is like a circle / Let's go 'round one more time", brings the themes of the song together. The singer seems to be suggesting that although life may be a repeating cycle, they are excited to move through the cycle again with their loved one. Overall, the song conveys the idea that although life may be cyclical, the endless possibilities within that cycle are what make it worth experiencing.

Line by Line Meaning

All my life's a circle
Life is a continuous cycle.

Sunrise and sundown
Days and nights pass.

Moon rolls through the nighttime
The moon keeps moving.

Till daybreak comes around
Until the sun rises.

Still I wonder why
I am curious about the purpose of this cycle.

Seasons spinning 'round again
The seasons keep changing.

Years keep rolling by
Time keeps moving forward.

Seems like I've been here before
I feel like I've experienced this before.

Can't remember when
But I don't recall when.

I got this funny feeling
I have a strange sensation.

We'll all be together again
We will reunite again.