A Theme From Moritat
Billy Vaughn & His Orchestra Lyrics


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Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel
Like a snowball down a mountain, or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that's turning running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!
Like a tunnel that you follow to a tunnel of its own
Down a hollow to a cavern where the sun has never shone
Like a door that keeps revolving in a half forgotten dream
Or the ripples from a pebble someone tosses in a stream
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!

Keys that jingle in your pocket, words that jangle in your head
Why did summer go so quickly, was it something that you said?
Lovers walking along a shore and leave their footprints in the sand
Is the sound of distant drumming just the fingers of your hand?
Pictures hanging in a hallway and the fragment of a song
Half remembered names and faces, but to whom do they belong?
When you knew that it was over you were suddenly aware
That the autumn leaves were turning to the color of her hair!
Like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel




As the images unwind, like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Billy Vaughn And His Orchestra's song, A Theme From the Three Penny Opera 'Moritat,' speak of the cyclical nature of life, where everything seems to be running in circles or spirals. It talks about how life is like a wheel within a wheel, where things never truly have an end or a beginning. The lyrics also talk about how life can be like a snowball down a mountain or a carnival balloon, where things just keep moving and never stop.


The second verse talks about how life can be like a tunnel that takes you to a place of endless twists and turns, or like a revolving door in a forgotten dream. The lyrics also talk about love, with lovers leaving their footprints in the sand, reminding us of how fleeting love can be. The song also touches on the subject of memory, with half-remembered names and faces, leaving us wondering to whom they belong.


Overall, the lyrics of this song paint a picture of the constant motion and cyclical nature of life, where everything just keeps spinning in circles and spirals, much like the windmills of our minds.


Line by Line Meaning

Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Life is like a never-ending cycle, with each cycle containing another cycle


Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel
Life has no clear starting point or end point, but keeps spinning like a reel


Like a snowball down a mountain, or a carnival balloon
Life can be unpredictable, like a snowball gaining momentum down a mountain or a floating balloon in a carnival


Like a carousel that's turning running rings around the moon
Life is like a carousel with its ups and downs circling around the unknown secrets of the moon


Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
Time goes by quickly, like the hands of a clock sweeping past the minutes on its face


And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
The universe is like an apple spinning silently in the vastness of space


Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!
Life has cycles within cycles, like the never-ending circles in a windmill that are hard to grasp


Like a tunnel that you follow to a tunnel of its own
Life can lead you on a never-ending journey, where one tunnel leads to another


Down a hollow to a cavern where the sun has never shone
Life can take you to dark places where light has never reached


Like a door that keeps revolving in a half forgotten dream
Life can feel like a dream where doors keep revolving but are never opened


Or the ripples from a pebble someone tosses in a stream
Little actions can have a ripple effect in life, like tossing a pebble in a stream


Keys that jingle in your pocket, words that jangle in your head
Life can be noisy, with keys jingling in your pocket and words jangling in your mind


Why did summer go so quickly, was it something that you said?
Time flies, and sometimes you wonder if you were the reason for it going so quickly


Lovers walking along a shore and leave their footprints in the sand
Love can be fleeting, like footprints in the sand washed away by the waves


Is the sound of distant drumming just the fingers of your hand?
Life can be confusing, sometimes leading you to wonder if what you're hearing is just in your head


Pictures hanging in a hallway and the fragment of a song
Memories can be scattered and fleeting, like pictures hanging in a hallway and fragments of a song


Half remembered names and faces, but to whom do they belong?
Memories can be hard to recall, leaving you to wonder whose names and faces they belong to


When you knew that it was over you were suddenly aware
There comes a point in life when you know it is over and you become aware of it


That the autumn leaves were turning to the color of her hair!
In that realization, you may notice the passing of time, like autumn leaves turning to the color of her hair


As the images unwind, like the circles that you find
As life unfolds, it feels like images from the past are unwinding in never-ending circles


In the windmills of your mind!
These cycles and memories continue to turn in the windmills of your mind




Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht, Marc Blitzstein

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@user-vm4gv3xv6e

조회수 1,106회... 잘 들었습니다.

@joey4921

amazing song!

@singinjohnny

What an interesting keyboard performance on this record! It sounds to me actually like one of those "honky tonk" pianos, slightly slowed down. I love the chromatic harmonica. It's markedly different from Dick Hyman's better known harpsichord version.

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