Theme
Erich Kunzel & The Cincinnati Pops Lyrics

Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Life repeats itself in cyclical patterns, continuously moving in interconnected circles.

Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel
Life is a continuous journey with no clear start or end, like a spinning reel.

Like a snowball down a mountain, or a carnival balloon
Life can be like a snowball, where events and circumstances build upon each other and grow larger. Or, it can be like a balloon at a carnival, seemingly carefree and unpredictable.

Like a carousel that's turning running rings around the moon
Life is like a carousel, always turning and spinning in circles, never reaching a final destination. It is a perpetual ride that is both fascinating and dizzying to behold.

Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
Time moves forward relentlessly like the sweeping hands of a clock, marking each minute and hour that passes.

And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
The world is like an apple, constantly moving and rotating in the vastness of space, yet it does so silently and without fanfare.

Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!
The ideas, memories and thoughts that we hold in our minds are like the circles found in windmills, they always seem to be turning and moving in interconnected patterns.

Like a tunnel that you follow to a tunnel of its own
Sometimes life leads us down a path that takes us deeper and deeper into an unknown direction, like descending into a series of tunnels with no clear end.

Down a hollow to a cavern where the sun has never shone
Sometimes life takes us to dark, unknown places where the light of the sun has never reached, but we must still explore them despite the uncertainty.

Like a door that keeps revolving in a half forgotten dream
Life is like a dream where the same things keep repeating themselves - like a revolving door - yet we can never quite remember why or what we are searching for.

Or the ripples from a pebble someone tosses in a stream
Small actions or words can have huge consequences, like the ripples that form when a pebble is tossed into a stream.

Keys that jingle in your pocket, words that jangle in your head
The things we carry with us - both physical and mental - can rattle around and make us aware of their presence, as if they are jingling or jangling.

Why did summer go so quickly, was it something that you said?
Time is often fleeting and we can feel as if we are left behind wondering what happened, unable to comprehend why it has passed so quickly.

Lovers walking along a shore and leave their footprints in the sand
Even the simplest moments in life have meaning and can make lasting impressions, like the footprints left behind by lovers as they walk along the shore.

Is the sound of distant drumming just the fingers of your hand?
Sometimes our perceptions can be deceiving, what seems like a distant drumming may just be the sound of our own fingers tapping against our hand.

Pictures hanging in a hallway and the fragment of a song
Memories and dreams can be preserved like pictures hanging in a hallway, and bits of them can be recalled like fragments of a song.

Half remembered names and faces, but to whom do they belong?
Memories can be fleeting and incomplete, leaving us with only half-remembered names and faces that we cannot place and cannot fully grasp.

When you knew that it was over you were suddenly aware
We can have moments of clarity or realization when we know that something has ended or changed, and suddenly we become aware of the impact it has had on us.

That the autumn leaves were turning to the color of her hair!
Even the changing seasons can be connected to our memories and experiences, as if the autumn leaves are turning to the same colors as the woman's hair that we once loved.

As the images unwind, like the circles that you find
As we reflect on our memories and experiences - watching as they unwind like a spool of pictures or a series of connected circles - we begin to grasp the meaning and significance that they hold.

In the windmills of your mind!
These patterns and memories exist within our minds, and are constantly moving and turning like the blades on a windmill.