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C F C G
Yesterday a child came out to wonder,
C F G Bb
caught a dragonfly inside a jar,
C F Em
fearful when the sky was full of thunder,
F C G C
and tearful at the falling of a star.
C F C G
Then the child moved ten times 'round the seasons,
C F G Bb
skated over ten clear frozen streams.
C F Em
Words like, when you're older, must appease him,
F C G C
and promises of someday make his dreams.
C F C
And the seasons, they go'round and round,
C F C
and the painted ponies go up and down,
F C
we're captive on a carousel of time.
F Em F
We can't return, we can only look behind from where we came
C G C F C F
and go round and round and round In the circle game.
C F C G
Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now,
C F G Bb
cartwheels turn to car wheels through the town.
C F Em
And you tell him, Take your time, it won't be long now,
F C G C
till you drag your feet to slow the circles down.
C F C G
So the years go by, and now the boy is he's twenty,
C F G Bb
though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true.
C F Em
There'll be new dreams, maybe better dreams, and plenty,
F C G C
before the last revolving year is through.
C F C
And the seasons, they go round and round,
C F C
and the painted ponies go up and down,
F C
we're captive on the carousel of time.
F Em F
We can't return, we can only look behind from where we came,
C F
and go round and round and round,
C F
and go round and round and round,
C F
and go round and round and round, (in the circle game).
Written by , Joni Mitchell