CAN the Circle Be Unbroken and WILL the Circle Be Unbroken...are two entirely different songs....

WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN?
(Ada R. Habershon & Charles H. Gabriel, 1907)

1. There are loved ones in the glory
Whose dear forms you often miss.
When you close your earthly story,
Will you join them in their bliss?

CHORUS: Will the circle be unbroken
By and by, by and by?
Is a better home awaiting
In the sky, in the sky?

2. In the joyous days of childhood,
Oft they told of wondrous love
Pointed to the dying Saviour,
Now they dwell with Him above.

3. You remember songs of heaven,
Which you sang with childish voice.
Do you love the hymns they taught you,
Or are songs of earth your choice?

4. You can picture happy gath'rings
Round the fireside long ago,
And you think of tearful partings
When they left you here below.

5. One by one their seats were emptied,
One by one they went away,
Now the family is parted,
Will it be complete one day?

---

Lyrics and song authorship verified in Alexander's Gospel Songs, By Charles McCallon Alexander, Published by Fleming H. Revell, 1908
I'm going to add the Carter family lyrics to this message so we have verified lyrics toward the top of the thread.
-Joe Offer, 28 March 2009-

CAN THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN
(A.P. Carter, recorded by The Carter Family on 6 May, 1935)

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.

Oh, Can the circle be unbroken
By and by, Lord, by and by?
There's a better home a-waiting
In the sky, Lord, in the sky.

Lord, I told the undertaker,
Undertaker, please drive slow;
For this body you are hauling,
Lord, I hate to see her go.

Can the circle be unbroken
By and by, Lord, by and by?
There's a better home a-waiting
In the sky, Lord, in the sky.

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.

Can the circle be unbroken
By and by, Lord, by and by?
There's a better home a-waiting
In the sky, Lord, in the sky.

Went back home Lord, My home was lonesome,
Since my mother she was gone;
All my brothers, sisters crying,
What a home so sad and lone.

Can the circle be unbroken
By and by, Lord, by and by?
There's a better home a-waiting
In the sky, Lord, in the sky.


Transcribed by ear from the 1935 Carter Family recording. -JRO-