| "Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byCarter Family | ||||
| B-side | "Glory to the Lamb" | |||
| Published | June 22, 1935 bySouthern Music Publishing Co., Inc., New York.[1] | |||
| Released | August 1935 | |||
| Recorded | May 6, 1935 (1935-05-06)[2] | |||
| Genre | Gospel,Country,American folk | |||
| Length | 3:07 | |||
| Label | Banner 33465 | |||
| Songwriters | Ada R. Habershon andCharles H. Gabriel, reworked byA. P. Carter | |||
| Carter Family singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)" is acountry/folk song reworked byA. P. Carter from the hymn "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" byAda R. Habershon andCharles H. Gabriel.[3][4] The song'slyrics concern the death, funeral, and mourning of the narrator's mother.
The song first gained attention due to theCarter Family. The song has been recorded by many groups and musicians:Blind James Campbell,Bob Dylan,The Band,The Staple Singers,Clara Ward Singers,John Fahey,Roy Acuff,Joan Baez,The Chieftains,Jerry Lee Lewis,Gene Vincent,Ralph Stanley,The Black Crowes,Kristin Hersh,John Lee Hooker,Bill Monroe, theNitty Gritty Dirt Band,The 13th Floor Elevators,Robert Byrd,Pentangle,Spacemen 3,Country Joe McDonald, John Statz,Spirit of the West withThe Wonder Stuff,Mavis Staples,The Felice Brothers,Johnny Cash,Gregg Allman,the Neville Brothers,Jeff Buckley,Moby, andAgnes Chan. Its refrain was incorporated into theCarl Perkins song "Daddy Sang Bass" and theAtlanta song "Sweet Country Music". It is primarily performed ingospel,bluegrass andfolk, but versions in other genres exist. Most versions of the song use the alternate title "Will the Circle Be Unbroken". In 1998, it was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.
Almost all cover versions of the song use a straight 4/4meter throughout, while the Carter Family recording from 1927 uses bars of 3/4 near the end of each verse and twice in the chorus.
In 1988, springing from the Great Hudson River"Clearwater" Revivals (now referred to as Festivals) which Pete Seeger championed from the mid-1960s through the present, the second line of the chorus was rewritten and copyrighted by Cathy Winter, Betsy Rose, Marcia Taylor and Terry Dash as "Rise Up Singing":
Will the circle be unbroken, by and by Lord by and by.
There's a better way to live now, we can have it if we try.
I was born down in the valley where the sun refused to shine
but now I'm climbing - up to the highlands - Gonna make all those mountains mine.
The song's refrain and lyrics were worked into the track "High & Hurt" by the Danish bandIceage, featured on their 2021 albumSeek Shelter.Tonstartssbandht included it in the medleys of their 2014 tour as featured in theOverseas live album.
The song plays a prominent role in the filmBroken Circle Breakdown.
A version of the song was performed byJennifer Nettles andKevin Bacon, together withBeth Grant andMaxwell Jenkins, in season 1, episode 7 of the 2025 Amazon TV seriesThe Bondsman.
