Will the Circle Be Unbroken

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?

2 

In the joyous days of childhood,

Oft they told of wondrous love,

Pointed to the dying Savior,

Now they dwell with Him above. [Refrain]

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? [Refrain]

4 

You can picture happy gath’rings

Round the fireside long ago,

And you think of tearful partings,

When they left you here below. [Refrain]

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? [Refrain]

Refrain:

Will the circle be unbroken

by and by, yes, by and by?

In a better home awaiting

in the sky, in the sky?

Author: Ada R. Habershon

Genesis 25:8

Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.

Matthew 22:31-33

But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

Matthew 5:4

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Revelation 14:13

And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

Ephesians 5:19

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

This (below) may be more familiar -- It is a modified version of the original 1908 song by Ada Habershon and Charles Gabriel, and is a story about the death and funeral of the protagonist’s mother. This version was created by A.P. Carter and was made popular by the Carter Family.

CAN THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN

1

I was standing by the window

On a cold and cloudy day

When I saw the hearse come rolling

To carry my mother away

2

I said to the undertaker

Undertaker please drive slow

For that body you are carrying

Lord I hate to see her go

3

Well I followed close behind her

Tried to hold up and be brave

But I could not hide my sorrow

When they laid her in that grave

4

I went back home Lord that home was lonesome

Since my mother, she was gone

All my brothers and sisters crying

What a home so sad and alone

REFRAIN:

   Will the circle be unbroken

   Bye and bye Lord bye and bye

   There’s a better home a waiting

   In the sky Lord in the sky