[Strophe]
C           F                   C 
Yesterday a child came out to wonder 
C              F            G 
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar  
C                F               Em 
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder  
F                  G            C 
And tearful at the falling of a star 
[Strophe]
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 
We can't return we can only look  
Em                   F 
Behind from where we came 
       Em        F         G 
And go round and round and round  
               C 
In the circle game
[Strophe]
C                    F                   C 
Then the child moved ten times round the seasons 
C           F                G 
Skated over ten clear frozen streams  
C                      F          Em 
Words like when you're older must appease him  
F               G                C 
And promises of someday make his dreams
[Strophe]
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 
We can't return we can only look  
Em                   F 
Behind from where we came 
       Em        F         G 
And go round and round and round  
               C 
In the circle game
[Strophe]
C                   F                    C 
Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now  
C                  F                  G 
Cartwheels turn to car wheels thru the town  
C                           F                Em 
And they tell him take your time it won't be long now 
F                          G                C 
Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down 
[Strophe]
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 
We can't return we can only look  
Em                   F 
Behind from where we came 
       Em        F         G 
And go round and round and round  
               C 
In the circle game
[Strophe]
C                    F                  C 
So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty  
C                                F               G 
Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true 
C                            F                 Em 
There'll be new dreams maybe better dreams and plenty 
F               G                 C 
Before the last revolving year is through
[Strophe]
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 
We can't return we can only look  
Em                   F 
Behind from where we came 
       Em        F         G 
And go round and round and round  
               C 
In the circle game