Country Music

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Interviewer

Ask you one more question? Was is it about "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" that sort of made it the national anthem of country music, do you think? It has become the anthem. But, to be honest with you, I lost that song for several years. It just became another throwaway tune. And, in my opinion, the two greatest versions is the Carter family, and one day I heard (guitar strumming) I was standing By my window On a cold and cloudy day Pop Staples and the Staple Singers. "Will the Circle be Unbroken" is relationship to all of the blues. The blues ethos, which is optimism that is not naive. It's a magic combination of words and notes that just touches you right here, and I think that Circle's just one of those songs. It's an easy chorus to pick up on, come on, sing along. Will 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 The only thing that can break the circle is death. And, you know, you can look at country music and say this is an art form that traditionally has dealt with death. You know, it's about burying somebody, it's a story of burying someone, but it's about the eternal circle of life, and how it goes on. And music is like that, it gets passed down and passed around. It's not just a song of sadness and loss, it's a song that brings a question to us all. What matters, what endures? Will we stand together within the circle of music? Will we continue with our art and spirit because we believe in it, because that's who we are and where we stand? Will we forget? No. One of the great days of my life is the state of Mississippi honored Pops and me at the same time, and he stood on the floor of Senate that morning, and had everybody stand up and hold hands. And his line was, "I never dreamed when I was a little boy "I would stand here, "much less look out into this room "and see people of color." But Pops used that song as a healing balm everywhere he went. And the song had a power in it. I was a pallbearer at his funeral, and in a cold, city cemetery in Chicago, and I looked around and the day was gray, and we were letting Pops down into the ground. I started singing "Will the Circle be Unbroken" to myself, and when it said, "I was standing by my window "on a cold and cloudy day, "when I saw that hearse come rolling," right there was enough. The song came to life to me again. (guitar strumming) I was standing By my window On a cloud and cloudy day