JUKEBOX: Around and Around We Go
With the winter doldrums almost over, one can’t help still feeling slightly in a rut. But if it makes you feel any better, you’ll never be as terminally stuck as the characters in some of these songs. Featuring everything from repetitive relationship patterns to statements about life, these tracks all include some form of circularity.
1) “The Windmills of Your Mind,” Dusty Springfield (1969)
A fairly literal take on “circles,” this one is still very fitting. Dusty Springfield tried her hand at this Academy Award-winner along with many others, including Petula Clark and Sting.
2) “The Beat Goes On,” Sonny & Cher (1967)
I was always intrigued by this tune about how things change but stay exactly the same. But what’s also interesting is how things that had the potential to be very dated have ended up being struggles that reappear still, in the present day, making the beat continue to go on even now.
3) “Cat’s in the Cradle,” Harry Chapin (1974)
This classic story song about circularity helped inspire the whole playlist. Chapin based the song on a poem written by his wife Sandra Gaston about her former husband and his father. Youch.
4) “Here You Come Again,” Dolly Parton (1977)
Lady Dolly Parton performed this bittersweet song about a circular relationship (penned by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil) with such emotion, one could almost forget it’s one of her few hits she didn’t write.
5) “Do It Again,” The Kinks (1984)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voCM0eUyG2c
Can you believe I almost put “Come Dancing” here? If anyone is stuck in a rut, it’s the narrator of this song, who’s forever doomed to get up and “do it again” with seemingly no enthusiasm, and no ability to change.
6) “Mamma Mia,” ABBA (1975)
Even more depressing than “Here You Come Again,” even the narrator of this song takes partial blame for falling again and again for the same games and things that make her “angry and sad.” But the cycle persists. Mamma mia!
7) “1941,” Harry Nilsson (1967)
Similar to “Cat’s in the Cradle,” this song tracks the family history of a family doomed to repeat its mistakes. The difference is “1941” is semi-autobiographical.
For these songs and more tunes of circularity and repetition, see the playlist below!
What would you add to this revolving list? Let us know in the comments!
