Album: Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars (1988)
Charted: 74 48
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Songfacts®:

  • Introverts will relate to this song, particularly the line, "Being alone is the best way to be." Edie Brickell is a very private person who values her close friends, which include her New Bohemians bandmates - the five members who performed on this song were still making music together decades later. Regarding "Circle," she wrote in liner notes, "That weird lost feeling can get you even when you're hangin' round with friends."
  • Edie Brickell & New Bohemians are best known for their debut single, "What I Am," which rose to #7 US in March 1989. "Circle" was the next single; it peaked at #48 in May and was the last chart entry for the band. Both of these mellow, introspective songs went against the trends of the times, which favored dance beats and R&B grooves. The band released another album in 1990 but it underperformed and they took a long break. Brickell married Paul Simon in 1992 and they had three children together. Edie Brickell released a solo album in 1994 and got the band back together in 1998. They've recorded and performed sporadically since.
  • Edie Brickell wrote this song with New Bohemians guitarist Kenny Withrow.
  • This gentle song is so coffee-shop friendly that the video was shot in a coffee shop, where the band is shown performing it.
  • "Circle" shows up in the 2006 American Dad! episode "Roger 'n' Me."

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