Roundabout - Yes (1972) 1/4/21

When the song “Roundabout” was released by the progressive rock group Yes in 1971, I wasn't really sure what they were singing about at first. Turns out they were a bit ahead of their time—for America.

Today, however, almost everyone knows that a “roundabout” is another name for a traffic circle, and yes, that's what Yes was singing about. (I don't remember ever seeing a roundabout in the US until the '90s.)

Here's the story: Yes was on a tour of Scotland, and while their bus was making its way from Aberdeen to Glasgow, singer Jon Anderson (who may have been sampling some “herb,”) was inspired to write the song after going through several roundabouts. Guitarist Steve Howe joined in by adding some bits about the surrounding mountains, a lock (lake) they passed by and in the end, they had what Jon called “free-form lyrics” about their trip...which he and Steve then wrote down and fleshed out.

All they needed now was music to go with the words, and yes, Yes got to straight to work. In the studio, they recorded “Roundabout” in pieces and sections, using 16 tracks for overdubbing voices and using a various array of instruments, including a flute, Mellotron, a piano played backwards and different types of synthesizers. The group spent quite a bit of time coming up with the finished product, and you could tell!

“Roundabout” was the first and only single released from their 4th studio album, “Fragile,” and as so often happened in the early '70s, it was edited for AM radio airplay. At over 8 minutes, the album version was too long for most Top 40 style stations. FM progressive rock stations, however, stuck with the long version.

Officially, the song made it to #9 on Canada's Top 40, #13 on Billboard's Hot 100, and eventually became a staple on classic rock stations.

I guess you could say, it took a “roundabout” journey to the list of “Great Songs of the '70s,” Yes? :-)

From 1972:

Single version:

Album version: