The Windmills of Your Mind

Michel Legrand

About The Windmills of Your Mind

"The Windmills of Your Mind" is a song with music by French composer Michel Legrand and English lyrics written by Americans Alan and Marilyn Bergman. The French lyrics, under the title "Les Moulins de mon cœur", were written by Eddy Marnay. The song (with the English lyrics) was introduced in the film The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 2004, "Windmills of Your Mind" was ranked 57 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top songs in American cinema. A cover by Sting was used in the 1999 remake of The Thomas Crown Affair. 


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Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel
Like a snowball down a mountain, or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that's turning running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!
 
Like a tunnel that you follow to a tunnel of its own
Down a hollow to a cavern where the sun has never shone
Like a door that keeps revolving in a half forgotten dream
Or the ripples from a pebble someone tosses in a stream
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!
 
Keys that jingle in your pocket, words that jangle in your head
Why did summer go so quickly, was it something that you said?
Lovers walking along a shore and leave their footprints in the sand
Is the sound of distant drumming just the fingers of your hand?
Pictures hanging in a hallway and the fragment of a song
Half remembered names and faces, but to whom do they belong?
When you knew that it was over you were suddenly aware
That the autumn leaves were turning to the color of her hair!
Like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel
As the images unwind, like the circles that you find 
In the windmills of your mind!

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Michel Legrand

Michel Jean Legrand (born 24 February 1932, in Bécon-les-Bruyères in the Paris suburbs) is a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist. His father Raymond Legrand was a conductor and composer renowned for hits such as Irma la douce and his mother, Marcelle Der Mikaëlian (sister of conductor Jacques Hélian), who married Legrand Senior in 1929, was descended from the Armenian bourgeoisie. more »

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Written by: Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand, Alan Bergman

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind


11 facts about this song

Composer
"The Windmills of Your Mind" was composed by the legendary French composer Michel Legrand, famous for his music in films and TV.
Lyricists
The lyrics for the English version of "The Windmills of Your Mind" were written by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman, a husband-wife pair who were celebrated songwriters in the American television and film industry.
Original Creation
The song was initially created for the 1968 heist film "The Thomas Crown Affair," directed by Norman Jewison, featuring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway.
Academy Award Winner
"The Windmills of Your Mind" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1968, cementing its position as a classic in the annals of film music history.
Multiple Versions
The song has been covered and re-interpreted by numerous artists in different languages. Noel Harrison's version which was used in the film is perhaps the most popular, but Dusty Springfield's version, included on her 1969 album "Dusty in Memphis," is also popular.
French Version
The song has a French version, "Les Moulins de Mon Coeur," also sung by Michel Legrand himself.
Use in Other Films
"The Windmills of Your Mind" has also been featured in other films and TV shows, including "The Simpsons" and "Shrek the Third."
Later Performances
An instrumental version of the song was also featured in the 1999 remake of "The Thomas Crown Affair," and Sting recorded a version of the song for the film's soundtrack.
Theme and Symbolism
The song's lyrics are a poignant exploration of the labyrinthine nature of human thoughts, emotions, and memories. "Windmills," which continuously turn without reaching a destination, is a fitting metaphor for the human mind's incessant, unceasing nature.
Grammy Hall of Fame
In 2004, "The Windmills of Your Mind" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honour recordings that are at least 25 years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance."
Musical Style
The song is noted for its haunting melody, complex chord progression, and stream-of-consciousness lyrics that flow seamlessly from one vivid image to another. It is considered one of the most notable examples of the 'baroque pop' or 'orchestral pop' genre of the late 1960s.

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