The Windmills of Your Mind
Michel Legrand
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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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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.
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LyricistsThe 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.
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Original CreationThe song was initially created for the 1968 heist film "The Thomas Crown Affair," directed by Norman Jewison, featuring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway.
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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.
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Multiple VersionsThe 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.
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French VersionThe song has a French version, "Les Moulins de Mon Coeur," also sung by Michel Legrand himself.
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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."
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Later PerformancesAn 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.
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Theme and SymbolismThe 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.
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Grammy Hall of FameIn 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."
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Musical StyleThe 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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