Windmills of Your Mind…
Has there ever been a more hauntingly mystical song than this one by Sting? The imagery, the metaphors within metaphors, the statements, the questions, the answers, no answers, the ending, the beginning, the circular thoughts, the imagery… Using a line from it as the title of a previous post has caused one of those sing-it-between-the-ears- until-you-go-insane kind of things. Maybe printing it here will cure it for a little while. Each verse is different so it is a worthwhile read. Think about the meanings of the words as you read…or sing…along. Good luck getting it out of your head!
THE WINDMILLS OF YOUR MINDWritten by: Alan Bergman, Michel Jean Legrand
Artist: StingRound 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 on it’s face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mindLike a tunnel that you follow
To a tunnel of it’s own
Down a hollow to a cavern
Where the sun has never shone
Like a door that keeps revolving
In a half-forgotten dream
Like the ripples from a pebble
Someone tosses in a stream
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes on it’s face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mindKeys that jingle in your pocket
Words that jangle your head
Why did summer go so quickly?
Was it something that you said?
Lovers walk along a shore
And leave their footprints in the sand
Was 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
Were you suddenly aware
That the autumn leaves were turning
To the colour 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 circle that you find
In the windmills of your mind
6 Comments so far
Forget Sting on this one, Winston. The definitive version is by Dusty Springfield, 1969. It was the theme song for the original “The Thomas Crown Affair” with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. But you’re right that the images and metaphors stay with you. Also have a version by Petula Clark, believe it or not, that’s pretty good. But nothing beats blue-eyed soul-songstress Dusty.
Woah…talk about brain cells dying! I had totally forgotten about the Dusty Springfield version! The voice I kept hearing in my head was Sting, maybe because he did it most recently, and his was the one for the ‘99 remake of “The Thomas Crown Affair”. There have been so many - but no matter the artist, the song holds up. Petula Clark? Guess I’d have to go “Downtown” to find a copy of that one!
Ah, Michel Legrand - you’ve inspired me to punch up The Umbrellas of Cherbourg on the computer for my morning music today…
I am old. So old. (To remember the Dusty-version). Sigh.
One that Sting wrote and stick in my head is Secret Journey off the Ghosts in the Machine album. There may be pop-ups to this link so apologies if there are.
I had a friend that was struck more by Invisible Sun off the same album.
I think you’ll find the original version is by Noel Harrison.