Moyet was born to a French father and English mother. She grew up in Basildon, where she attended school. After leaving school at 16, she worked as a shop worker and a piano tuner. She was involved in a number of punk rock, pub rock and blues bands in the South East Essex area during the late 1970s and early 1980s, including The Vandals and the Screamin' Ab Dabs, The Vicars, The Vandals (UK 1978) and The Little Roosters.
Her mainstream pop career began in 1982 when she formed the electro-pop duo Yazoo with former Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke. The duo had several hits, including "Situation", "Only You", "Don't Go" and recorded two albums, "Upstairs At Eric's" and "You And Me Both". The group was notable for melding Clarke's trademark electronic sounds with Moyet's warm, soulful voice.
In 1983 Moyet and Clarke decided to disband Yazoo. While Clarke went on to form Erasure, Moyet signed to CBS (in part because it had been Janis Joplin's label), and began her solo career.
In 1984 she released her debut album "Alf" (titled after her punk-era nickname). Alf included contributions by popular producers/songwriters Swain and Jolley, as well as a song, "Invisible", written by Motown legend Lamont Dozier. The record was a hit in Britain, reaching number one in the album charts. Alf spawned 3 hit singles, "Love Resurrection", "Invisible" and "All Cried Out". In the US, "Invisible" was a Top 40 hit (something Yazoo had never achieved).
In 1985 Moyet performed at the historic Live Aid concert, alongside Paul Young. She also released a single not featured on "Alf", a cover of the standard "That Ole Devil Called Love." The single went to #2 on the UK singles chart. (At present, it remains Moyet's highest-charting UK single.)
In 1986 Moyet had another big UK hit with the single "Is This Love?," followed in 1987 by the album Raindancing. Raindancing spawned further hit singles, including a cover of Floy Joy's "Weak In The Presence of Beauty" and "Ordinary Girl". In 1987, she scored another cover hit with "Love Letters"; the video for the song featured comedy duo French & Saunders.
Following a period of personal and career evaluation Hoodoo was released in 1991. Hoodoo, which took several steps away from the glossy pop sheen of Raindancing and was a far earthier and more personal album. Compared to her earlier releases, Hoodoo received little label support and only minimal promotion. The album sold respectably in Britain, and was nominated for a Grammy for the single "It Won't Be Long." However, the release of Hoodoo marked the beginning of what was to become a long fight for Moyet to secure complete control of her artistic direction. Like many similar artists of Moyet's calibre (including Aimee Mann and the late Kirsty MacColl), Moyet was reluctant to record a radio-friendly "pop" album simply for the sake of creating chart hits.
Moyet's next album Essex (1994) was also a source of controversy for her; in order for the album to be released, her label (now Sony) insisted that certain Essex tracks be re-recorded and re-produced, and that there be additional material remixed to create a more 'commercial' package. The video for the single "Whispering Your Name" again featured Dawn French.
Following the release of Essex, Sony released a greatest-hits compilation of Moyet's work the following year. Singles entered the UK charts at number one. Following incredible CD success and a UK tour, Singles was re-issued as a double CD set which included "No Overdubs", a bonus live CD. Upon re-issue Singles again charted, this time in the top 20.
Due to prolonged litigation with Sony, Moyet did not record or release a new studio album for over eight years after the release of Essex. During this time, however, Moyet recorded vocals for Tricky, Sylk-130, Ocean Colour Scene, The Lightning Seeds and King Britt, and was featured on the British leg of the Lilith Fair tour. 2001 saw the release of The Essential Alison Moyet CD.
In August 2002, after years of holding out and refusing to compromise, Moyet was finally released from her Sony contract. Moyet signed to Sanctuary Records and released her first studio album in eight years, Hometime, an album which Sony had refused to release. Hometime was produced by the Insects, who had also produced works by Goldfrapp and Massive Attack. The release of the CD launched Moyet into the top five best-selling female UK artists of 2002 and resulted in a Brit nomination for Best Female Vocal as well as a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize.
Moyet's following CD, Voice, an eclectic collection of covers, was released on 6 September 2004 and entered the UK charts at number seven. The album was later re-issued with a bonus track, "Alfie." A companion DVD, One Blue Voice, was released in 2006.
After signing with the W14 Music label in late 2006, Moyet released the all-original The Turn in October 2007. As of this writing (15 Sept 2008), Moyet will be touring North America for the first time in 14 years after the huge success of the Yazoo Reconnected Tour of 2008.
www.alisonmoyet.com/
Windmills Of Your Mind
Alison Moyet Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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!
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!
The lyrics to Alison Moyet’s song “Windmills of Your Mind” describe the circular, never-ending nature of life and the mind’s tendency to get caught up in patterns of thoughts and memories that constantly replay. Moyet compares this experience to various circular and spinning images, like a snowball rolling down a mountain or a carousel revolving around the moon. The lyrics also suggest a sense of disorientation and confusion, with images of tunnels leading to other tunnels, doors that keep revolving, and ripples in a stream. The chorus repeats the metaphor of circles found in the windmills of one’s mind, reinforcing the theme of cyclical, never-ending patterns.
The final verse adds a layer of emotional depth to the lyrics, describing the bittersweet experience of looking back on the end of a relationship. Moyet references the passage of time and the transience of life, with keys jingling in pockets and summer slipping away too quickly. The imagery of lovers leaving footprints in the sand and the sound of distant drumming evoke a sense of longing and nostalgia. The final line, “That the autumn leaves were turning to the color of her hair,” brings the song full circle, returning to the motif of circular patterns and emphasizing the cyclical nature of love and loss.
Line by Line Meaning
Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Life moves in mysterious, seemingly cyclical patterns
Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel
Life is a continuous process that never stops, even though things may appear to end or start
Like a snowball down a mountain, or a carnival balloon
Life can feel like a wild ride, sometimes out of control
Like a carousel that's turning running rings around the moon
Life can feel like a never-ending cycle, always going around and around
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
Time feels like it's constantly moving forward, never stopping or slowing down
And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
The world can feel like a small, insignificant place in the vastness of the universe
Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!
All of these ideas and experiences are like the circles that are found in the windmills of one's mind
Like a tunnel that you follow to a tunnel of its own
Life can feel like a journey that leads to another journey, always going deeper and deeper
Down a hollow to a cavern where the sun has never shone
Sometimes, we come across dark, unchartered territory that feels unknown and unexplored
Like a door that keeps revolving in a half forgotten dream
Memories can be elusive and fleeting, like doors that never stay open for long
Or the ripples from a pebble someone tosses in a stream
Small actions can have big consequences, causing ripples that can impact the course of one's life
Keys that jingle in your pocket, words that jangle in your head
The things we carry with us, both physically and mentally, can weigh us down and influence our thoughts
Why did summer go so quickly, was it something that you said?
Time seems to fly by, and we might wonder what we could have done to make it feel like it lasted longer
Lovers walking along a shore and leave their footprints in the sand
Love can leave a lasting impact, even long after the moment has passed
Is the sound of distant drumming just the fingers of your hand?
Sometimes, we aren't sure what's real and what's imagined
Pictures hanging in a hallway and the fragment of a song
Memories can be triggered by simple things, like a picture or a song
Half remembered names and faces, but to whom do they belong?
We might forget people and moments from our past, but they still feel important and significant
When you knew that it was over you were suddenly aware
Sometimes, endings can come suddenly and swiftly, making us realize that something has changed
That the autumn leaves were turning to the color of her hair!
Even nature can remind us of the people and things we've lost in life
As the images unwind, like the circles that you find
As these memories and experiences play out, it feels like we're going around in circles, coming back to the same ideas and feelings over and over again
In the windmills of your mind!
All of these concepts are connected in our minds, like the workings of a windmill
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand, Alan Bergman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@stephiepahlavizan1
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 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 mind !
Like 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,
Or the ripples from a pebble
Someone tosses in a stream
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping ....
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 walk 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 this song
Half remembered names and faces
But to whom do they belong ?
He: when you knew
That it was over
You were suddenly aware
That the autumn leaves were turning
To the color
Of her hair !
She: when you knew
That it was over
In the autumn of goodbyes
For a moment
You could not recall the color
Of his eyes !
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 !
@ambc8970
I will always remember the eyes of my first love.❤❤❤I still love him. Even if he is dead for 33 years now.
@ayodeler39
When your happy you enjoy the music. When your sad you understand the lyrics.
@heymul25
Well said.
@tmhwriter
Really nicely stated.
@Tez0678
True That! Blessed
@exrodriguez6074
So True, so true.
@messaoudoggad1879
Yes ! It is . But don' t worry , be happy.
@markburrows8500
Such a beautiful version... the clarity in her voice is sublime!
@TheMuzikall
No Doubt✅
One of the Best variations🙏
@msix1836
The original ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’ , when Faye Dunaway was stunningly beautiful and Steve McQueen (RIP) was so handsome !! Classic remains classy even after decades.