The Windmills of Your Mind
George Davidson 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 Windmills of Your Mind is a classic song by Michel Legrand with English lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. It has been covered by many artists including George Davidson. The lyrics are complex and multi-layered, and the song describes the workings of the human mind in a poetic and insightful way.
The central image of the song is that of circles within circles or wheels within wheels, which symbolize the cycles and patterns of the mind. The lyrics suggest that the human mind is constantly spinning and processing information, like a snowball rolling down a mountain, or a carousel turning around the moon. The clock imagery in the song reinforces this idea, with its sweeping hands reminding us of the relentless passage of time.
The second half of the song shifts focus to more concrete images, such as keys jingling in pockets and lovers walking along a shore. The lyrics suggest that these seemingly random images are actually connected to deeper thoughts and emotions, like half-remembered names and faces. The song's final line, "In the windmills of your mind," brings the song full circle, as it returns to the central image of the mind's inner workings.
Line by Line Meaning
Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Life is like a cycle, that goes on and on without a clear starting or ending point.
Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel
The cycle of life is a continuous process that never stops or pauses, it only moves forward like a spinning wheel.
Like a snowball down a mountain, or a carnival balloon
Life is like a snowball that keeps increasing in size as it rolls down a mountain, or like a balloon that gets bigger as more air gets blown into it by a carnival entertainer.
Like a carousel that's turning running rings around the moon
Life is a like a merry-go-round moving in circles around the moon.
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
Time is constantly moving forward, like the hands of a clock that sweep past the minutes of its face.
And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
The world is like an apple that is silently rotating in space, an intricate part of the universe.
Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!
Life is full of circles, patterns, and connections that we constantly create and interpret in our minds.
Like a tunnel that you follow to a tunnel of its own
Life is like a journey through a tunnel that may take us through other tunnels leading to different paths and directions.
Down a hollow to a cavern where the sun has never shone
Sometimes the journey of life may take us to darker places where light has never been and we must find our own way out.
Like a door that keeps revolving in a half forgotten dream
Memories of forgotten things can come back in a dream or in real life, and they tend to repeat themselves like a door that keeps revolving.
Or the ripples from a pebble someone tosses in a stream
Small gestures or actions can have big effects or consequences, like ripples in a stream from a thrown pebble.
Keys that jingle in your pocket, words that jangle in your head
Our mind is constantly buzzing with thoughts, memories, or ideas that jangle like keys jingle in a pocket, and mingle with other thoughts.
Why did summer go so quickly, was it something that you said?
Time passes quickly and we often wonder why it went so fast, and if we said or did something that made it go by even faster.
Lovers walking along a shore and leave their footprints in the sand
Love leaves a mark that endures through time, like footprints left in the sand by two lovers enjoying a walk along a shore.
Is the sound of distant drumming just the fingers of your hand?
Sometimes things we perceive as external and separate from us, may actually be coming from within us, like the sound of distant drumming that may be just the fingers of our hand tapping on something.
Pictures hanging in a hallway and the fragment of a song
Memories can be triggered by things we see or hear, like pictures hanging in a hallway or a fragment of a song that can take us back in time.
Half remembered names and faces, but to whom do they belong?
Memories can be fragmented and incomplete, like half-remembered names and faces that leave us wondering who they were and to whom they belong.
When you knew that it was over you were suddenly aware
Sometimes an event or situation makes us aware of something that we were not aware of before, like realizing that a relationship is over.
That the autumn leaves were turning to the color of her hair!
Realizations can be poetic and metaphoric, like seeing the autumn leaves change color to remind us of a loved one that is no longer with us.
As the images unwind, like the circles that you find
As we move through life, things unravel, memories surface, and we realize the interconnections and patterns that shape us.
In the windmills of your mind!
All these experiences and memories are stored, interwoven, and processed in our mind, creating a complex and beautiful tapestry of life.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand, Alan Bergman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind