The Windmills Of Your Mind
Michel Legrand Lyrics

Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Life is complex and multi-layered, with the same themes and patterns recurring and intertwining in endless cycles.

Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel
These patterns and cycles have no clear starting or ending point, but rather constantly spin and evolve.

Like a snowball down a mountain, or a carnival balloon
Life can feel like it's picking up momentum and moving faster and faster, like a runaway snowball or an inflated balloon hurtling towards the sky.

Like a carousel that's turning running rings around the moon
Our lives can sometimes feel like a whimsical merry-go-round that's orbiting around something mysterious and unattainable.

Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
Time is continually ticking away, and we can feel swept up in its relentless march forward.

And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
This fast-paced, ever-moving world can feel like a small, insignificant object spinning endlessly through an endless void.

Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!
All of these patterns, cycles, and themes repeat endlessly, like the intricate circles and gears of a windmill turning in your mind.

Like a tunnel that you follow to a tunnel of its own
Sometimes, as we travel through life, we get lost in a labyrinthine series of tunnels that lead to new, unexpected paths we couldn't have anticipated.

Down a hollow to a cavern where the sun has never shone
These paths can be dark and foreboding, casting us into a cavernous space where we feel lost and alone.

Like a door that keeps revolving in a half forgotten dream
Memories can feel like a revolving door, spinning in and out of our consciousness like a half-remembered dream.

Or the ripples from a pebble someone tosses in a stream
Our actions, no matter how small, can create ripples that spread far beyond us, like a pebble tossed into a stream.

Keys that jingle in your pocket, words that jangle in your head
Our everyday experiences and anxieties can linger with us long after they've passed, echoing like jingling keys or jangling words in our minds.

Why did summer go so quickly, was it something that you said?
Time can feel like it's slipping through our fingers, leaving us wondering how it all passed so quickly, and what we could have done differently.

Lovers walking along a shore and leave their footprints in the sand
Even in a vast, incomprehensible universe, our intimate moments and connections are tangible, leaving behind traces of our experiences and emotions like footprints in the sand.

Is the sound of distant drumming just the fingers of your hand?
Sometimes, what we perceive as external rhythms and patterns might actually be a reflection of our own inner workings, echoing like the beat of a drum.

Pictures hanging in a hallway and the fragment of a song
Remnants of our past, like pictures and snippets of a half-remembered song, can trigger powerful emotions and memories we thought were long forgotten.

Half remembered names and faces, but to whom do they belong?
Our memories can be fragmentary and incomplete, leaving us questioning who we are, and to whom we belong.

When you knew that it was over you were suddenly aware
Sometimes, we don't realize how much someone or something means to us until it's gone, leaving us with a sudden and painful awareness.

That the autumn leaves were turning to the color of her hair!
The natural world and its cycles are intertwined with our personal experiences, like the fall leaves changing color to mirror the hair of a loved one.

As the images unwind, like the circles that you find
As we reflect on our lives and experiences, we see the same patterns and cycles repeating, unwinding like the intricate gears of a machine.

In the windmills of your mind!
These complex, multi-layered patterns and cycles are all cataloged and processed by our minds, like the intricate workings of a mechanical windmill.