Her first break in the music world was at the age of sixteen when her parents (with mixed feelings) entered her for a singing contest in Sydney. It was organized by TVB with the winner to be offered a recording contract with one of the big music companies in Hong Kong. She won the competition and was sent back to Hong Kong and met with the TVB producers who wanted her to sign with one of the music labels. After much deliberation she finally decided that it wasn’t right for her at that time and instead returned to Australia to study at University. She pretty much just settled back into life at Uni and put aside any dreams of a music career.
After graduating from University she returned to Hong Kong in 1997 to help run her family’s accounting business and gained CPA certification. Despite her relatively settled career Susan was thinking, “is that all there is in life”. One of the students who she was teaching piano was working for a Hong Kong independent label, and she asked the boss if they wanted a singer. Susan says “I really wanted to record the English songs that I loved. We agreed to make an album and I just went into the studio feeling really relaxed with no stress or pressure and had a fun time recording my ‘Close To You’ album.” When the album came out it in 2002 it was widely acclaimed and quickly became a favourite of music stores to play and the album was soon climbing up the sales charts in countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. The four album release’s since, ‘Close To You’ have also enjoyed wide critical and commercial success establishing Susan as probably the No.1 selling English language female singer of her genre throughout S.E.Asia.
In early 2007 Susan Wong signed a new recording agreement with Hong Kong based Evolution Limited and pre-production is currently underway for her new album that will be recorded in the USA in May. As Susan explains her motivation behind the new album, “Musically I wanted a new challenge and new musical chemistry to give me a different lift and to move on to another stage. Not everyone has opportunity to work with such high calibre musicians and producers like those I’m working with on the new album”.
Someone Like You (2007)
In early 2007, Susan Wong signed a new recording agreement with Hong Kong based Evolution Limited and released her first album under Evolution in August 2007.
The first release under this agreement, Someone Like You, was recorded in Nashville, USA and was quick to win critical and commercial success throughout S. E. Asia. The success of the SACD version in particular bore testament to the fine production, vocal performance and mastering by Grammy award winning engineer Doug Sax. The album was domestically released in Japan in September 2008.
511 (2008)
In Summer 2008 a newly invigorated Susan, began working on fresh ideas for her follow-up album. In September 2008 Susan travelled to Geneva, Switzerland to work on demos with producer Adrien Z. As Susan explained “He brought my music ideas to life. He was able to transform the songs I want to sing into the styling which I dare tried.” The album recording was completed in February/March 2009.
In her blog Susan said of the album; “I guess I took a "more hands on" approach with this album, more than any of the previous ones, as I felt the need to voice out my persona, be more individualistic and independent for my work.” Susan’s bossa nova inspired version of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean received a lot of attention and radio play and the album sold widely across the region.
Step Into My Dreams (2009)
Inspired by the positive feedback to 511, Susan was anxious to start working on her next album and within months of the release of 511 she was forming ideas for new recordings, choosing to again work with producer Adrien Zerbini and arranger Ignacio Lamas. With songs for the albums mostly coming from the late 1960’s/early 1970’s Susan and her band worked on a relaxed, natural acoustic pop feel lead by Ignacio’s skilled guitar style. With some fine performances and some radically rearranged interpretations of well known classics the new album, Step Into My Dreams soon became Susan Wong’s bestselling title and a fan’s favorite.
‘Best Recording Yet’: My LIVE Stories (2013)
After 5 years, Susan Wong returned to Nashville in June 2012 to record her next masterpiece. This masterpiece called My LIVE Stories was recorded live over two days in the world famous Ocean Way Studios in Nashville, USA which Susan described was her ‘best recording yet’. With an ensemble of top notch session musicians and a first class recording environment inside a 100 year old converted church Susan performed a selection of her favourite songs from her previous albums along with new songs.
Highlights include the bossa nova influenced Billie Jean, the blues tinged Cry Me A River, an up tempo Perfect and a spine tingling performance of Desperado. The studio recording was filmed in full HD and released in DVD and Blu-ray formats in December 2012.
Tribute to Female Vocal: Woman In Love (2014) & SusanWongVEVO
From the time when My LIVE Stories was being recorded, the idea for Woman In Love was already in conception. 2 ½ years in the making, recorded over 8 studios in 3 continents – Woman In Love was released worldwide December 1st, 2014. Woman In Love is Susan’s tribute to great women singers before her who made their fame with sensuous and endearing love songs. The album features romantic love songs old and new from Olivia Newton-John’s I Honestly Love You, Barbra Streisand’s classic Woman in Love to Rihanna’s hit Stay and Adele’s Make You Feel My Love.
For Woman In Love, Susan crafted a rare original song Can’t You See (I’m Falling In Love) to be included in the album.
Susan took her rendition of Mary Macgregor’s Torn Between Two Lovers to the big screen where the music video was released in full HD live on SusanWongVEVO. Susan Wong’s VEVO channel now holds a dear collection of Susan Wong’s best and most popular music.
Windmills Of My Mind
Susan Wong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever-spinning wheel
Like a snowball down a mountain
Or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that’s turning
Running rings around the moon
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 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 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 mind
Keys that jingle in your pocket
Words that jangle in your head
Why did summer go so quickly?
Was it something that I said?
Lovers walking along the shore
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 this song
Half-remembered names and faces
But to whom do they belong?
Like the circle that you find
In the windmills of your mind
"Windmills of My Mind" by Susan Wong is a poetic song that uses vivid imagery to explore the nature of memories, dreams, and the constantly spinning wheel of life. The lyrics describe a series of interconnected images and metaphors that represent the complex and fleeting nature of our thoughts and experiences.
The song begins by comparing life to a circle within a circle, symbolizing the cyclical nature of existence. It suggests that life has no clear beginning or end but is constantly spinning like a wheel. The mention of a snowball rolling down a mountain and a carousel turning around the moon further emphasizes this sense of constant motion and change.
The second verse introduces the idea of following a tunnel that leads to another tunnel, representing the labyrinthine nature of our thoughts and memories. The imagery of a door that keeps revolving in a half-forgotten dream and ripples in a stream caused by a pebble being tossed evoke a sense of mystery and a fragmented sense of reality.
The chorus repeats the comparison of life to a clock with sweeping hands and the world to an apple spinning silently in space. These metaphors suggest that time keeps ticking away and the world keeps revolving, while we are left to navigate the ever-changing circles of our minds, symbolized by the windmills.
The final verse brings a sense of introspection, examining the keys jingling in one's pocket, the words jangling in one's head, and questioning why summer passed quickly. It contemplates the transient nature of relationships, represented by lovers leaving footprints in the sand. The mention of pictures hanging in a hallway and half-remembered names and faces highlights the fleeting and fragmented nature of memories.
Overall, "Windmills of My Mind" is a contemplative and introspective song that invites listeners to reflect on the constant movement, interconnectedness, and fragility of our thoughts and experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
Like a circle in a spiral
Similar to a circular shape that is intertwined with another circular shape
Like a wheel within a wheel
Similar to a mechanism where one wheel is contained within another wheel
Never ending or beginning
Continuously ongoing without a clear starting or ending point
On an ever-spinning wheel
On a constantly rotating wheel
Like a snowball down a mountain
Similar to a snowball rolling down a slope
Or a carnival balloon
Or like a balloon at a festive carnival
Like a carousel that’s turning
Similar to a rotating carousel
Running rings around the moon
Orbiting the moon in a circular path
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Similar to a clock's hands moving in a sweeping motion
Past the minutes on its face
Passing the minute markings on the clock's surface
And the world is like an apple
And the world resembles an apple
Whirling silently in space
Quietly spinning in the vastness of outer space
Like the circles that you find
Similar to the circular shapes that you encounter
In the windmills of your mind
In the complex and ever-turning thoughts within your mind
Like a tunnel that you follow
Similar to a path or passage that you navigate
To a tunnel of its own
Leading to another tunnel, forming a pathway within itself
Down a hollow to a cavern
Descending into a empty space that leads to a cave
Where the sun has never shone
Where sunlight has never reached
Like a door that keeps revolving
Similar to a door that keeps rotating
In a half-forgotten dream
Within a dream that is partially forgotten
Or the ripples from a pebble
Or the waves created by a small stone thrown into a body of water
Someone tosses in a stream
That someone throws into a flowing stream
Keys that jingle in your pocket
The sound of keys making a jingling noise in your pocket
Words that jangle in your head
Words that create a discordant or unsettling feeling in your mind
Why did summer go so quickly?
Why did the season of summer pass by rapidly?
Was it something that I said?
Was it because of something I said or did?
Lovers walking along the shore
Couples strolling by the coastline
Leave their footprints in the sand
Leave visible imprints of their feet on the sandy beach
Was the sound of distant drumming
Was the distant sound of drums beating
Just the fingers of your hand?
Simply a sensation created by the movement of your fingers?
Pictures hanging in a hallway
Images displayed on walls within a hallway
And the fragment of this song
And a small part of this musical piece
Half-remembered names and faces
Partially recalled names and visages
But to whom do they belong?
But to whom do they truly belong?
Like the circle that you find
Similar to the circular shape that you discover
In the windmills of your mind
In the intricate and ever-turning thoughts within your mind
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand, Alan Bergman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@cowboysoul9380
How lovely! Susan Wong. You inspire love that I thought I'd lost. Thank you.
@cowboysoul9380
Susan Wong- is wonderful I'd love to meet her some day. In the mean time I'll settle to the sounds of her lovely voices singing some of my favorite songs. I would be in awe to play acoustic guitar while she sings. What a fantastic groove she has. I love it.
@dermotcarey8361
Beautiful