The Windmills Of Your Mind Lyrics
Barbra Streisand

Lyrics
Round like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending on 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 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
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 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 I 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
Or 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 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
Song & Lyrics Facts
Barbra Streisand's "The Windmills of Your Mind" is from her 1968 album, "What About Today?". The song was written by Michel Legrand and Alan and Marilyn Bergman.
It has a classic 1960s pop feel to it, with its sweeping orchestral accompaniment and Barbra's signature vocals. The lyrics are an exploration of the power of memories and how they can be both beautiful and haunting. The band members for this track were Michel Legrand (piano), Harvey Mason (drums), Joe Sample (keyboards) and Wilton Felder (bass). This song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1969 and was later covered by many other artists including Dusty Springfield, Sting, Petula Clark and Nancy Wilson. It remains one of Barbra Streisand's most beloved songs, due to its powerful and evocative lyrics.