The Windmills of Your Mind

"The Windmills of Your Mind" ("Les moulins de mon cœur") is a song performed by Noel Harrison, with music composed by Michel Legrand and English lyrics written by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman, which was used as the theme for the 1968 film, The Thomas Crown Affair, starring Steve McQueen alongside and ultimately versus Faye Dunaway. The French lyrics were written by Eduard "Eddy" Marnay.

Noel Harrison took the song to #8 in the UK Singles Chart, and it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1968. Remarkably, Harrison's father, the British actor Rex Harrison, had performed the previous year's Oscar winner, "Talk to the Animals".

The opening two melodic sentences were borrowed from Mozart's second movement from his Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra.

Dusty Springfield's version of the song from her album Dusty in Memphis is also well known; this version reached #31 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and #3 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart in 1969. This recording also appeared on the soundtrack to Breakfast on Pluto (2006).

Other artists who have interpreted the song include Vanilla Fudge, Tina Arena, Petula Clark, Barbara Lewis, Alison Moyet, The Colourfield, Swing Out Sister, Edward Woodward, Parenthetical Girls, Esthero, Anne Clark, Sting, whose version was used in the 1999 remake of The Thomas Crown Affair, Sharleen Spiteri on her The Movie Songbook. The French version, "Les moulins de mon cœur", has itself been recorded by a number of artists including Richard Anthony, Johnny Mathis (with Toots Thielemans), Patricia Kaas, Vicky Leandros, Nana Mouskouri, Jessye Norman and Caterina Valente. The song has also been rendered in Czech as "Můžeš Zůstat, Můžeš Jít" recorded by Helena Vondráčková, Finnish as "Samamlainen onni" recorded by Petri Salminen and also by Marita Taavitsainen; in German as "Unterm Säufermond" by Udo Lindenberg, "Wie sich Mühlen dreh'n im Wind" recorded by Katja Ebstein and also by Vicky Leandros, and in Swedish as "Vinden I Min Själ" recorded by Lill-Babs.

Recordings

• American singer Michael Dees on his 1968 Capitol album "Talk To Me Baby".
• French singer Frida Boccara performed the French version of this song («Les Moulins De Mon Cœur») on her 1969 album «Un Jour, Un Enfant».
• American band Vanilla Fudge recorded a cover of this song on their album Rock & Roll in 1969.
• Earl Grant covered the song on his 1969 album A Time for Us.
• Dusty Springfield covered the song on her 1969 album Dusty in Memphis.
• Petula Clark covered the song for her 1969 album Portrait of Petula.
• Hank Marvin has covered the song twice: first in 1969 on his eponymous solo album, then in 2000 on his album Marvin at the Movies.
• Finnish duo Jarkko ja Laura performed the finnish version "Samanlainen onni" for their 1969 single.
• The Sandpipers included the song in their 1969 album The Wonder of You.
• Jimmie Rodgers covered the song in a 1969 album of the same name.
• American trumpet virtuoso Dizzy Gillespie added a jazz tilt to the tune on his 1970 Solid State LP release entitled Cornucopia.
• American soul singer Billy Paul covered the song for his 1970 album Ebony Woman, which he released on the Neptune Records label.
• Swiss singer Sonja Salvis performed the French version of the song on her 1970 album "Send for me" recorded with the Czechoslovak Gustav Brom Orchestra.
• Rita Reys recorded the song for her 1972 album Rita Reys sings Michel Legrand.
• Helena Vondráčková has recorded the song in English, on the album Isle of Helena, released in 1972, in Japanese and also in Czech as "Můžeš zůstat, můžeš jít", on the album Ostrov Heleny Vondráčkové, released in 1970.
• Hannah Gordon performed the song in the 1973 Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show.
• The song was preformed on a 1977 episode of The Muppet Show, sung by an unnamed character that Statler and Waldorf refer to as a "three legged screaming thing". During this performance, the song's tempo gradually increases, until the end of the song, when the character crashes into an actual windmill.
• Elaine Paige covered the song for her 1984 album, Cinema.
• British band The Colourfield covered the song on their 1985 album, Virgins and Philistines.
• British singer Terry Hall of The Specials covered the song on his 1994 album The Collection.
• British singer Sally Ann Marsh recorded a promo single in 1995, with various dance versions of the song.
• The Iranian artist Farhad Mehrad covered the song in his 1996 album Khab dar Bidari.
• Rock singer Udo Lindenberg of Germany covered the song 1997 as "Under the Drunkard Moon" ("Unterm Säufermond") - Text: Udo Lindenberg, Horst Königstein.
• Neil Diamond interpreted the song on The Movie Album: As Time Goes By, which the Columbia Records label originally released on October 27, 1998.
• Chinese singer Chyi Yu covered the song on her 1988 album, Stories.
• It was performed by Chico O'Farrill and his orchestra and arranged by Rob Middleton in the 1999 remake of The Thomas Crown Affair as well as Sting's version.
• French singer Patricia Kaas performed the French version of this song on her 2002 album "Piano Bar".
• The British singer and media personality Jane McDonald Covered the song on her 2003 Album The Collection.
• Alison Moyet interpreted the song on her solo album Voice, which she recorded in 2004.
• American drag duo Justin Bond and Kenny Mellman recorded the song in 2004 onKiki and Herb Will Die For You at Carnegie Hall.
• Henry Mancini performed an instrumental version on the album Best of Henry Mancini, released on the 20th of June 2004.
• The classical quartet All Angels covered the song for their self-titled debut album released in July 2006.
• Tina Arena covered the song for her 2007 album Songs of Love & Loss.
• Lad'a Kerndl and Tereza Kerndlová recorded the song for their 2007 English language album Together Again.
• Jazz singer Dianne Reeves did it for her 2008 album When You Know.
• Indie rock band Parenthetical Girls did a cover of the song on their 2008 album, Entanglements.
• Australian hip hop artist Phrase released a single, "Clockwork", which featured a sample of the Ray Conniff Singers's version of the song, in 2008.
• Popular Christian/Gospel/Jazz a capella sextet Take 6 did a cover of the song on their 2008 album, The Standard.
• A dance club version by Meck, titled Windmills, was released in 2008. The vocal recording of Meck's version of "Windmills of Your Mind" was by vocalist Linda Ganzini, from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
• Unpopular Christian/Gospel/Jazz a capella sextet The Phil Catterall Five did a cover of the song on their 2008 album, TRANSFORMERS IS BEST (THAN GOBOTS).
• Jazz singer Dianne Reeves included the song on her 2008 recording When You Know.
• Brazilian singer Daniel Boaventura covered the song on his 2009 album Songs 4 U.
• Max Q (quartet) included the song on their album Journey released in 2009.
• Greek singer Vassilikos covered the song on his 2009 album Vintage.
• Canadian francophone singer Mario Pelchat performed the French version of this song on his 2009 album "Chante Michel Legrand".
• In 2011, actress Eva Mendes recorded the song on the new campaign of the Mugler's Angel perfume.
• In 2011, the Lebanese coloratura soprano with a vocal range of four octaves, Hiba Tawaji, covered the song in Arabic language in her debut album that carried the same name of the song "La Bedaya Wa La Nehaya", or "Not a beginning nor an ending".
• Barbara Streisand recorded the song on her 2011 What Matters Most album, which is a compilation of 10 songs all with lyrics from Alan Bergman & Marilyn Bergman.

Undated Recordings include:

• In concert, Dany Brillant has performed it in French as a duet with a woman singing in English, Viktor Lazlo.
• José Feliciano also made a popular cover of the song.
• Saxophonist Kenny G regularly performs an instrumental version in concert.
• British new wave band The Colourfield included a cover of the song as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of Virgins and Philistines.
• Michel Legrand, who composed the music, regularly performs the song in concert; he then does so with the original French lyrics by Eddy Marnay. It usually includes a fast-paced improvisation on the theme.
• Val Doonican recorded it on His Special Years.
• Andrew Collins
• Nana Mouskouri's recording of the song was released on her compilation Ode to Joy.
• Jazz legend Abbey Lincoln recorded the tune on her album "Over the Years".
• Rona Kenan, an Israeli artist, recorded a version, which was included in her second album, "Foreign Eyes".
• Dutch performer Herman van Veen recorded this song in Dutch as Cirkels (Circles), translated by Rob Chrispijn.
• Jazz saxophonist Phil Woods recorded the tune with a full orchestra, musically arranged by Legrand himself.
• Czech (Slovak) singer Hana Hegerová na albu "mlýnské kolo v srdci mém", český text "Mlýnské kolo v srdci mém".

External links

• http://www.thewindmillsofyourmind.com Noel Harrison fan site