1. The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway, was re-run by a local TV station about two weeks ago.
I catch the opening song, The Windmills of Your Mind, and have been listening to some of the cover versions in YouTube.
The original singer of The Windmills of Your Mind is Noel Harrison, son of the great British actor Sir Rex Harrison.
The Windmills of Your Mind won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1968.
"Coincidentally, his father Rex Harrison, had sung the Oscar winning song ("Talk to the Animals") only the previous year (1967)." ("Noel Harrison", Wikipedia.)
2. According to Wikipedia, The Windmills of Your Mind has been covered by close to 60 singers.
I have listened to over 20 different versions in YouTube.
While listening to the different cover versions, I noticed an interesting phenomenon: many cover versions did not seem to get this song right, even by some very good singers.
After some thoughts, I have come to a conclusion: for a song, the music places limitations on the lyrics and the lyrics in turn place limitations on the interpretation of the music.
For a song, the music and lyrics mutually limits or constrains each other.
The Windmills of Your Mind is basically a psychedelic song from the 1960s; some singers treated it otherwise and therefore did not get the song right.
3. Listen first to a rendition by the original Noel Harrison:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEhS9Y9HYjU
Look at Noel Harrison's eyes as he sang the song - I would not be surprise if he had an out-of-body experience as he sang this song.
Noel Harrison got this song right.
4. If you are affected by the psychedelic feel of this song, then listen to the Muppet version, have a good laugh and you will be fine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu_6hdGZ6gU
5. Chyi Yu is one of my favorite Taiwanese singers, so I am predispose to like her cover of this song.
Chyi Yu is a Buddhist - besides certain clarity to her voice, there is an other-worldly feels to her singing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSGg9EzHnhs
Chyi Yu does not have the psychedelic feel of Noel Harrison's rendition; but her other-worldly style mimics the psychedelic feel.
Chyi Yu does not get this song exactly right either; but her cover is among the best that I have listened to.
6. Val Doonican is a very good Irish singer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9PUiNbyz8s
Close your eyes, listen to the music and the singing but do not focus on the words or lyrics - it was sung beautifully.
This time around, focus on both the singing and the lyrics, and there is a dissonance between the two.
7. I love the love songs by Nana Mouskouri, but her voice is not right for this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4f5AAWKWCw
As an artist must experiment and be creative, I am glad she tried this song.
8. Greek soprano Irini Kyriakidou has a very good voice; but this song is not classical music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XcHq-Bon8Y
9. Even the great Barbra Streisand did not seem to get this song right:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPX9LNYtQmQ
She sang with clarity but lacks the psychedelic feel.
But Barbra Streisand's voice is amazing at 70 years old.
10. Wikipedia rightly singles out Dusty Springfield's version as the outstanding interpretation of this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl8fKAYQuPk
11. The Lyrics:
Round, like a circle in a spiral
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
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
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 you 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 a fragment of this 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 wheel
As the images unwind
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind
References:
"Noel Harrison", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noel_Harrison
(accessed 2012-02-13).
"The Windmills of Your Mind", Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Windmills_of_Your_Mind
(accessed 2012-02-13).
End.
