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Translation of Les Moulins de mon Cœur-THE WINDMILLS OF YOUR MIND by T. Wignesan (For the orignal text in French by Eddy MARNAY : see here below. The English version by Marilyn and Alan BERGMAN differs considerably from the French original, but arguably it could lay claim to originality of versification in its own right. The musical composition is by Michel LEGRAND, though his duet renditions in French and solo in English are not by far the most delectable. The always exquisite Barbra Streisand performance, which one intimately associates the words with, uses the the English version only. For these reasons, I felt it useful to translate the French original into English. I have not tried to keep to the rhyme scheme - neither does the Bergman version - of alternate rhymes mainly : ABCB/DCDC/EFE/FE( ?)F// GHGH/IHIH/EFE/FEF// JKJK/CLCL/FMFM/DFDF//, with a discernible refrain repeated in the three stanzas of 14, 14 and 16 lines respectively, followed by the refrain (Patricia Kass, however, ends with the refrain in English), making the first two somewhat Petrarchan sonnets if they were iambic in tempo : that is, the octave formed of two quatrains, followed by a sextet in EFE/FEF, but then this assertion is quite un-called for here. One might note en passim the spiraling cascading images of the external world collapsing into the persona's vacant and desolate heart, the pathos brought about dexterously by the " absence " (or disappearance of a loved one) : " The bird fell from its nest "// " Like the songs which die/ As quickly as one forgets them "//, the quintessential sentiment held together and underlined by the image of how autumn leaves turn to the colour of the absent one's hair. The entire " poem " ( I prefer to call it so) constructs itself on a cascading sequence of similies twirling in a maelstrom of natural objects and eddying into the persona's lonely heart : " stream ", " rain ", " snow ", " ocean " (water), " wind " (air), " sand ", " moon ", " stars " (made up of the same constituent particles as earth), " leaves ", " flowers ", " sea-gulls ", (living " creatures "), " heart " (self or soul), " summer ", " autumn ", "hours " (time : yes, both time and space in cosmological terms are " objects " like us in the uni-or-multi-verse), etc. Enjoy the music. T. Wignesan ) Like a stone one throws In the running waters of a stream And which provokes in its trail Thousands of swirling circles Like a carousel round the moon With the manes of horses as stars Like a ring of particles around Saturn A carnival baloon Like the concentric movement of circles Which define the course of the hours The voyage around the earth (Like) the sunflower worshipping the sun You succeed in turning with your breath All the windmills of my heart Like the tangle of wool Inextricably confounding a child's hands (Like) the words of a corny tune Caught within the harpstrings of the wind Like a swirling avalanche of snow Like the startling flight of sea-gulls Over the forests of Norway Over oceans of woolly lambs Like the concentric movement of circles Which define the course of the hours The voyage around the earth (Like) the sunflower worshipping the sun You succeed in turning with your breath All the windmills of my heart Remember that day close by the summit Only God knows what you said But the summer by then nearly at an end The bird fell from its nest And, like it or not, on the beach Our footprints already leave no trace And I'm left alone at table Which resounds unde my fingers Like a tambourine in a lament Under raindrops which pound Like the songs which simply extinguish As quickly as they are forgotten And the leaves of trees in autumn Find themselves under skies less blue And your absence taints them The aging colour of your hair © Translation and comments : T. Wignesan - Paris, May 12, 2019 Les Moulins De Mon Coeur (The Windmills Of Your Mind) This song is by Patricia Kaas and appears on the album Piano Bar (2002). Comme une pierre que l'on jette Dans l'eau vive d'un ruisseau Et qui laisse derrière elle Des milliers de ronds dans l'eau Comme un manège de lune Avec ses chevaux d'étoiles Comme un anneau de Saturne Un ballon de carnaval Comme le chemin de ronde Que font sans cesse les heures Le voyage autour du monde D'un tournesol dans sa fleur Tu fais tourner de ton nom Tous les moulins de mon coeur Comme un écheveau de laine Entre les mains d'un enfant Ou les mots d'une rengaine Pris dans les harpes du vent Comme un tourbillon de neige Comme un vol de goélands Sur des forêts de Norvège Sur des moutons d'océan Comme le chemin de ronde Que font sans cesse les heures Le voyage autour du monde D'un tournesol dans sa fleur Tu fais tourner de ton nom Tous les moulins de mon coeur Ce jour là près de la source Dieu sait ce que tu m'as dit Mais l'été finit sa course L'oiseau tomba de son nid Et voilà que sur le sable Nos pas s'effacent déjà Et je suis seul à la table Qui résonne sous mes doigts Comme un tambourin qui pleure Sous les gouttes de la pluie Comme les chansons qui meurent Aussitôt qu'on les oublie Et les feuilles de l'automne Rencontrent des ciels moins bleus Et ton absence leur donne La couleur de tes cheveux Like a circle in a spiral Like a wheel within a wheel Never ending or beginning On an ever spinning reel As the images on wind Like the circles that you find In the remainds of your mind Credits Music by: Michel Legrand Lyrics by: Eddy Marnay (original French text), Marilyn Bergman & Alan Bergman (English text) Lyrics licensed by LyricFind
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