Like a circle in a spiral,
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever-spinning reel,
Like a snowball down a mountain
Or a carnival balloon,
Like a carousel that's spinning
Running rings around the moon,
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes of 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 you 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 fragments 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 colour of his hair?

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 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 fragments of a song
Half-remembered names and faces
But to whom do they belong?
When you knew that it was over
In the autumn of goodbyes
For the moment you could not recall
The color of his eyes
 
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