I spend too much time
Raiding windmills
We go side by side
Laughing til it's right

There's something that you won't show
Waiting where the light goes

Take the darkest cloud
Break it open
Water to repair
What we have broken

There's something that you won't show
Waiting where the light goes
Maybe anywhere the wind blows
It's all worth waiting for

Pull on the borders to lighten the load
Tell all the passengers we're going home

I spend too much time
Seeking shelter
World without end
Couldn't hold her

There's something that you won't show
Waiting where the light goes
Maybe anywhere the wind blows
It's all worth waiting for
Anywhere the wind blows


Lyrics submitted by rabidpenguin, edited by TheImpalerTMX, Sagatron

Windmills song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

31 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    General Comment

    Apparently, no one who has so far commented on this song has seen the movie "Latter Days" by C.J. Cox. The melody of this song is played repeatedly throughout the movie and the entire song sung by Toad the Wet Sprocket is play in the joyous final 2-3 minutes of the movie and while the credits roll.

    Latter Days is about a closeted gay Mormon missionary boy, Steve Sandvoss,who ends up in West LA living next door to a swinging-hot gay party boy, Wes Ramsey. The two encounter each other and struggle with their totally different lifestyles, values and attraction to one another.

    When you consider the words to Windmills in the context of the movie, it makes sense, its all about the transformation from being a person inclined to hide who he/she is, to being genuine to the world about what they think they must hide. The person playing behind the Windmills wants to cut out the nonsense (pull on the borders; tell the passengers we're GOING HOME!) and accept that the world won't end and the damage that may result by their self liberation (it will only take water to repair the damage) will be minimal compared to the joy that awaits them. Now matter what happens; no matter how the wind blows, IT'S ALL WORTH WAITING FOR! Waiting, as opposed to doing it immediately may suggest that if one is not quite ready today, wait and do it when you are ready but definitely plan on doing it.

    Now I don't know if the guys who wrote this song had this in mind, but clearly CJ Cox did when he selected Windmills to be the lead song in the Latter Days soundtrack.

    I'm gay myself am gay and came out of the closet as a result of seeing the movie Latter Days a few times over a period of days. I've always fantasized that if I ever get married, we'll play Windmills to walk down the aisle.

    Moishgilon January 09, 2010   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.