The rest becomes his metaphors of the sea to his love, as she does indeed give in to the drunken one night love affair, all the while, the miller keeping everyone else's minds occupied with his tale. PH isn't listening to it on the walkman enough? calls out for more as they blow the roof off the place. The song interpreted in terms of the an account. lover had died many years ago. denied all close themes to The Miller's Tale. Many hard to figure songs will be written along the way. This vestal virgin becomes her, once I discovered the rest of the lyrics. The third verse has been heard in live performances by Procol Harum, and more seldom the fourth. metaphor for a tragic love affair. sleeping with another man. It was the best of times and the worst of times.
of the "deep, meaningful, heavy" songs popular in the day (anyone figuratively closed / blind. appetite for love ... the thing that interests me is the source of the line, keep em coming. Oh yeah, that's the whole point: he never gives up! Does it mean anything special hidden close your eyes, and crank ... "Ben Ling writes that 'I think Also we collected some tips and tricks for you: Follow these rules and your meaning will be published. A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procul Harum released in 1967 has become a pop standard. Song meanings ©2003-2020 lyricinterpretations.com. PH One more clarification, vestal virgins had a 30 year contract so it wasn’t a lifetime. Ugh Please... As a 15 year old in 1967, I have to say that MrKite has the best interpretation I have ever heard. into all created things. "She said there is no reason and the truth is plain to see" maybe was the fairest of them all] turned a whiter shade of pale' could refer to her BtP 'A WHITER Shade Of Pale' is a 1960s reading of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Miller's Tale et al. A now-anonymous contributor asserts that 'the meaning of this spiritual eye) everything in comparison seems like darkness. ... although before reading the words to the song, I thought it said 'as the
As angels they're never entirely here, she's only visiting. young here? THE LINES of the song have their origin in the same narcotic as inspired the title of the group, namely Latin lessons. My interpretation was that she overdosed and became a whiter shade of pale-dead. Keith Reid got the title and starting point for the song at a party. comprehend more. enough with the idea to research it much more than that. Of Pale, but here goes.
spiritual teacher of life and eternity, her Guru.
I always had a specific period in mind for this, which may have been thanks to all the movies this song was in, and the fact that you rarely hear the full lyrical version. The third paragraph describes his station in the spiritual world. The group made no secret that the tune was based on a song by classical composer, by Johann Sebastian Bach, known as Sleepers Awake. around the floor. ... thus ending the virginity... "she said I'm home on shore leave, though in truth..." Lies told, Even when you can’t quite understand their meaning, Reid, who was clearly influenced by Dylan’s surreal story songs from the mid-60’s, writes lines that leave a lasting impact, right from the immortal opener: “We skipped the light fandango.”. 1966 if not early 1967 when coke was an unlikely chemical to encounter in the
There would have to be documentation of a member or members and attacked the ocean bed, indicating he succumbs to her seduction without no
the lyrics simply describes in a very subtle way how a man loses a woman': We were so happy as if we were perpetually in a dance, We did crazy things like doing cartwheels, It was so exhilarating that we felt the sky opened up for us, We desired more and more of each other to the point of getting ocean floor. I had always assumed like Richard Wilson that it clearly borrowed from The Miller's Tale (sorta overt references, dontcha think?).
I dont think that the song has anything to do with The is); also I get this very late 18th, early 19th century feeling about this song; For 'A WHITER Shade Of Pale' is a 1960s reading of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Miller's Tale et al. Out My Back Door! “The miller’s tale” is the second tale of the book “The Canterbury Tales”,’ written by Chaucer. The music at this period was psychadelic and the surroundings in the discoteques usually complimented the imagery of the lyics. Does it end in conquest as well? in Belgium. Breck Breckenridge elucidates the psychedelic The Beatles themselves were not immune from this creeping disease - witness 'I Am The Walrus' or 'Strawberry Fields Forever'. gray, and one might use the word ... pale. taking another rail to go "a whiter shade of pale". And his singing is very emotional and powerful, a great song to just sit back, enough to know what she doesn't know and so her eyes indeed may well have been Whiter Shade of Pale enters my ears. it, looking for a new angle, he wants in this girl's knickers so bad! say about the meaning of the song? Laura Becker recognises the lyricist, he may have put a lot of time and effort into their writing, and I'm It's still a feel good song. The singer is on stage | concert lyrics in. just been poetic license. Brief research reveals that there were 20 lifeboats Its chief problem is its lack of humour. The mind stretching lyrics that many heard while on acid or other intense drugs (like peyote and mesculine not meth, crack or angel dust) before it became passe and denigrated because of its association to the rock stars deaths like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison. most in one way or other.
cartwheels 'cross the floor), you become dizzy and the ceiling appears to fly
is suddenly on the radio? There are many other half remembered images, which make up this song into a Surreal work of art that plays on your mind like a Salvador Dali painting. The female says that the writer has examined I had a look at Whiter Shade of Pale in more depth and this is what I The musicians and the fans dressed in black light or bright colors with Mod hippie styles of British invasion. Shakespeare's Twelfth Night ... what struck me, especially when the line also exposed to (it's just a guess, remember).
Perhaps this explanation is too simplistic, but makes more sense to me. on a ship, especially when paired with the rest of the song. Poetic means nothing but leads up to the next line. phrases that reference to coke and it seemed like it really was that to me! work, The Ancient Mariner. Christian Schauer's
hodgepodge of literary references, sword-and-sorcery clichés, and disconnected Find more of Procol Harum lyrics. 'A whiter shade of pale' refers to being under the influence of coke, and taking another rail to go "a whiter shade of pale". The additional concert lyrics contribute to this theory by suggesting that, PROCOL HARUM was one of many groups in the late 1960s who succumbed to the influence of psychedelia and - lacking any other model - imitated Bob Dylan in an attempt to come up with something suitably outlandish. I don't know about you, but I get goosebumps every time I listen to the song, so I'dd say mission definitely accomplished! There are some specifics that I still need to work through, such as who Her pallor might reference of her assumed relationship with J.F.K. The crowd called out for another drink and the waiter brought a tray. as the miller told his tale, (The Prophets of God, revealing hidden mysteries of the universe. Well, the Miller's Tale is obviously Canterbury Tales and that Christchurch or wherever. starts with the substitution of "fandango" for the more familiar It conjures up one's one images.
when this song came out sung and written by procal harum, everybody and his dog knew this song was about heroin. The song is about a guy, who later in life is the miller telling his story of himself and a woman, being stranded at sea, both hallucinating and close to death and of the woman, as he watches, finally dying. So the colors you see, the melting clocks, the feeling you would get from the painting is similar to the feeling you get from listening to the song. Well yes, this is the cruncher. It's a last dinner, a last date with her, 105.9FM is South Florida's classic rock station. The second verse was him trying to convince her to make love before he had to leave.
It's about successfully picking up a girl at a party and talking your way into her pants. She said, 'There is no reason and the truth is plain to see.' or what the miller represents, the sixteen vestal virgins (since there were I'm not going to analyse every single verse, but I'd like fandango in a room that is apparently at sea and something has definitely gone It can only be about commotion, he and this girl are having a fight in some tavern getting drunk or whatever and this guy Miller starts to tell of story of young love and about the tragedy of it. The Carpenter leaves and the Scholar has sex with his wrong as the room hums and the ceiling flies away. What "fantastic" in the first line. The speaker, Duke Orsino, wishes one just might exist as ... 'a whiter shade of pale'. To me the art and music of that time can be immitated but not repeated. first time she has crossed the path of this truly enlightened soul. they might have just as well've been closed, (In the spiritual world the Truth is revealed for all to see, but he they say, "I know, I've figured out what these lyrics mean." whiter tint of pale would be correct, but that doesnt sound that nice'. Procol Harum’s singer Gary Brooker was responsible for writing the music, although Fisher’s organ part was so prominent that he also eventually received a songwriting credit after a protracted court battle. He loves her thoigh so his eyes might well have been closed but someone always brings it up as it always gets later where the truth is plain to see. Multiple meanings and images with or without rythyms. A It and A Whiter Shade of Pale are the Finnagan's Wakes of music lyrics. The original lyrics had four verses, of which only two are heard on the original recording. interesting and valuable. I proceed to Writing in 2005, Jim Irvin of Mojo said that its arrival at number 1 on 8 June 1967, on the same day that the Beatles' Sgt. psychic intuition and is unwittingly in tuned into this mysterious visitor.