A Whiter Shade of Pale
This is not for any contest especially since I like better versions than the one sung by Glenn Hughes which is not much to my liking. Furthermore, this is more in the region of commenting on the song rather than writing a poem about it.
The music of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was composed by Gary Brooker and Matthew Fisher, while the lyrics were written by Keith Reid.
Originally it had four verses with a chorus after each stanza. As such the song would have been better understood. Unfortunately, because it had to be recorded, the producers used only the first two stanzas, which in my personal opinion, was a mistake. Keith Reid, alias Procul Harum described the song as a girl leaving her boyfriend. Later it was also described as a love affair gone astray. If you listen to the longer version, this would make sense, but with only the first two stanzas, the song seems meaningless, in my opinion, of course.
The lyrics are mainly to be considered as exotic or metaphorical. Images flow from one to another seemingly without any apparent link. I will only mention the first two stanzas. The song opened ambiguously with a slow ugly Spanish dance, a fandango, which was either discarded or changed into a more active version. The girl changed into a dance involving cartwheels. Tired she asked for a drink, probably alcoholic.
On to the chorus, we are told that a miller recounted some tale. No one knows who this miller was and Procul assured us that it was not from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, where a miller recounted a bawdy, adulterous story. Whatever the miller recounted, the girl seemed to have been shocked and her face already pale, turned white. This line was the source of the title of the song.
The second stanza opens with the playing of cards. Then as if by magic, we are introduced to sixteen vestal virgins going to the coast. In ancient pagan Rome was a temple dedicated to Vesta and only six virgins were required. By the year 400 AD, all pagan temples were disbanded including that of Vesta. The song returned to its chorus and usually stopped there. Eventually, we learned that the girl was a mermaid and had to return to the sea. Thus ended their love affair.
One might ask, considering these unrelated images, why the song was so popular. It was the musical score that saved the day. According to everyone, it was its Bach-derived instrumental melody, soulful vocals, melancholic tone and beautiful organ music that made this song so popular. It was launched in 1967 and quickly became number one on the U.K. Song Chart and stayed there for six weeks. More than 10 million fans listened to the song and counting even more today. It was translated into many languages and sung by about 1000 singers. Commentaries on the song are even being posted today on YouTube.
It is one of my favorite songs and never tire of hearing it.
Copyright ©
Victor Buhagiar
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