A Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum

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Does anyone know what this song means? Any guesses?

We skipped the light fandango
Turned cartwheels cross the floor
I was feeling kinda seasick
But the crowd called out for more
The room was humming harder
As the ceiling flew away
When we called out for another drink
The waiter brought a tray

And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale
She said, there is no reason
And the truth is plain to see.
But I wandered through my playing cards
And would not let her be
One of sixteen vestal virgins
Who were leaving for the coast
And although my eyes were open
They might have just as wellve been closed
She said, Im home on shore leave,
Though in truth we were at sea
So I took her by the looking glass
And forced her to agree
Saying, you must be the mermaid
Who took neptune for a ride.
But she smiled at me so sadly
That my anger straightway died

If music be the food of love
Then laughter is its queen
And likewise if behind is in front
Then dirt in truth is clean
My mouth by then like cardboard
Seemed to slip straight through my head
So we crash-dived straightway quickly
And attacked the ocean bed.

Barb e., Saturday, 5 April 2008 08:41 (sixteen years ago) link

That some people drown in primal urges brought on by the destabilization of life perspectives?

So primal urges being the drinking and cartwheeling and general partying that this guys getting into - also blaming woman and attacking the ocean bed.

Destabilized perspective being things like the ceiling flying away, clean dirt and behind being in front.

Partying out at sea provides the idea of an unstable place to drown.

Thats sort of clunkily stringing it together for me :)

Sam G, Monday, 7 April 2008 05:40 (sixteen years ago) link

one month passes...

Awesome.

bamcquern, Sunday, 11 May 2008 19:47 (fifteen years ago) link

twelve years pass...

I have to confess that I had to peak at the lyrics to finally hear “and so it was that later.”

Next Time Might Be Hammer Time (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 21 January 2021 23:59 (three years ago) link


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