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Procol Harum, "A Whiter Shade of Pale"

snubbyfan

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Thank goodness for that big orange new thread button. I just gotta put this out there.
On another thread people have been quoting some of the lyrics from Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale." I realized that I have no idea what this song's about.
I didn't want to hijack that thread and I'm curious to know if anyone knows what the heck they're singin' about.
Procol Harum "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" 1967 - YouTube
 
Boy and girl get together and end up doing what boys and girls do?
 
In my opinion, when someone refers to a "whiter shade of pale" signifies, to me, death.
 
Folks have been speculating on the meaning of the lyrics to "Whiter Shade of Pale" for years. Everything from two kids hooking up, an old seaman getting drunk with the ghost of his lost love, to getting jiggy with a mermaid.
 
When I was working in NYC I was going around singing "come on Eileen" because it was stuck in my head like mad for 2 weeks straight. It wasn't until after that I realized for those two weeks, I was basically going around propositioning someone by the name of eileen to...well you know...I don't sing that one aloud so much anymore... :P
 
I don't mean to hijack here Snubby but it was my new signature line "as the miller told his tale" that prompted the "lyrical quotefest" in that other thread where we saw Lee let his hair down!:eek:

It was obviously taken from PH's lyrics in A Whiter Shade Of Pale (one of my favs), but I was actually referring to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Specifically, The Miller's Tale (again, my fav) and how much that particular story and it's circumstances reminds me of all the things that I love about this site.

Total structure, total structure gone awry, riveting stories and tales, interaction, sharing, asking, informing, enlightenment, humor, sympathy, life lessons....you name it, we got it right here!:)

Again sorry for the detour on your thread.
 
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It was obviously taken from PH's lyrics in A Whiter Shade Of Pale (one of my favs), but I was actually referring to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Specifically, The Miller's Tale (again, my fav) and how much that particular story and it's circumstances reminds me of all the things that I love about this site.

Wait a minute, Kozmic ... You weren't referencing Barney Miller?
 
after we analyze this...we can start dissecting "Subterranean Homesick Blues"
 
Folks can read what they want into the lyrics, but I think the meaning simply boils down to "how good the 60's were for you" !! :D

Don
 
These threads are giving me flashbacks, I can almost hear those voices in my subconscious again..............
 
Nobody knows what the lyrics mean. I don't think the writer understood them. But since the statute of limitations has run out, I will admit to spending many hours in various altered states of consciousness trying to determine the meaning.
 
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