Procol Harum

Songtekst

We skipped a light fandango,
Turned cartwheels 'cross the floor.
I was feeling kind of 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
That 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 just as well have been closed.

And so it was later,
As the miller told his tale,
That her face at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale.


SONGTEKST HOMBURG

Your multilingual business friend
has packed her bags and fled
Leaving only ash-filled ashtrays
and the lipsticked unmade bed
The mirror on reflection
has climbed back upon the wall
for the floor she found descended
and the ceiling was too tall

Your trouser cuffs are dirty
and your shoes are laced up wrong
you'd better take off your homburg
'cos your overcoat is too long

The town clock in the market square
stands waiting for the hour
when its hands they both turn backwards
and on meeting will devour
both themselves and also any fool
who dares to tell the time
And the sun and moon will shatter
and the signposts cease to sign


SONGTEKST CONQUISTADOR

Conquistador your stallion stands
in need of company
and like some angel's haloed brow
you reek of purity
I see your armour-plated breast
has long since lost its sheen
and in your death mask face
there are no signs which can be seen

And though I hoped for something to find
I could see no maze to unwind

Conquistador a vulture sits
upon your silver shield
and in your rusty scabbard now
the sand has taken seed
and though your jewel-encrusted blade
has not been plundered still
the sea has washed across your face
and taken of its fill

And though I hoped for something to find
I could see no maze to unwind

Conquistador there is no time
I must pay my respect
and though I came to jeer at you
I leave now with regret
and as the gloom begins to fall
I see there is no, only all
and though you came with sword held high
you did not conquer, only die

And though I hoped for something to find
I could see no maze to unwind

Songinformatie

A Whiter Shade Of Pale is de eerst uitgebrachte single van Procol Harum; het bleek achteraf ook hun succesvolste in Nederland. De muziek, geschreven door Gary Brooker en Matthew Fisher, is een mengeling van popmuziek met klassieke muziek, met name de muziek van Johann Sebastian Bach. Het zou hierbij gaan om "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" (BWV 140). Ook zou When A Man Loves A Woman van Percy Sledge van invloed zijn geweest. De teksten van Keith Reid waren in die dagen voor velerlei uitleg vatbaar. Hij bleek de titel gehoord te hebben tijdens een feestje en bouwde daar een lied omheen, waarvan de interpretatie onduidelijk bleef. Pas bij het verschijnen van boeken over de begindagen van de band en over Reid zelf kwam er enig licht: het zou gaan om een gesprek dat uiteindelijk leidde tot de seksuele daad. Het was het eerste nummer dat tot tweemaal toe de eerste plaats in de Top 40 bereikte. De eerste keer 5 weken in 1967 en de tweede keer 3 weken in 1972.

Artiest	Procol Harum
	A-kant
Titel	A Whiter Shade Of Pale
Lengte	4:10 [1972]
Componist(en)	Reed, Booker [1967] / G. Brooker, K. Reid [1972]
Producer(s)	Denny Cordell for New Breed Productions [1967]
	B-kant
Titel	Lime Street Blues [1967] / Homburg ; Conquistador [1972]
Lengte	3:52 ; 2:32 [1972]
Componist(en)	Reed, Booker [1967] / G. Brooker, K. Reid [1972]
Producer(s)	Denny Cordell for New Breed Productions [1967]
Platenlabel	Deram ((1967)) / Cube ((1972))
Catalogusnr	DM 126 [1967] / 2016 020 [1972]
Hoogste positie UK	1 & 6 & 22
Hoogste positie US	5 & 34 & 16
Album	Procol Harum