What is the meaning of procol harum's whiter shade of pale?
A Whiter Shade of Pale
Reid fik titlen og udgangspunktet for sangen ved en fest. Han overhørte en person til festen sige til en kvinde: "You've turned a whiter shade of pale", og sætningen blev hængende i hans hukommelse. Den oprindelige tekst havde fire vers, hvoraf kun to af dem kan høres på den oprindelige optagelse. Det tredje vers er blevet hørt i Procol Harums liveoptrædener, og sjældnere også det fjerde. Forfatteren til Procol Harum: Beyond the Pale, Claes Johansen, foreslår, at sangen "handler i metaforisk form om et mandligt/kvindeligt forhold, som efter en vis forhandling ender i en seksuel handling". Dette støttes af Tim de Lisle i Lives of the Great Songs, der bemærker, at teksten omhandler en beruset forførelse, som beskrives gennem henvisninger til sex som en form for rejse, som regel nautisk, ved hjælp af mytiske og litterære rejser. Andre iagttagere har også kommenteret, at teksterne omhandler et seksuelt forhold.
A Whiter Shade of Pale
Reid got the title and starting point for the song at a party. He overheard someone at the party saying to a woman, "You've turned a whiter shade of pale", and the phrase stuck in his mind. The original lyrics had four verses, of which only two are heard on the original recording. The third verse has been heard in live performances by Procol Harum, and more seldom also the fourth. The author of Procol Harum: Beyond the Pale, Claes Johansen, suggests that the song "deals in metaphorical form with a male/female relationship which after some negotiation ends in a sexual act". This is supported by Tim de Lisle in Lives of the Great Songs, who remarks that the lyrics concern a drunken seduction, which is described through references to sex as a form of travel, usually nautical, using mythical and literary journeys. Other observers have also commented that the lyrics concern a sexual relationship.
A Whiter Shade of Pale