Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale” Lyrics Meaning

There is seemingly a whole lot going on in “A Whiter Shade of Pale”. Not only is the instrumental partially based on a song dating all the way back to the 17^th century, but there are also references to the likes of “the miller”, “16 vestal virgins” and “Neptune” which truly gives the lyrics a mythological, esoteric feel. But as the man who actually wrote the words, Keith Reid, has explained, his goal in writing this classic was to put forth a “straightforward, girl-leaves-boy story”.

So with that pretext in mind, we can decipher the wording more effectively than some other analysts who have put over-emphasis on the aforementioned references or have mistakenly concluded that Reid wrote them while being wasted on drugs.

From the onset it is obvious that the singer and the other subject of the song, his romantic interest, are together in some sort of party setting. Also the implication is that they are quite smashed – i.e. drunk – and on the verge of partaking of even more alcohol. In other words, it’s as if they and the others in the venue are having a real-good, carefree time.

Chorus

It is then in the chorus that we are introduced to the titular phrase, itself being a challenging, or let’s say open-ended allegory in and of itself. But within the context of the song, the reason “that her face… turned a whiter shade of pale” is because, obviously, she came to experience a high level of emotional discomfort. 

And the reason why she is uncomfortable is basically because she is using the same aforementioned setting to let the singer know that she is in fact leaving him.

Indeed we see at the beginning of the second verse that she has no discernible – or at least admitted – reason for leaving him. And this of course leaves the singer himself wondering why exactly such is transpiring. But in all, it reads like one of those types of scenarios where homegirl has basically come to the realization that the time has come for her to move on with her life.

In Conclusion

And again, trying to make too much sense of the lyrics which come after this point can prove to be a fool’s errand. For instance, the last two verses of the song are completely omitted from standard versions of “A Whiter Shade of Pale”. It’s not exactly clear why this happened. However, it is probably due the fact that they are verily confusing. But at the end of the day the conclusive sentiment of the singer seems to be akin to happily accepting that his lady friend has indeed decided to part ways.

Who is Procol Harum?

Procol Harum is a rock band from the UK. They actually formed way back in 1967 and, outside of taking the entire 1990s off, have for the most part been active throughout the decades. And concerning the unconventional, Latin-sounding name of the group, it actually doesn’t have any true interpretation.

Procol Harum are by and large a one-hit wonder, with this song being their one hit. 

When did “A Whiter Shade of Pale” come out?

“A Whiter Shade of Pale” is a very special track for Procol Harum. And why? This is because it is the first track the band ever recorded and released, the latter having transpired via Deram Records on 12 May 1967.

Historically this track is part and parcel of a period of time known as the Summer of Love, specifically as far as the UK is concerned. The Summer of Love is another name given to the summer season of 1967, which was one of the highlights of the hippie-inspired 1960s in the Anglo-American world. 

And once again in terms of the UK especially, it should also be noted that “A Whiter Shade of Pale” came out around the same time the Beatles’ most-celebrated album, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (1967), which was hippyish in and of itself. In fact the Beatles’ main songwriters, Paul McCartney and John Lennon, were themselves said to have been heavily impressed by “A Whiter Shade of Pale”, with Lennon in particular taking a special liking to the tune.

A Smash-Hit

As far as hits go, no act could have asked for a bigger success than “A Whiter Shade of Pale”. The song came out as part of Procol Harum’s debut album, which itself is entitled Procol Harum. And the track reached number 1 in nearly 15 different countries, including most notably the UK Singles Chart. 

After topping the Dutch Top 40 in 1967, it went on to also do the same on the Netherlands’ Single Top 100 in 1972, having also recharted on the UK Singles Chart that year. Additionally it reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, despite receiving limited promotion in the United States.

In fact this track holds the distinction of being one of the highest-selling singles of all time. Or stated otherwise, it has sold in excess of 10,000,000 copies which is a remarkable feat. And for the record, as of 2021, only about 40 songs in history have ever achieved this great feat.

The tune has held a particularly strong standing in Procol Harum’s homeland of the United Kingdom. For instance, it has been recognized as being both the most-played song in public and the most-played song on air in the UK throughout the 20^th century and into the 21^st.

Even more Accolades

In 2004 the song also made it onto the top 60 of Rolling Stone’s notable ranking of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 1998, it was inducted into the highly-distinguished Grammy Hall of Fame. And in 1977 the Brit Awards gave it the distinction of being The Best British Pop Single 1952-1977, an accolade it shared with “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975) by Queen.

Also in 2018 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame changed its criteria, allowing singles to be inducted into the institution as opposed to only musicians themselves. And “A Whiter Shade of Pale” was amongst the first songs to be enshrined therein.

The success of this song has led to “a whiter shade of pale” being adopted as a common phrase in the English lexicon.

Promotional/Music Videos (Films)

This classic also proved popular enough to have its own promotional films back in the days when music videos were only afforded to the most-successful of acts, like the Beatles. The first one, with Peter Clifton as its director, was shot in Witley Court, the ruins of a large 17^th century mansion in England. 

The second one was actually what is referred to as a Scopitone video – a direct ancestor to music videos themselves. And the last one was helmed by Joel Gallen and featured Bernie Taupin (i.e. Elton John’s homey) alongside Hollywood actor Harry Dean Stanton but none of the actual members of Procol Harum. 

Notable Covers

Of course a song of this magnitude has had plenty of covers. Some of the notable names to have done so include the following:

• Joe Cocker
• Michael Bolton
• Willie Nelson 

Some lesser known acts such as The Hesitations (1968) and R. B. Greaves (1970) even managed to chart with their renditions. But as far as the 20^th century is concerned, the most-successful cover was that of Annie Lennox in 1995, which charted in nearly 15 countries and reached number 1 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 list.

Writing of “A Whiter Shade of Pale”

Originally the writing of this song was credited exclusively to Procol Harum’s Keith Reid and Gary Brooker. In 2005, Matthew Fisher, another old school member of the crew who left in 2004, sued Brooker, who remained leader of the band, under the claim that he (Fisher) also co-wrote “A Whiter Shade of Pale” (Keith Reid left Procol Harum when they first disbanded in 1977 and never returned to the fold.) 

And eventually, in 2009, English law did ruled in Fisher’s favor, thus officially making him a co-writer of this hit also. A friend of Matthew Fisher’s went on to explain that the musician did not wait some 40 years, from when the song first came out, to file the aforementioned lawsuit per se. Rather he had considered doing so as early as 1972. Between then and actually filing, he sought consul on the matter four times.  

However, it wasn’t until 2005 that the lawyer he consulted that time around, Jens Hill, agreed that Fisher actually had a case.

Birth of Song

Keith Reid is noted as being the primary writer, lyric-wise, of “A Whiter Shade of Pale”. He conceptualized it after overhearing a party attendee say to a lady, “You’ve turned a white shade of pale”. That may explain why he also began the narrative in a party-like setting. And when he originally conceived the song it consisted of four verses.

Concerning the two omitted verses, which are not usually featured in recordings of this song, Procol Harum are known to render them during live performances. Though at times they’ll only sing the third and not the fourth.

According to Keith, this hit song came about during the band’s first recording session. And there were other tracks from the early days of Procol Harum which they were equally fond of. However in his opinion, “A Whiter Shade of Pale” “was the one that recorded the best”. And he went on to elaborate that “in those days it wasn’t just a question of how good is your song” but also “how good of a recording can you make”.

The instrumental to this track, according to Gary Brooker, was partially inspired by “Air on the G String”, a tune originated by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) circa 1730. Or stated differently, Brooker was able to compose the instrumental based on “a bar or two” of the aforementioned classic as a starting point. And he further stated that “A Whiter Shade of Pale” wasn’t meant to “combine” rock with classical”. But rather at the time, “it’s just that Bach’s music was in (him)”. 

Meanwhile in writing the lyrics, Keith said he was inspired by a number of musicians, amongst them being the Beatles, Ray Charles and Stax (Records). But his “main influence” was Bob Dylan himself.

Recording

The producer of this track was the late Denny Cordell (1943-1995), an English musician who was actually born in Argentina.

Procol Harum recorded this song, over a two-week period, in Olympic Sound Studios, which is located in London.