As the Miller Told His Tale
Procol Harum's 1967 hit, "A Whiter Shade of Pale," was proclaimed in 2004, by the UK performing rights group Phonographic Performance Limited, to be the most-played and most-requested musical single over the past 70 years in Britain.
National Public Radio (NPR) got around to reporting this difficult, if not impossible, to substantiate contention on April 15, 2009. Besides their lack of timeliness in reportage, NPR defined the piece as an "incomprehensible piece of psychedelica." Yes, it was just another one of those feel-good fluff pieces that NPR tosses out in an attempt to spellbind the Baby Boomer rush-hour commuter. Such a description, however, ended up being a buzz-killing spell breaker. A minimal amount of research would have clarified and illuminated, and their piece might well have been more accurate: reality being stranger than fiction, and all.
As revealed in Claes Johansen's book, Keith Reid, the lyric's author had not been inspired by an acid trip, nor had he ever taken LSD. For production purposes, the final release contained only half the original verses. Missing information might well limit an understanding of the entirety. That the subtitle was "The Miller's Tale," and that the reference appears in the final version is revelatory. The ribald Chaucerian yarn is a mirror before which Reid often stood. Reflected in many of his works are themes of male/female encounters and what takes place before, during and after coitus.
In what is clearly a drunken stupor, to a near vomitus state, our narrator might well be engaged in the seduction of some equally inebriated seafaring lass. Can he be seen to employ great cunning and persuasive arguement toward his lascivious end, including the astrological aid of Tarot cards? Perhaps you see our narrator's intention toward the girl as considerably more sinister? Is he frantically trying to justify to himself an intended date rape? Is the woman's evinced sadness dissuasive, or is he just too drunk to act? In the live performance, certain verses might as easily tilt you toward that conclusion as any other.
We can only interpret for ourselves what meaning lies in the lyric. The author is remaining silent. But, come on! It was the 60's. It's rock and roll. That there were groups and performers occasionally capable of greater subtlety of sexual allusion than The Rolling Stones' anthem "Satisfaction," or The Who's "Squeeze Box," is a delight, but it shouldn't come as a surprise, even to NPR.
