Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale

“A Whiter Shade of Pale” by Procol Harum stands as one of the most iconic and enduring songs of the 1960s. The English rock band Procol Harum was formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1967, and they played their first live gig at London’s Speakeasy club on the day “A Whiter Shade of Pale” was released on 12 May 1967. Lyricist Keith Reid got the title and starting point for the song at a party, where he overheard someone saying to a woman, “You’ve turned a whiter shade of pale”, and the phrase stuck in his mind. The music was composed by Gary Brooker, with Matthew Fisher’s organ part so prominent that he also eventually received a songwriting credit after a protracted court battle. The song was recorded at Olympic Sound Studios in London, produced by Denny Cordell, and completed in two takes, with no subsequent overdubbing.

The song’s success was immediate and extraordinary. In June “A Whiter Shade of Pale” topped the UK charts for six weeks, while in the United States, the single reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 1 million copies. It became one of the few singles to have sold more than 10 million copies. The song’s distinctive baroque sound, featuring Fisher’s Hammond organ melody inspired by Bach’s Air on the G String, combined with Reid’s enigmatic, surrealist lyrics to create something truly unique. The song has been interpreted as dealing in metaphorical form with a male/female relationship ending in a sexual act, described through references to sex as a form of travel, usually nautical, using mythical and literary journeys. However, Reid himself stated he was simply trying to conjure a mood rather than tell a straightforward story.

The song’s legacy has proven remarkably durable. In 1977, “A Whiter Shade of Pale” was voted Best British Pop Single 1952-1977, sharing the honours with Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 and into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. Over the years it has been released as a cover version by at least 1,000 different artists. The phrase “a whiter shade of pale” itself has entered common usage in the English language. Despite the band’s continued success with albums like “A Salty Dog” and “Shine on Brightly,” and their career lasting until 1977 before reforming in 1991, “A Whiter Shade of Pale” remained their signature achievement and one of the defining songs of the Summer of Love era.

Procol Harum A Whiter Shade of Pale Lyrics

First time, we got new album out, uhm
Yeah, thank you very much
(One, two, three, four)

We skipped the light fandango
Turned cartwheels 'cross the floor
I was feeling kinda 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 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"
But I wandered through my playing cards
Would not let her be
One of 16 vestal virgins
We're leaving for the coast
And although my eyes were open
They might have just as well been closed

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

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