In the song "Whiter Shade of Pale."
When he refers to "The Miller." (...As the Miller told his tale.) Are they talking about the Millers tale from Chaucer's Canterbury tales?
What else can anyone tell me about that song? The lyrics have always fascinated me.
2007-02-16 06:01:58 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Entertainment & Music ➔ Music
interesting.... i was just looking at the lyrics to "Whiter Shade of Pale" while I was looking for lyrics to use for my musical question of the day... I doubt I understand it any better than you but here is what I've gotten out of it.
First, "The Miller" reference is most definately a reference/allusion to Chaucers work. The song is definately love song, which has other parellels to the Miller tale (the woman and young man...).
Plus Procol Harum is a british band and so was Chaucer....
Even the instrumentals, the organ line, goes back to Bach and a time period a lot closer to chaucer... I think you would very much enjoy this website and its related links, also provided is Wiki reference which I used.
ps. You've got great taste in music and thanks for the question, it pushed me to seek answers also!
2007-02-16 06:14:05 · answer #1 · answered by MJ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
From Wikipedia:
"A Whiter Shade Of Pale" is a song released in 1967 by the band Procol Harum. With its haunting tonality and Bach flavouring, both provided by Hammond organist Matthew Fisher (who, on December 20, 2006, at the age of 60, won 40% of the copyright value in a court case initiated by him), vocals by Gary Brooker, and mysterious lyrics by Keith Reid, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" reached #1 on the British charts, was a hit in Europe, and reached #5 in the United States. In the years since, it has become an enduring classic, and has earned extensive critical acclaim. Rolling Stone magazine placed "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" as #57 of its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004. British TV station Channel 4 also placed the song at #19 in its chart of the 100 greatest number one singles.[1]
Brooker and Reid have disclaimed any intention of ever explaining or assigning additional meaning to the lyrics, although the song's lyrics appear to be influenced by Geoffrey Chaucer's The Miller's Tale.
2007-02-16 06:07:50 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Awesome. I love this question cause I put it on my iPod and looked up the lyrics last week. I can't find the REAL extended version though.
Anyway, I thought the Miller was like the captain or something. The lyrics kind of jump around a bit and I was struggling too, but know there's some kind of meaning. I looked them up on Wikipedia to try to get more info. Try this site: www.lyricsinterpretations.com
2007-02-16 06:06:41 · answer #3 · answered by Reens 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, the song is based on the Canterbury Tales. There are additional lyrics that are not on the recorded version you hear played so often. Sarah Brightman does a pretty good cover of it.
And its spelled Harum.
I love that song too.
2007-02-16 06:06:08 · answer #4 · answered by desertskieswoman 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, but the whole song is about a hangover!!!!! I heard that in an interview with the group once, at least that is what they claim.
2007-02-16 06:05:24 · answer #5 · answered by rob c 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1131
2007-02-16 06:10:41 · answer #6 · answered by Maudie 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋