The Lyrics of my Birthsong

A Whiter Shade of Pale

Brooker / Fisher / Reid

Album: Procol Harum … plus! (1998), The Symphonic Music (1995), + many compilations including Secrets of the Hive (2007), One Eye to the Future (2008)

Taking Notes and Stealing Quotes on this song

Words by Keith Reid The two verses printed here in green are not both available on any official record but they have quite often been heard in concert. The 'mermaid' verse is played on the Union Chapel Live DVD Read about the history of the 'extra' verses here [Roland from BtP notes: inspection of the typescript in Gary Brooker's album compiling all Keith Reid's original lyrics shows the order of the two 'extra' verses reversed, and reveals 'life', not 'love', in the 'ocean bed' verse (which enriches the Shakespeare quotation there in the same way as 'fandango' enriches Milton's 'light fantastic' earlier in the song). These two facts were first published in my liner note to Secrets of the Hive – to which Keith and Gary have both given the thumbs-up]

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 that 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 and would not let her be one of sixteen vestal virgins who were leaving for the coast and although my eyes were open they might have just as well've been closed She said, 'I'm home on shore leave,' though in truth we were at sea so I took her by the looking glass and forced her to agree saying, 'You must be the mermaid who took Neptune for a ride.' But she smiled at me so sadly that my anger straightway died If music be the food of love [see note, left, about this verse + its opening] then laughter is its queen and likewise if behind is in front then dirt in truth is clean My mouth by then like cardboard seemed to slip straight through my head So we crash-dived straightway quickly and attacked the ocean bed

WILLIE NELSON - A Whiter Shade Of Pale