"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is the debut song by the British band Procol Harum, released 12 May 1967. The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June 1967, and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, it reached #5 on the US charts, as well. It is one of the fewer than 30 all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) copies worldwide. "A Whiter Shade of Pale" #57 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
(remastered to widescreen)
Lyrics:
We skipped the light fandango
And turned cartwheels cross the floor.
I was feeling kind of seasick
But the crowd called out for more.
The room was humming harder
And 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 just just have 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.
She said she wanted shore leave
Tho in truth we were at sea
So I took her by a looking glass
And forced her to agree,
Saying you must be the mermaid
Who took Neptune for a ride
Well she smiled at me so sadly
That my anger straightway died
And so it was, etc...
Songtext:
Wir tanzten den leichten Fandanga
schlugen Räder kreuz und quer
Ich fühlte mich irgendwie seekrank
jedoch die Menge schrie nach mehr
Der Saal begann zu kochen
während die Decke davon fegte
Als wir den nächsten Drink bestellten
brachte der Ober ein Tablett.
Und so kam es dann,
als der Müller seine Anekdoten zum Besten gab,
dass ihr Gesicht zu erst eher spukhaft
um eine Spur erbleichte.
Sie sagte, "Es gibt keinen Grund
und die Wahrheit ist offensichtlich."
Aber ich musterte mein Blatt
und wollte sie nicht als eine der 16 vestalischen Jungfrauen erscheinen lassen,
die zu neuen Ufern aufbrachen
Und es spielte keine Rolle, ob meine Augen
offen oder geschlossen waren.
Und so kam es dann,
als der Müller seine Anekdoten zum Besten gab,
dass ihr Gesicht zu erst eher spukhaft
um eine Spur erbleichte.
