But I was too young to have experienced any decadence, then. I suppose it seems like a decadent scene I’m describing. I wasn’t trying to be mysterious with those images, I was trying to be evocative. With the ceiling flying away and room humming harder, I wanted to paint an image of a scene. I was trying to conjure a mood as much as tell a straightforward, girl-leaves-boy story. Other observers have also commented that the lyrics concern a sexual relationship.Ĭontrary to the above interpretations, Reid was quoted in the February 2008 issue of Uncut magazine as saying:
This is supported by Tim de Lisle in Lives of the Great Songs, who remarks that the lyrics concern a drunken seduction, which is described through references to sex as a form of travel, usually nautical, using mythical and literary journeys. Claes Johansen, in his book Procol Harum: Beyond the Pale, suggests that the song "deals in metaphorical form with a male/female relationship which after some negotiation ends in a sexual act". The third verse has been heard in live performances by Procol Harum, and more seldom the fourth. The original lyrics had four verses, of which only two are heard on the original recording. He overheard someone at the party saying to a woman, "You've turned a whiter shade of pale", and the phrase stuck in his mind. Keith Reid got the title and starting point for the song at a party. He could not see her chance to be a kid draining away and even his usual diversion of playing cards turned into monotony.
Each time it caused her to feel trapped and the disappointment turned her pale. The daughter constantly wanted to join the changing flux of young passengers having fun and going to excursions 'on the coast' and the father always had to rein her in. The waiter knew exactly what they drank when off duty and there was always older passengers around 'telling their tales' with forgettable names like Smith or Miller. They were on the top deck with a retractable ceiling as the ship hummed harder against the current. They did a light Fandango act and retired to a table while dealing with the father's dizziness afterwards. To me the song tells of a father-daughter dance entertainment team. Every time I hear it, it reminds me of a sea cruise I was on when the ship labored against the current. I have read that the writer claims there is no specific interpretation. There is an old adage that says: "For there are none so blind as those who will not see." The captain must have survived to make this comment and was probably incarcerated at this point. The captain exclaims that "although his eyes were open to the truth which he could plainly see, due to his stupidity, they might just as well been closed. She too felt that there was no reason for this tragedy to have happened. But rather wanted to sail in spite of the storm warnings and predictions. Realizing that the tragedy should never have happened, the captain who did not want his vessel to remain a virgin like the other 15 vessel virgins that were also leaving for the coast. And so it was as the Miller who later told the tale of this horrific tragedy, the woman with whom he was relating the tale too, as she listened attentively to the event, her face turned ghostly, turned a whiter shade of pale. The crowd called out for another drink and the waiter brought a tray. Most often by the time the passengers are sitting at the Captain's table, many are already drunk, or they had been drinking for a while. The passengers sitting at the Captain's table were probably playing cards and as it was believed that they were going to die anyway, the captain and guest kept playing cards. The room was humming harder just like a room hums during a Tornado as the wind fills it reverberating off the walls, so did the room of the ship, as the ceiling blew away. The skipping of the "light Fandango" which meant the games that were played on the ship was postponed as the ship was tossed and the passengers because of the turbulent waters were turning cartwheels across the floor. You could say that they sailed into a perfect storm. And as the "vessel virgin" sailed into the storm, the captain realized that they were in a dangerous situation which left them in a dilemma at a point of no return. I believe that it was a story told by a "Miller" in a village who tells the tale of a captain who sailed a ship on a maiden voyage that got caught in a Hurricane. But after listening to this song several times and being a fan of the song for many years back in the early seventies. Not saying that anyone's interpretation is wrong, no not at all. While most were pretty interesting to me, I am in disagreement with what I read and especially those who think that there is a sexual connotation. Okay, I have read several interpretations of this song on another website.
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