Whiter Shade of Pale

Credits: 
Gary Brooker, Keith Reid, Matthew Fisher (Procol Harum)

We skipped a light fandango,
Turned cartwheels 'cross the floor.
I was feeling kind of 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, ”I'm home on shore leave”
When in truth we were at sea.
So I took her by the looking-glass
And forced her to agree with me.
I said, “You must be the mermaid,
The one took Neptune for a ride."
She smiled at me so sweetly
That my anger straight away died.

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

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