James,

Thanks for the link, it does make the lines more clearly understood. I agree with you, and that has been my interpretation of that section as well. I never thought miller to be literally the beer but to me a refernce to how people talk more freely after a few drinks and say things they wouldnt normally say. I think this is what they were implying after reading this. No time to put thought into the added two verses...though I have read them before. Now I am wondering if that isnt where "Miller" actually came up with their name...hmmm, something else to ponder.  

Diane

Hi James,

Looks like I missed quite a bit of discussion here! 

I think maybe you are both right - in that sometimes people can write on a consious level and others on a subconscious level...and sometimes we craft our words and other times they flow as if from another source. 
I think it is possible for the song to be written without the knowledge of LSD, yet it is still there. Just as the curiosity of certain phrases that can be heard in songs when played backwards...it is there, I have heard it. I doubt the writer put it there intentionally, that would be very difficult to knowingly write something that would say something backwards. But, how did it get there?   

I cant say I personally thought the "miller" was literal as to miller beer but it did fit and it worked for me, being that I didnt really know what any other miller was. The told his tale part I did feel related to the stories that go around when people are gathered and under the influence of a few drinks. They do tend to tell tales. But I do think there were probably many people that may have taken the miller part literally. And I agree the language is quite difference and so the interpretations would be as well. 

I always thought going through his playing cards, references trying his various lines, pick up lines.

I am with you on this one, never knew what vestal meant. But I knew the other word, and just thought it may be something to the fact that she was a very young girl.   

Music is so powerful - it effects and enhances your moods. I dont think I could live without my music!

Diane

Hi James,

Ok, here is the deal on Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, please note the bold. The song was released on Sgt Pepper in 1967 when Julian was 3 years old. I certainly doubt the veracity of any story regarding Julian and a painting. 

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6595610/1_sgt_peppers_lonely_hearts_club_...

However, Procal Harems Keith Reid must be very proud to have written the lyrics to Pale, but is not mentioned in the lawsuit over royalties.

Still regardless of the reasons it is a great tune. I was a professional musician for many years and played in a lot of bands. I still love to play Pale.

Although many web sites give Procal Harem credit for jump starting the Moody Blues into prominance I reject that notion.
The 1967 Days of Future Past is one of my favorite albums of the period and slept till 1972 when Nights in White Satin became a huge hit.

To me the opening poem and ending poem from that album helped to start me writing poetry and songs. 

Cold hearted orb that rules the night,
Removes the colours from our sight,
Red is gray and yellow white,
But we decide which is right.
And which is an illusion?
Pinprick holes in a colourless sky,
Let insipid figures of light pass by,
The mighty light of ten thousand suns,
Challenges infinity and is soon gone.
Night time, to some a brief interlude,
To others the fear of solitude.
Brave Helios wake up your steads,
Bring the warmth the countryside needs.



Breathe deep the gathering gloom,
Watch lights fade from every room.
Bedsitter people look back and lament,
Another day's useless energy spent.
Impassioned lovers wrestle as one,
Lonely man cries for love and has none.
New mother picks up and suckles her son,
Senior citizens wish they were young.
Cold hearted orb that rules the night,
Removes the colours from our sight.
Red is grey and yellow white.
But we decide which is right.
And which is an illusion???.

© Justin Hayward and Graeme Edge

At any rate really enjoying the interchange here. Has been sometime since I have had a chance to talk about what used to be my first love and that is music. It took second seat to my lovely wife of 35 years ago and now 3rd to my grandchildren.


Regards, 
Robert Hullender

As "lucy in the sky with diamonds" by the Beatles was inspired by an "acid trip" LSD for those not old enough to remember or know,
So was this tune that has been part of my repertoire on keyboards since I first heard it in 1967.

I also used it as the background for one of my early poems when I  posted my first webpages.

http://daldoggy.home.att.net/whatis.html

Needless to say the song is a classic. 

Try explaining these lyrics from "Blinded by the light" by Bruce Springsteen but better known as recorded by Manfred Mann

Madman drummers bummers and Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder feelin' kinda older I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasing sneezing and wheezing the calliope crashed to the ground
Some all-hot half-shot was headin' for the hot spot snappin' his fingers clappin' his hands
And some fleshpot mascot was tied into a lover's knot with a whatnot in her hand
And now young Scott with a slingshot finally found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sand
And some bloodshot forget-me-not whispers daddy's within earshot save the buckshot turn up the band

And she was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tight, but she'll make it alright

Some brimstone baritone anti-cyclone rolling stone preacher from the east
He says: "Dethrone the dictaphone, hit it in its funny bone, that's where they expect it least"
And some new-mown chaperone was standin' in the corner all alone watchin' the young girls dance
And some fresh-sown moonstone was messin' with his frozen zone to remind him of the feeling of romance

Yeah he was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
He got down but she never got tight, but he's gonna make it tonight

Some silicone sister with her manager's mister told me I got what it takes
She said I'll turn you on sonny, to something strong if you play that song with the funky break,
And go-cart Mozart was checkin' out the weather chart to see if it was safe to go outside
And little Early-Pearly came in by her curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride,
Oh, some hazard from Harvard was skunked on beer playin' backyard bombardier
Yes and Scotland Yard was trying hard, they sent a dude with a calling card,
he said, do what you like, but don't do it here
Well I jumped up, turnedaround, spit in the air, fell on the ground
Asked him which was the way back home
He said take a right at the light, keep goin' straight until night, and then boy, you're on your own

And now in Zanzibar a shootin' star was ridin' in a side car hummin' a lunar tune
Yes, and the avatar said blow the bar but first remove the cookie jar we're gonna teach those boys to laugh too soon

And some kidnapped handicap was complainin' that he caught the clap from some mousetrap he bought last night,

Well I unsnapped his skull cap and between his ears I saw
a gap but figured he'd be all right

He was just blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun
Oh but mama that's where the fun is
 
Copyright © Bruce Springsteen (ASCAP) 

Enjoy,
Robert 

Hi Dianne.

turned cartwheels 'cross the floor possibly dancing?

Yes definitely dancing!

The room was humming harder music getting louder, drink getting too you?
as the ceiling flew away again, drinks, room spins, etc

I never knew what these lines meant but your take makes sense. Very poetic lines I think.

as the miller told his tale one could def wonder if this wasnt a literal comment ie: the beer was talking at this point

Again a great observation. Is he actually naming Miller beer? I've found that many English bands use slang or other vocabulary specific to England that we in the states wouldn't neccessarily understand. Also, I was thinking that Miller wouldn't be a popular beer in England, at least not so much as in the U.S. But on reading that line again it may well be he just means Miller beer. It would certainly fit. 


But I wandered through my playing cards yep, he's a player

These lines now bring to mind Madam Sosostris' deck of tarot cards in The Waste Land. I've been researchng that poem too much I think. 

and would not let her be
one of sixteen vestal virgins

These lines were always unclear and cryptic to me over the years. Mostly because I had no idea what a vestal virgin was. Though in context in the song it was clear this conveyed sexual overtone. 

James

Thanks, James... and Diane, for the discussion.

The song came out during the years when I was huddled in a total cocoon, so I had never even heard or heard of it.  I've now listened to a dozen versions of it, and it's absolutely mesmerizing!  

Here is the most 'mature' version I've found on You-Tube: A Whiter Shade of Pale.  The ambiguity of the lyrics and the haunting and beautiful music are obviously two major reasons that this is rated #57 among the best 500 by Rolling Stone, wouldn't ya say?

deLighting in learning, Daniel  

P.S.  ... and isn't it interesting that the song is in today's news?!

I always thought this was about a guy and his girlfriend at a bar. That she actually drank too much and/or was hiding her desire to leave the relationship by getting drunk. 

as the miller told his tale

I always thought that line was 'as the mirror told his tale'. As if she was looking in the mirror and her love for him drained from her face leaving her a whiter shade of pale. Most of the lines seemed rather cryptic to me all these years. 

And no right or wrong Dianne. I am just looking for honest impressions. I read through some of the comments at the site you posted. Interesting that many referrenced Chaucer as the inspiration for the miller. 

I'll wait to see if anyone else comments before posting a link with an interview of the song writers. I think you have already read it. 

James

Hi Diane. 

I was looking more for your own interpretation.  I've had my own ideas on this song for the last 35 years and I did a little research online about where the song came from and what the writers meant. 
I like to get first impressions from other poets as to what a piece means. It helps clarify how to construct metaphors in my own work. 


James