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The most mournful melody?

#292
bholder said:
I've been listening to that tune and loving it for over 50 years now, and still haven't a !$#%ing clue what it's supposed to be about... :D
Click to expand...

As you probably know is that "A Whiter Shade of Pale" is almost a note-for-note reworking of J.S. Bach's cantata, "Sleepers Awake". All it is really is a descending C-minor scale with an turnaround to the fifth, i.e., "G".

Some of the words refer to "The Canterbury Tales" b Geoffrey Chaucer. The "tales" recount a journey of pilgrims to the cathedral at Canterbury. To make the time pass as they travel, each member of the entourage tells a story. Each of the stories is named for the profession of the storyteller. So when Keith Reid's lyric states "...as the Miller told his tale..." He's referring to The Miller's Tale. The Canterbury Tales are are a great entertaining read. Admittedly, the book is written in Middle English, it was written in the late 14th century. Don't be put off by that. Most volumes have copious footnotes that clarify the language for contemporary readers. Give it a try, you will be rewarded.

stevieg
bholder said:
I've been listening to that tune and loving it for over 50 years now, and still haven't a !$#%ing clue what it's supposed to be about... :D
Click to expand...
 
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#293
stevieg said:
As you probably know is that "A Whiter Shade of Pale" is almost a note-for-note reworking of J.S. Bach's cantata, "Sleepers Awake". All it is really is a descending C-minor scale with an turnaround to the fifth, i.e., "G".

Some of the words refer to "The Canterbury Tales" b Geoffrey Chaucer. The "tales" recount a journey of pilgrims to the cathedral at Canterbury. To make the time pass as they travel, each member of the entourage tells a story. Each of the stories is named for the profession of the storyteller. So when Keith Reid's lyric states "...as the Miller told his tale..." He's referring to The Miller's Tale. The Canterbury Tales are are a great entertaining read. Admittedly, the book is written in Middle English, it was written in the late 14th century. Don't be put off by that. Most volumes have copious footnotes that clarify the language for contemporary readers. Give it a try, you will be rewarded.

stevieg
Click to expand...
I tried when I was just a kid and stalled out, should give it another go. :)
 
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#294
The Canterbury Tales are are a great entertaining read. Admittedly, the book is written in Middle English, it was written in the late 14th century. Don't be put off by that. Most volumes have copious footnotes that clarify the language for contemporary readers. Give it a try, you will be rewarded.

stevieg
Click to expand...
I'm waiting for the movie.
:)

"The Miller's Tale" makes an appearance in an episode of The Big Band Theory...while playing Truth Or Dare, Amy takes the dare & tells the dirtiest story she knows.
 
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