It's the story told by a Miller making fun of carpenters. Keep in mind he is VERY drunk when he tells his tale. The carpenter has a young wife and has two young students renting a room with him. They both adore his wife. One day one of the students seduces the wife. They have sex. (while the carpenter is away on a job)The other student sings, and tries to seduce the wife but he fails. Longing for more than a quickie the student and the wife (who apparently enjoys the company of the student) decide to trick the carpenter so that they can have more sex. They create a lie. They tell him that another biblical flood is coming and get him to build tubs on the roof of the building for them to ride out the storm in. The student sneaks down with the wife. They have sex in the carpenter's bed.Now for the punch line if you will of the story. Thinking the carpenter is away the other student tries to seduce her by singing again.. he looks in the window and tells her he wants to kiss her. The wife, sticks her ass out the window, which the student kisses. When he realizes this he gets mad and goes to a blacksmith and grabs a hot piece of metal. He returns, the student decides to be the next one to stick his ass out the window. The second student burns his ass with the hot metal, which causes the student to scream. The carpenter hears this and falls out of the tub off the roof and onto the ground, and breaks his arm. That's how the story ends. (this is a paraphrasing of the story, I don't remember it all.. It's all written by Chaucer, so I am not intending to steal his story.. )
SO, back to the song, now that I bored everyone. The song is basically talking about making a fool of yourself in front of someone you want to have sex with or already are (which could lead to a break up)
The beginning part of the song is describing how they are dancing, drinking and having a good time..
The second part is after he has made a fool of him self.
And she said " there is no reason, the truth is plain to see"
So obviously she was embarrassed by his drunkeness (if you say they were together then this causes them to break up, but I personally think they weren't together at the start of the party..)
Then later when he is alone he's playing with his cards, and hoping that the lady wasn't a nun. This might be the source of the confusion and embarrassment.. IE the guy is drunk and hits on a nun.. So there is my take.. He should have realized she was a nun, but he was too drunk to realize.. so he was as embarrassed as the Miller after he was done telling his tale.. Moral of the story.. DON'T get drunk and hit on nuns.
(BTW as an aside Gary Booker heard someone at a party say.. "She turned a whiter shade of pale" which was partially inspiration for this song.. you can find out more about it by looking it up on Wikipedia. (same thing for the Millers Tale)
@PTCGAZ Rule #1 is: "It's ALWAYS about the money". Rule #2 USED to be: "Never forget Rule#1" BUT the NEW Rule #2 is: "Don't believe anything you hear (and only half of what you see)." I've been mishearing "Whiter Shade of Pale" since it was first recorded, never taking a look at the lyrics; now that I have, it's obviously about the sinking of the Titanic. Whether Reid misheard or misunderstood what his muse whispered in his ear, or he's having a little joke on his fans, I can not say. But it's definitely about the Titanic....
@PTCGAZ Rule #1 is: "It's ALWAYS about the money". Rule #2 USED to be: "Never forget Rule#1" BUT the NEW Rule #2 is: "Don't believe anything you hear (and only half of what you see)." I've been mishearing "Whiter Shade of Pale" since it was first recorded, never taking a look at the lyrics; now that I have, it's obviously about the sinking of the Titanic. Whether Reid misheard or misunderstood what his muse whispered in his ear, or he's having a little joke on his fans, I can not say. But it's definitely about the Titanic.
Alright, here is my take on this song.
The Miller's Tale By Chaucer.. a paraphrasing..
It's the story told by a Miller making fun of carpenters. Keep in mind he is VERY drunk when he tells his tale. The carpenter has a young wife and has two young students renting a room with him. They both adore his wife. One day one of the students seduces the wife. They have sex. (while the carpenter is away on a job)The other student sings, and tries to seduce the wife but he fails. Longing for more than a quickie the student and the wife (who apparently enjoys the company of the student) decide to trick the carpenter so that they can have more sex. They create a lie. They tell him that another biblical flood is coming and get him to build tubs on the roof of the building for them to ride out the storm in. The student sneaks down with the wife. They have sex in the carpenter's bed.Now for the punch line if you will of the story. Thinking the carpenter is away the other student tries to seduce her by singing again.. he looks in the window and tells her he wants to kiss her. The wife, sticks her ass out the window, which the student kisses. When he realizes this he gets mad and goes to a blacksmith and grabs a hot piece of metal. He returns, the student decides to be the next one to stick his ass out the window. The second student burns his ass with the hot metal, which causes the student to scream. The carpenter hears this and falls out of the tub off the roof and onto the ground, and breaks his arm. That's how the story ends. (this is a paraphrasing of the story, I don't remember it all.. It's all written by Chaucer, so I am not intending to steal his story.. ) SO, back to the song, now that I bored everyone. The song is basically talking about making a fool of yourself in front of someone you want to have sex with or already are (which could lead to a break up) The beginning part of the song is describing how they are dancing, drinking and having a good time..
The second part is after he has made a fool of him self. And she said " there is no reason, the truth is plain to see" So obviously she was embarrassed by his drunkeness (if you say they were together then this causes them to break up, but I personally think they weren't together at the start of the party..) Then later when he is alone he's playing with his cards, and hoping that the lady wasn't a nun. This might be the source of the confusion and embarrassment.. IE the guy is drunk and hits on a nun.. So there is my take.. He should have realized she was a nun, but he was too drunk to realize.. so he was as embarrassed as the Miller after he was done telling his tale.. Moral of the story.. DON'T get drunk and hit on nuns. (BTW as an aside Gary Booker heard someone at a party say.. "She turned a whiter shade of pale" which was partially inspiration for this song.. you can find out more about it by looking it up on Wikipedia. (same thing for the Millers Tale)
@PTCGAZ Way off of the point the song writer says he had in mind!
@PTCGAZ Way off of the point the song writer says he had in mind!
@PTCGAZ Rule #1 is: "It's ALWAYS about the money". Rule #2 USED to be: "Never forget Rule#1" BUT the NEW Rule #2 is: "Don't believe anything you hear (and only half of what you see)." I've been mishearing "Whiter Shade of Pale" since it was first recorded, never taking a look at the lyrics; now that I have, it's obviously about the sinking of the Titanic. Whether Reid misheard or misunderstood what his muse whispered in his ear, or he's having a little joke on his fans, I can not say. But it's definitely about the Titanic....
@PTCGAZ Rule #1 is: "It's ALWAYS about the money". Rule #2 USED to be: "Never forget Rule#1" BUT the NEW Rule #2 is: "Don't believe anything you hear (and only half of what you see)." I've been mishearing "Whiter Shade of Pale" since it was first recorded, never taking a look at the lyrics; now that I have, it's obviously about the sinking of the Titanic. Whether Reid misheard or misunderstood what his muse whispered in his ear, or he's having a little joke on his fans, I can not say. But it's definitely about the Titanic.