# "A Whiter Shade of Pale" has \*four\* verses **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 24, 2017, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-whiter-shade-of-pale-has-four-verses/782889 "2017-03-24T04:52:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-whiter-shade-of-pale-has-four-verses/782889/1 "2017-03-24T04:52:15Z")
Procol Harum’s [A Whiter Shade of Pale](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb3iPP-tHdA) is one of my favorite songs. I particularly like the lyrics, and I just found out that the common recording only plays two of the four verses. The full set of verses are [here](http://www.procolharum.com/w/w9901.htm). It was their debut song and their only hit. Whaddya know? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-whiter-shade-of-pale-has-four-verses/782889/2 "2017-03-24T04:54:48Z")
I know that only a foreign agent will know all four verses. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-whiter-shade-of-pale-has-four-verses/782889/3 "2017-03-24T05:03:18Z")
There are _five_ verses. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-whiter-shade-of-pale-has-four-verses/782889/4 "2017-03-24T05:57:40Z")
When that song came out, playing it was a sure-fire way to get laid. I think by the third verse, I wasn’t paying attention to the song anymore. EDIT: I had to wait for the '70s, but it still worked even then. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-whiter-shade-of-pale-has-four-verses/782889/5 "2017-03-24T15:09:11Z")
I’m pretty sure that the mushrooms in 10th Kingdom only sang one verse. I remember watching that and thinking, that song was made to be sung by swamp dwelling hallucinogenic mushrooms. ---
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-whiter-shade-of-pale-has-four-verses/782889/6 "2017-03-24T15:42:38Z")
> [@Sefton](#): > > It was their debut song and their only hit. Whaddya know? How could you not be aware of THIS?!: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Cfzg3\_WhLM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Cfzg3_WhLM) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-whiter-shade-of-pale-has-four-verses/782889/7 "2017-03-24T15:55:16Z")
So if they wrote 2 more verses, but never use them, are they really there? Having never seen them in concert (where they apparently sometimes did the third verse but not the fourth) effectively, the song has only two verses. Even the HSAS cover only uses the primary two verses. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-whiter-shade-of-pale-has-four-verses/782889/8 "2017-03-24T16:25:00Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > So if they wrote 2 more verses, but never use them, are they really there? Having never seen them in concert (where they apparently sometimes did the third verse but not the fourth) effectively, the song has only two verses. The third verse was in the published sheet music, so it was presumably copyrighted along with the two recorded verses. The fourth verse only came to light many years later. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-whiter-shade-of-pale-has-four-verses/782889/9 "2017-03-24T17:25:37Z")
[I prefer the Muppet Show theme version.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqbFyJJW_As)