Are you telling me I should lay orff the puns? B, zay it ain’t so!
I read some time ago that Lennon had received a fan letter telling how one of the Beatles’ earlier songs had been analyzed in the fan’s class (symbolism and all). He found that hilarious and decided to write a song with the most absurd lyrics possible to give future analyzers some food for thought, and came up with “I Am The Walrus”. Sorry, no cite, can’t remember where I read it.
Way too late to edit, but Wiki confirms my memory about the writing of “I Am The Walrus”.
In the very interesting BBC documentary “Cracked Actor” from 1975, in one segment he explains and shows how he uses the cut-up technique to write songs.
ETA: Here’s the segment.
Here’s a scene from The Commitments (referenced upthread by Miss Mapp) that includes a discussion of the melody’s origin as well as the lyrics.
That’s an odd exchange, though, because AWSOP has nothing to do with Marvin Gaye. The character undoubtedly meant Percy Sledge: “When a Man Loves a Woman” came out a year before AWSOP and bears a clear resemblance, which Procol’s Gary Brooker acknowledges. Was the error intentional?
Later on, he makes the same mistake while in the confessional, and the priest gently corrects him. “It’s Percy Sledge… I have that particular album.”
Thank you! It’s been a *long *time since I saw the film.
This essay by The Commitments director Alan Parker explains the mistake (and the correction) … it’s a good read about A Whiter Shade of Pale.
I thought it was obvious it was about a guy whose date got drunk and sick at a party. If they then got high and had sex, well, it’s not like that never happened before, it being the 60s.
Okay, you’re all on my Liszt.
Well, you will agree that puns in threads are Pärt and Purcell of the SDMB experience…