Thursday, October 20, 2011

Sorry to be late. . . . ;-)

I am wearing a bright purple t-shirt. . . .purple has more red than blue in the mix. "Lavender" has more bluish in the mix.

My cosmetological vocabulary is lacking in the subtle variations and details of color. Like. . .did you know 'poppy' red is much brighter than 'cranberry' red. . .? 'lime' green is quieter than lemon green which really borders on yellow.. ? ;) And seasonal pumpkin orange is duller than navel orange?

Procul Harum seemed to know there was "a whiter shade of pale".  An old old song. . ..by this UK group.

There is an O'Shea family legend which my dad and his brothers often enough have told over the years on certain State Occasions.  It seems that the organist at his granddad's parish church was a very clever lad who was oft-given to spontaneity. .  .ehyah. . .t'was so. so they say.
Often enough he'd surprise the folk awake enough to catch on with an inprovisation of a current popular tune.

One day while Father was walking up and down the aisle sprinkling the congregation with holy water. . .to  the semi-disguised song "Raindrops keep falling on my head. . . ." to the delight of thems what's awake enough to discern. . . .. LOL

Now back to my great-granddad. . . .a dapper gent was he, says dad and his bros.  Well one day Granddad Teddy up n' died.  Much loved in the town there was a grand turn-out for the funeral.  And grand it was.  The organist was at his finest. . . .As they were wheeling Old Teddy down the aisle  the clever lad up in the choir loft was improvising at his best. . . .only a few of "the bene addicti" were able to discern the original to today's funeral procession. . . 

Indeed, t'was Procul Harum's song  "A whiter shade of pale. . . . ."
hahhaaaaaa. . .[ Google the song for the lyrics]  "Hooteningly appropriate" says Dad, "for so he was."

Well now. . . not the end. . yet.  When Father heard the interpreted version of the Recessional he made the mistake of sending the clever lad packing.  So,  he just packed up his music and went away. . . The following Sunday he was tickling the organ keys and the congregation at the United Church of Christ  whose pastor recognized real talent when he heard it. . . . .and the legend carried on.

Great-grandson JustinO 

7 comments:

Gary Kelly said...

A wonderful story and typically Irish.

Jim said...

A character he must have been!

Richard said...

Justino, I think mayhaps you have the story a bit backwards. 'Twas Procol Harum who diddled with the classics when they released Whiter Shade of Pale. They stole the melody straight from Bach. Check it out.

JustinO'Shea said...

MY story is not backwards. I dont care where PH got the whiter shade. . .I was not writing about them.
My story was about the gay organist who did impromtus on songs. . . no matter whose.
I know what I wrote.
s'all. . . ;-)

J said...

This great song is reminiscent of several Bach compositions, most notably "Air on a G String". but does not directly copy them. It actually more closely resembles Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman". Always wondered about that line "One of 15 vestal virgins who were leaving for the coast." Sounded like a sorority beach trip.

Gary Kelly said...

Brings back mems of my old band days when we had a Hammond in the lineup, and a big Leslie rotating speaker that was a proper bastard to lug around from gig to gig... but what a sound! Santana used one to great effect... but they had roadies.

Check out Oye Como Va - and turn up the volume.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpPb2cVswlI

JustinO'Shea said...

J. . .some of the titles inspire suggestive thoughts. . . "Air on A G-String" . . .izzat when the jeans came off. . . ? 15 vestal virgins. . hard to find that many at the beach? . . .

And, yes, it doth sound like Percy sledging the keys "When a man lovvvves a woman. . . "