Homburg

Album

Single

Label

A&M Records

Genre

Baroque pop

Composer(s)

Gary Brooker;Keith Reid

Entered Chart

Oct 28, 1967

Peak Date

Nov 18, 1967

Released

22 September 1967

Recorded

Summer 1967

Catalog #

A&M 885

B-Side

Good Captain Clack

The words to this song were written by lyricist Keith Reid and the music by lead singer Gary Brooker. In a radio interview with DJ Harry Harrison, Brooker said the words came from Reid's experiences and only he knows what they mean. However he didn't think they meant anything literally. Instead if you take each line the way the words are used, they create little feelings, little moods. (courtesy: procolharum.com) The Homburg is an elegant black felt hat manufactured at Bad Homburg, Germany. The British version was introduced in the late 19th century by the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII of England, who first came across it when he went to Germany for the spa. In the late 1930s during the run up to the Second World War, the British foreign minister Anthony Eden became renowned for wearing the Homburg. This was the follow up to Procol Harum's most famous hit, "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." (For much more Procol, check out our interviews with lyricist Keith Reid and lead singer Gary Brooker.)

Your multilingual business friend
Has packed her bags and fled
Leaving only ash-filled ashtrays
And the lipsticked unmade bed
The mirror on reflection
Has climbed back upon the wall
For the floor she found descended
And the ceiling was too tall

Your trouser cuffs are dirty
And your shoes are laced up wrong
You'd better take off your homburg
'Cause your overcoat is too long

The town clock in the market square
Stands waiting for the hour
When its hands they both turn backwards
And on meeting will devour
Both themselves and also any fool
Who dares to tell the time
And the sun and moon will shatter
And the signposts cease to sign

Your trouser cuffs are dirty
And your shoes are laced up wrong
You'd better take off your homburg
'Cause your overcoat is too long

Your trouser cuffs are dirty
And your shoes are laced up wrong
You'd better take off your homburg
'Cause your overcoat is too long

Oh, your trouser cuffs are dirty
And your shoes are laced up wrong
You'd better take off your Homburg
'Cause your overcoat is too long

Your trouser cuffs are dirty
Writer/s: GARY BROOKER, KEIT