“Our Prayer” by the Beach Boys from SMiLE Sessions
This wordless, one-minute song resembles choir music in its orchestration and its harmonic choices. The Canterbury Tales was written during the late 1300s, a time during which Catholicism was the hegemon of European religion. Choir music like that would have been the predominant music of that era. This song seems to be a modern adaption that captures much of the religious significance of music from the book’s setting.
“The Fairy-Feller’s Master Stroke” by Queen from Queen II
A song I’ve known for quite a while, and I think it applies in two ways to the story. The song itself refers to many medieval characters in a fantastic sort of world, including “arch-magicians” and “Queen Mab.” The lyrics include a whole set of numerous characters, much inspired by the Middle Ages. The references to magic partially manifest themselves in the character “Nicholas,” an astrologer from the Miller’s Tale supposedly able to calculate weather patterns. Also, the introduction of a panoply of characters in the Prologue of the novel resembles the way in which this Queen song dissects the actors’ looks and actions within its own plot. For example, one of the lines in the Canterbury Tales goes like “The Miller was a chap of sixteen stone,/ A great stout fellow big in brawn and bone.” (pg. 17) In fact, due to the novel’s articulation almost-entirely in verse, many of the lines of the novel could even fit into “The Fairy-Feller’s Master Stroke.”
“Father to Son” by Queen from Queen II
This Queen song is about the passage of strength and power from generation to generation. It alludes towards the medieval period in its reference to chivalry and to heraldry as being key aspects of success and honour. The Knight of the Canterbury Tales is most symbolic of the true honour and respect of the Middle Ages. He garners the respect of essentially all of the pilgrims in the inn because of his old age, his great amounts of experience, and his high social stature in general.
“Funny How Love Is” by Queen from Queen II
Another song from the same album, I decided to choose this song because of how the lyrics speak of love being everywhere, but the love being described in the lyrics isn’t quite what one would expect. Lines like “tomorrow brings love in the shape of things” seem to contradict the generally accepted message of love, and other line being “funny how love came tumbling down with Adam and Eve” being a rather dark religious reference to sin removing man from paradise. The Wife of Bath’s Prologue is narrated by the titular character of that section, who married five times in her life so far. To her, love wasn’t really a thing of devotion or of fidelity, and instead she doesn’t understand why it is seen by society and even Jesus as an immoral and debauched lifestyle, undermining the true conception of love for ulterior motivations. “In marrying me, suppose my husband dead;/ There’s nothing bigamous in such a bed.” (pg 260)
“Liar” by Queen from Queen I
The Tale of the Monk was a nihilistic one of the failures of men throughout history. It includes the likes of Nero (a cruel Roman Emperor), Zenobia (a Palmyrene Queen who betrayed her late husband’s allegiance), Adam (who took a bite from the forbidden fruit), and even Lucifer the devil himself. The song “Liar” is written in a way that takes the perspective of a person, presumably an immoral person as well as a criminal, who pleas for forgiveness for his sins and failings. The chorus judging him shrieks out its doubts (“Liar!”) and ultimately it decides that they “never gonna let you in,” which perhaps implies damnation.
“My Fairy King” by Queen from Queen I
Similar to the song “Fairy-Feller’s Master Stroke” from the album Queen II, this song is very fantastical in its orchestration. The lyrics of this piece, however, are more religious-based and in fact resemble the ideas of “Liar” more than anything else. References to Heaven and Hell, as well as scores of other biblical references, making this song deeply allegorical. The Pardoner’s Tale deals with many of these ideas, as he wishes to advise all towards following the path of God, and not that of sin. He takes much a while in describing the possible sins of man, and how one should wrongly enjoy this life instead of the next. The song is themed around a once-prosperous land ruled by the “Fairy King” being ruined by the descent of evil terrors upon the land. Such a theme could be symbolic of sin destroying the virtues upheld and beloved by God.
“Breakfast in America” by Supertramp from Breakfast in America
The ideas of immoral indulgence and wrongdoing are expressed both in this Supertramp album, as well as by the novel the Canterbury Tales in general. Often, it is the religious characters in the novel who are seen as immoral and corrupt. The song “Breakfast in America” takes shots at commercialisation and greed among, in this case, America. While the song and album are less heavy-hearted than this novel in terms of literal references, a comparison certainly still can be made. Often times, it was the immoral members of the clergy who were telling the moral lessons in the inn to the other characters.
“Heroes and Villains” by the Beach Boys from SMiLE Sessions
This musical epic written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks follows the journey of the narrator between the adversities and conflicts of the heroes and villains of life. The Canterbury Tales as a whole might be seen as the collection of many tales of good and bad. All of the tales recited by the characters in the book are of moral note, in trying to highlight the good and the bad. Whether it be the priest trying to convey the wickedness of historical people or the knight explaining the valour of the Greek hero Theseus, many tales are included that each serve a purpose in highlighting good and bad character. Interesting to the story, often times the narrator of the story seems to contradict their lessons. The miller, an unruly and uncouth ruffian, manages to read aloud a strikingly poetic tale that seems out of character. Similarly, the pardoner of the Church reads a tale denouncing vices he exhibited. He even declares this himself, in the line “And thus I preach against the very vice/ I make my living out of - avarice.” (pg. 243)
“Scarborough Fair” by Simon and Garfunkel from Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme
“Scarborough Fair” by the 20th century duo of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel is based off of an eponymous melody dating back to the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages, there was a massive fair held during the summer each year in the English city of Scarborough, situated upon the coastal edge of Eastern England, up north in Yorkshire. Many people from across England and Europe would come to this fair for the festivities. I believe that this relates to the Canterbury Tales, in how a wide variety of people meet at a single event. In the case of the characters in the novel, they all are pilgrims from across England going to the city of Canterbury in Kent (southeastern England) to see the remains of the martyr Thomas Becket. While staying in the inn before going to see the remains, they all decide to relax and to tell each other stories and tales about an assortment of topics.
“Life on Mars?” by David Bowie from Hunky Dory
In “Life on Mars,” a little girl tries to comfort herself from her own life’s problems by enjoying a movie, but instead it only leads to her questioning society even more. Detailing the social problems of this century, David Bowie’s lyrics and motivations for writing may just be similar to those of Chaucer. During Chaucer’s lifetime, terrible events had occurred throughout Europe, such as the Black Death and much of the Hundred Years’ War. At the same time, however, light was starting to appear from the other side of the tunnel. By then, Petrarch had already left his mark on the world, and his inspiration would lead to the creation of humanism, the engine that power the discoveries and intellectual revivals of the Renaissance. Much how Bowie made social critiques in his novel, so to did Chaucer: returning to the pardoner’s story, Chaucer was making a social commentary about corruption in the Church when he described the Pardoner as being adorned immorally whilst speaking about the opposite. The Shipman’s Tale is about a monk who cheats upon his good friend’s wife. Overall, Chaucer meant for his anecdotes of folklore to describe tales of morality and righteousness; what makes the Canterbury Tales different is in how its meanings are conveyed, which goes far beyond face value and into a symbolic commentary about life in the Middle Ages.
Compilation Selected and Written by Brent Nevy