“We Skipped the Light Fandango” – Meaning Explained

Sometimes, when a song is very famous, we just go about the lyrics without thinking too much about it. Other times, we just get curious.

Have you ever listened to “The Whiter Shade of Pale”, and wondered what “We Skipped the Light Fandango” means? Let’s dig in and find out.

What Does “We Skipped the Light Fandango” Mean?

“We Skip“We Skipped the Light Fandango” means either a sloppy fast dance at a party or a s*xual intercourse that took place unexpectedly, skipping the formalities that usually precede it. The song by Procol Harum indicates whatever the activity was, the subjects were dr*nk and things got crazy very fast.

we skipped the light fandango meaning

Here are the exact opening lines to the lyrics of the song:

  • “We skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels ‘cross the floor” (lyrics from A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum)

“Fandango” is a Spanish genre of music, that usually follows a rhythm. To say “We Skipped the Light Fandango” means that the nice rhythm expected to the music was skipped, indicating it became a fast, possibly disorganized activity like someone dancing or jumping for joy.

The part that says “Turned Cartwheels ‘Cross the Floor” corroborates that because it’s another way to indicate that a messy, happy, and likely unexpected activity was taking place.

Considering this is poetry (albeit likely hallucinogenic dr*g-generated poetry), it’s difficult to pinpoint a single meaning for the words. Still, most people seem to agree that the message the song conveys is either about a messy dance or an unexpected, quick s*exual encounter at a party.

The Song “The Whiter Shade of Pale”

“The Whiter Shade of Pale” is a famous song by the band Procol Harum. It debuted in 1967, and soon after became number 1 on the UK music charts, staying there for many weeks. It’s considered one of the most successful singles in UK history and has received many awards.

How Popular Is the “We Skipped the Light Fandango”?

How popular is the phrase “We Skipped the Light Fandango”? Considering how famous the song that contains it is, we sort of guess what the answer to this question will be.

Let’s take a look at the graph from Google Ngram Viewer below, to see how popular this phrase is.

we skipped the light fandango usage

There are a few interesting things in the graph. The phrase “We Skipped the Light Fandango” initially became popular around the time the song “The Whiter Shade of Pale” came out.

However, the song is from 1967 and the phrase was already trending into popularity around 1965. It indicates that the phrase was already known when the song came out.

Also, it leads us to believe that the phrase’s meaning and what the music was about were understood when the music was launched.

Then, after the 2000s, the phrase “We Skipped the Light Fandango” saw quite a revival. It started to be even more popular on the Internet than it was when the song was originally released.

Maybe the song itself had a revival and the phrase just jumped on the same wagon. Maybe it’s because the Internet has the power to make things go viral. What do you think happened, that the phrase has such a come back after so long?

We Skipped the Light Fandango – Synonyms

There are many ways to convey the same meaning as the phrase “We Skipped the Light Fandango”. If what you mean to say is that someone danced freely and happily, those are some examples of synonyms you can use:

  • Danced around
  • Danced joyfully
  • Moved freely
  • Had a good time
  • Enjoyed the night

However, if what you mean is the quick, unexpected dr*unk s*xual encounter many people believe the song is about, here are some synonyms that would do the trick in expressing the same message:

  • One Night Stand
  • A Hook-up
  • They spoke romantically
  • They flirted
  • A one-nighter

Final Thoughts

“We Skipped the Light Fandango” is a line from a famous song that means either that two people were dancing and having fun without a care or they had a one-night stand, an unexpected s*xual encounter that skipped any formalities. In any case, the people involved were dr*unk.