The Ballad of Percival Gray

Title: The Ballad of Percival Gray Style: Baroque pop / chamber pop in the vein of mid-1960s British psychedelia — string-quartet-driven character balladry. Melancholic, restrained, intimate. Lead: a single wistful male voice, close-miked and gently double-tracked in the 60s manner, with soft three-part harmony back vocals answering the lead, varying between echoes, new counter-lines and wordless "ooh/ah" harmonies. Arrangement built on a legato string quartet (cellos carrying the countermelody), harpsichord, muted upright bass, brushed drums; a mournful cor anglais enters on the bridge and takes a short solo. Mid-slow tempo, around 88–92 BPM, 4/4. Warm analog/tape character, narrow stereo image, tasteful spring reverb. Verses stay hushed; harmonies build across repeated choruses; the final chorus shifts its inner lines toward colour and adds a full harmony choir before a swelling instrumental outro. Language: English. [Intro] [Instrumental: string quartet and harpsichord, 8 bars] [Verse 1] Percival Gray in a grey gabardine (grey... all grey...) Walks the same street where he's always been The colour ran out of him somewhere between The war and the wearing of years (so many years...) [Verse 2] He winds up a clock that has nothing to say (tick... tock...) He opens a shop where there's nothing on display He waves through a window — the curtains stay grey — And nobody buys, and nobody stays (no, nobody...) [Chorus] Percival Gray, oh, Percival Gray Does anybody dream in the colours you painted away? All of the world is a photograph fading to grey Percival, Percival Gray Percival Gray, oh, Percival Gray Does anybody dream in the colours you painted away? All of the world is a photograph fading to grey Percival, Percival Gray [Instrumental: harpsichord figure, 4 bars] [Verse 3] Once there was colour — a girl and a June, (a girl... and a June...) A summer dress and a bright afternoon — But colour's a candle that gutters too soon, And he snuffed it for fear of the flame (don't fear the flame...) [Chorus] Percival Gray, oh, Percival Gray (oh, Percival Gray) Does anybody dream in the colours you painted away? (painted away...) All of the world is a photograph fading to grey (slowly to grey...) Percival, Percival Gray Percival Gray, oh, Percival Gray (hear them call his name) Does anybody dream in the colours you painted away? (where did they go?) All of the world is a photograph fading to grey (fading to grey...) Percival, Percival Gray [Bridge] And the rain comes down like a widow's lace (ah... ah... ah...) On the empty square, on the empty face Of a man who's been waiting for something to break The grey, the grey, the grey (break the grey...) [Instrumental: cor anglais solo over strings, 4 bars] [Verse 4] So he sits by the sill as the evening turns blue (evening turns blue...) With a teaspoon of tea and a spoonful of rue, And he doesn't yet know that tomorrow's untrue: There's a stranger with balloons passing through (look, balloons...) [Chorus: with full harmony choir] Percival Gray, oh, Percival Gray (oh, Percival Gray) Does anybody dream in the colours you painted away? (painted away...) All of the world is a photograph fading to grey (fading... to grey...) Percival, Percival Gray Percival Gray, oh, Percival Gray (here comes the day) Does anybody dream in the colours he'll paint today? (painting the day...) Somebody's holding a ribbon of red through the grey (a ribbon of red...) Percival, Percival Gray [Outro] [Instrumental: strings swell] Percival Gray... (oh, Percival Gray...) Percival... Gray... (here comes the colour...) [Strings resolve and fade]