This song from Procol Harum’s first album has a funny (to me anyway), ironic classical quote that puts the lyrics in perspective. At 1:39 and 3:04 you get a snippet from the Prince Of Denmark march commonly played at weddings. To me clearly indicates the lyrics are about a love affair or marriage gone wrong.
On a related note, many people think the organ melody from “Whiter Shade of Pale” was lifted from Bach. It wasn’t. Underlying chord progression similar to “Air” from Orchestral Suite #3, but just the chords, not the melody. Organist Matthew Fisher finally won 40% of songwriting royalties for it in 2006.
By the way, I was thinking more about that dumb “Aeolian Cadences” review. I think it was a matter of validating the Beatles to snobs. I think many people who were 30+ in the early 60’s and listened mostly to classical, jazz, swing or show tunes, found themselves liking the Beatles, and some were a little embarrassed about it. Both my parents told me that the Beatles were the first rock music they ever liked. The more snobbish and insecure of such people needed a fellow snob to tell them it was all ok. But he really didn’t have to go make shit up.