Procession (The Moody Blues song)

"Procession" is a 1971 song by The Moody Blues, and it is the opening track on their album Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. It is their only song to have been co-written by all five members of the band, and is their only song to be written in the unusual time signature of 1/1.

For the most part, "Procession" is an instrumental song, with the exception of its three spoken words: "desolation", "creation", and "communication". These words, as well as other words ending in "-ation" also appear on the album track "One More Time to Live."

"Procession" describes the history of music from the beginning of time up to the present. It begins with synthesized electronic sounds, which is then followed by the sound effects of wind, rain and thunder. This part represents "desolation" and "creation." At the end of this part, the piano (played by Mike Pinder) plays the notes E-G-B-D-F, which stands for the album's title Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, which is a phrase to help musicians remember the notes on the treble clef.

The song continues with the sound of prehistoric drums, and all of the band members (including Edge) chanting "Aum" in a prehistoric style. This represents the idea of "communication."

The song then goes on to describe different developments in music. This begins with a flute and sitar duet, played by Ray Thomas and Justin Hayward, respectively. This is followed by a flute and mellotron duet, played by Thomas and Mike Pinder, respectively. Pinder then plays a short harpsichord solo, and a synthesizer solo. The song then ends with an electric guitar and bass guitar duet, played by Hayward and John Lodge, respectively, which segues directly into the next track "The Story In Your Eyes"

Personnel

• Justin Hayward: electric guitar, sitar, vocals
• John Lodge: bass guitar, vocals
• Mike Pinder: mellotron, piano, synthesizer, Hammond organ, harpsichord, vocals
• Ray Thomas: flute, vocals
• Graeme Edge: drums, percussion, vocals