in common with the folk music theme of the "tiger bay" album, "pale movie" combines a eurodance beat with spanish folk-style guitars. the lyrics use surreal imagery to describe a man's love for a mysterious woman. although the title is not sung, some of the words refer to cinema: "in the bed where they make love / she's in a film on the sheets. / he shows dreams like a movie, / she's the softness of cinema seats." other lines are stranger: "her skin as white as the milk, / just like a sherpa tenzing / under a manila silk."