Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody Meaning
Song Released: 1975
Covered By: Panic! At The Disco (2016), Pentatonix (2017)
Bohemian Rhapsody Lyrics
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy
Because I'm easy come, easy go
Little high, little low
Any way...
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Bohemian Grove? Perhaps he was part of an elite? Anonymous
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Believe whatever you want, I'm just pretty sure Freddy put together a bunch of words together that rhyme, and made then interesting to listen to.
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You can read some highly interesting and intelligent interpretations of this unique song at http://www.mercury-and-queen.com/bohemianrhapsody.htm The author connects it with the painful and tragic events in Freddie Mercury's life.
All I would like to say is that Bohemian Rhapsody has AS WELL (- because it is just ONE facette of many which 'create' the song) a deep symbolic meaning not visible for everyone... -
It's about a person who has some kind of mental illness going on. He wonders if the life he lives is real or somekind of a dream. He has also killed somebody during his illness and he has to explain it to his mother, because he loves and remembers her, illness or no. Then he wishes he was never born at all and sees an angel or something (Silhouette of a man) wich tells he that he must die and a devil is after him. Then he shouts to the vision of angel: "Show you think you can stop me and spit in my eye" and then to God himself: "So you think you can love me and leave me to die". Then he commits a suicide, because nothing really matters.
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Okay, I always thought this was about a young man drafted to be in the Vietnam War. Here goes my explanation:
Is this the real life-
Is this just fantasy-
Caught in a landslide-
No escape from reality-
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see-
I’m just a poor boy,i need no sympathy-
Because I’m easy come,easy go,
A little high,little low,
Anyway the wind blows,doesn’t really matter to me,
To me
This first section might be about the thoughts he is having on the way over to Vietnam, a sort of resignation to the fact that he's on his way and there's nothing he can do about it now.
Mama,just killed a man,
Put a gun against his head,
Pulled my trigger,now he’s dead,
Mama,life had just begun,
But now I’ve gone and thrown it all away-
Mama ooo,
Didn’t mean to make you cry-
If I’m not back again this time tomorrow-
Carry on,carry on,as if nothing really matters-
This section might be about the fact that he's killed someone during his first few weeks in the war and he hates himself for it. He's writing a letter to his mother describing his feelings.
Too late,my time has come,
Sends shivers down my spine-
Body’s aching all the time,
Goodbye everybody-I’ve got to go-
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth-
Mama ooo- (any way the wind blows)
I don’t want to die,
I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all-
I don't know if it's somewhat out of order, but he could be talking about saying goodbye to everyone as he leaves for the war.
I see a little silhouetto of a man,
Scaramouche,scaramouche will you do the fandango-
Thunderbolt and lightning-very very frightening me-
This is where a battle breaks out...
Galileo,galileo,
Galileo galileo
Galileo figaro-magnifico-
But I’m just a poor boy and nobody loves me-
He’s just a poor boy from a poor family-
Spare him his life from this monstrosity-
Easy come easy go-,will you let me go-
Bismillah! no-,we will not let you go-let him go-
Bismillah! we will not let you go-let him go
Bismillah! we will not let you go-let me go
Will not let you go-let me go
Will not let you go let me go
No,no,no,no,no,no,no-
Mama mia,mama mia,mama mia let me go-
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me,for me,for me-
Here he is captured by the enemy and pleads for his life. But they will not let him go. Either that or he is pleading to be sent home.
So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye-
So you think you can love me and leave me to die-
Oh baby-can’t do this to me baby-
Just gotta get out-just gotta get right outta here-
This is after he returns home. The American people literally stone him and spit on him.
Nothing really matters,
Anyone can see,
Nothing really matters-,nothing really matters to me,
Any way the wind blows....
Again, he resigns to the fact that this is life and he had no control over anything that happened to him, however it may have affected him.
Just my opinion... and it goes along with "Another One Bites the Dust" -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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I am a writer. No, I don't write songs, but I have written a novel and several short stories. I just want to say that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar! Many times in my own writing I use a phrase or a metaphor because I like the way it sounds, or because it paints the picture that I am trying to get across to my readers. There is no secret meaning, no deeper message.
During the Renaissance, educated people enjoyed intellectual puzzles and games very much. They often hid clues in their writing, painting, etc., and those smart enough to follow these clues were rewarded with hidden stories, instructions, or even jokes. Those in the know completely understood this practice and could find the hidden meaning with little trouble. The rest of the world could still enjoy the works for their face value, so it worked out well for everyone (although I think the artists probably looked down on people who didn't 'get it', and had a few laughs at their expense). I am sure that there are more than a few authors today whose stories are chock full of hidden meanings, but some writers just want to tell a story. Read Alice in Wonderland or The Wizard of Oz, and then look up all of the interpretations that those two books have generated. There are entire courses devoted to exploring what these books are really about. For crying out loud, why do they have to be about anything? Why can't they just be a couple of really great books? They tear them apart and suggest that the authors were actually commenting on politics and religion and sociology, and God knows what else. Bullshit. They were telling a freaking story. Period. Of course every single writer is affected by what is going on in the world around them, and it is reflected in their stories. But unless you live in a country like China or Cuba where you can be jailed or even killed for writing certain things, why on Earth would you waste your time and energy hiding the true meaning of your story in a bunch of ambiguous and confusing metaphors?
It makes about as much sense as those people who supposedly communicate with the dead. The dead people apparently cannot communicate in any kind of straightforward manner when 'talking' to these people. I would think that a dead person who manages to find a way to communicate with a loved one would make sure that their message couldn't be misinterpreted. If it's important enough that they have to tell it from beyond the grave they should just say "Hey, Joe, it's me, Grandpa. I left ten thousand dollars buried in the garage. Northwest corner, two feet down. Oh, and I am pissed at Grandma for remarrying so soon after my death. Oh, yeah, and death is like this: When you die you feel_____ and you go ______ and you see________. Don't do _______ while you're alive because ________________ happens when you die if you do. Take care, Grandpa. But NOOOO, instead they manage to get to the studio where John Edwards is and they can't even tell him who they're there to see. They can't manage to tell him their own name! They don't seem to want to discuss the afterlife at all, instead they want to give a vague reference to a family joke, or say that whenever the cat meows three times in a row it's because they are messing with the cat, who can see ghosts. Yeah, that makes much more sense. Hidden meanings, nonsensical words, indirect references that no one understands, that is a much better way to communicate from the grave.
But I digress. Back to the song. Do I think that this song is based on a real story? No. But it does tell a story. A young man killed a man. He threw away his whole life in that one reckless moment. He begs for forgiveness and mercy, but it is not to be. He knows he is going to die and he strives to accept his fate. In the end he is even defiant to some extent. Some of the words are used because they rhyme. Period. Other words are used to tell a beautiful, tragic tale. He is painting a picture with these words, as any great storyteller does. He uses his amazing musical ability to tell this tale as well. He was a musical genius and was experimenting with rock opera. A musician is a lot like a painter. The more layers of paint, the more colors, and the more brush strokes they use the more complex and exciting the finished piece will be. Freddie Mercury blended many different styles (layers) to create this song. These lyrics, along with the innovative music was like nothing ever done before in the rock world. I don't think it had anything to do with being bisexual or gay. It definitely wasn't about having AIDS, as AIDS had yet to rear its ugly head when this song came out. The great thing about music is that it is so personal. You can listen to a song and make it about whatever you want it to be about. For one person it could be a cautionary tale about committing a crime of passion and paying the price for that moment of unbridled emotion. For another it could be a coming of age tale about dealing with your sexuality and the implications of coming out. For yet another it could just be a song with a good beat. It doesn't matter what the author meant when he wrote the words, what truly matters is the listener's perspective. Some people don't even listen to the lyrics. To them, it is all about the music. To others, the music is completely superfluous, the lyrics are the only thing they care about.
This is one of the best rock songs of all time. No matter what Freddie was thinking about when he wrote it, he ended up creating a fucking musical masterpiece that people will still be listening to a hundred years from now. Some of the new artists that are out there now are a flash in the pan, and their music will get the attention it deserves. Fifty years from now Fergie's London Bridge will thankfully be forgotten (up or down), and Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson will be roommates in a home for criminally untalented divas. But Freddy Mercury will still be a God, and Bohemian Rhapsody will still be playing (on the microchips implanted in our frontal lobes)!
SORRY for such a LOOONNNNG submission, but I'm a bit loquacious tonight. If you don't like it, don't read it, 'kay?
Tat -
I'm not positive, but I've heard that this is just random gibberish. It was supposed to be a parody of rock opera songs; those really long songs with many different parts in it.
I think Bohemian is a Russian language or something(not positive, just what I've heard)hence the odd language in the middle of the song. Rhapsody, I believe, means something that has no real form or reason.
It was supposed to be a mock of the rock opera songs, I think, and so each part is completely different. Many of Queen's song were random, and this one wasn't much of an exception. -
"This song is about freddy mercury strugging with his bisexuality or just being gay"
Well done anonymous, spot on.
His family was also deeply muslim, so he could not get the acceptance of his family. Bismillah is arabic, another muslim reference.
And no one knew about aids in 1975, when bohemian rhapsody appeared on the night at the opera album.
In any case, an all time classic. -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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The beginning explains how he feels after he committed the murder. He's a good person but for whatever reason, he killed someone. He then goes to his mom to explain what happened before he takes it on the lam. He is eventually caught, goes to trial, and convicted. He's pissed off in the end because he was truly sorry for what he did and yet they convicted him anyway because he's a "poor boy from a poor family."
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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I think, he was someone who went to war (I dunno wich one)
but, he may killed an enemy and keep felling really sorry....It's only an idea -
Weiners!!! Aids hadn't even been invented yet back in the mid 70's when this song came out. That's right, queen didn't record it especially for Wayne's World, and Nirvana didn't invent rock 'n roll.
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