Date: 11/26/2021
Grade, Strand & Section: 11-HUMMS
SONG ANALYSIS (BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY)
I. Introduction
A. HOOK
If you were a musician, what genre of music would you like to perform? From 1970 to 1980, a rock
band hit the rock chart of the US and Britain, the "Queen" founded in 1970 by a singer-songwriter,
Freddie Mercury. For almost forty-four years, it has always been heard around the world by many of
us. This song remained controversial for its song's structure and hidden meaning. It can be neither an
acapella, a ballad, an opera, nor rock.
B. BACKGROUND OF THE SONG
In 1970, the rock band "Queen" was founded by its late singer Freddie Mercury. Its members were
Brian May on guitar, Roger Taylor on drums, and John Deacon on bass.
But it was initially founded by Brian May and Roger Taylor in 1968, with Tim Staffell as the vocalist.
Freddie was a great fan of the band so, when Tim Staffell left the group to join another band, they
thought of Freddie right there and then.
Their first onymous album was first released in 1973 which, contains ten tracks. Mercury composed
its five tracks. The first track is entitled “Keep Yourself Alive,” by Brian May, its guitarist. Its self-titled
album was a juvenile launch to Queen’s endowment for Mercury's intense vocals and May's theatrical
sound. By the year 1970, they first performed at the City Hall of the city of Truro. Year after, Mercury
designed its logo with zodiac signs representing each member's zodiac. In 1974, Queen appeared in
the Top of the Pops, their songs such as Seven Seas of Rhye, See What A Fool I’ve Been, Sheer
Heart Attack, Killer Queen, and Flick of the Wrist managed to enter the American lists. Queen have
recorded in excess of 165 plus songs featuring Freddie Mercury but not all have been released as
singles, most are on their various albums.
In 1975, Mercury wrote his controversial song “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a seven-minute rock operetta
published for the 1975 album, A Night at the Opera. It has been at the top of the list of the United
Kingdom, brought them international success, and granted Mercury the Ivor Novello Prize to him for
the second occasion. Entitled Bohemian Rhapsody because it portrays the life of a Bohemian whose
original meaning is an artist, while Rhapsody is a fantasy. After promoting their latest album, Queen
released A Day at the Races in 1976, a sequel to the previous one, and News of the World in 1977,
“We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” that has been used in various sporting events. By
1978, Jazz would appear, and in 1980 The Game. The following year, the band would make its first
tour in South America.
The most popular theory of their greatest song served as Mercury’s way of coming out as gay or
bisexual.
Freddie Mercury’s biographer Lesley-Ann Jones revealed the hidden meaning of its lyric as a form of
his confession that he was gay. Lesley-Ann Jones added that her theory was then confirmed by
Mercury’s lover Jim Hutton after the star’s death in November 1991. Mercury died in 1991 at age 45
due to complications from AIDS. He confirmed the day before his death that he had contracted the
disease, having been diagnosed in 1987. Mercury had continued to record with Queen following his
diagnosis, and he was posthumously featured on the band's final album, Made in Heaven (1995). In
1992, his tribute concert was held at Wembley Stadium.
Regardless of how it has been criticized, it remained the greatest song rock ever,
, C. THESIS STATEMENT
I chose this song to encourage everyone to set their spirit free by going out of their shell and being
happy with who they are. Life is short and we need to make the most out of it. For as long as we
aren’t hurting anyone by the way we live, we all deserved to be free and live accordingly. We are all
equal in God’s grace, no matter who we are. He knew us by our names and not by our sins.
II. BODY
Bohemian Rhapsody
Queen
It explains not about Mercury's childhood but his sexuality. He was starting to come to terms
with his bisexuality, and his relationship with Mary Austin was falling apart.
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landside,
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 the wind blows doesn't really matter to
Me, to me
In the first verse of the song, Freddie Mercury emphasizes that he killed his manlike image. He
killed the old Freddie or his identity, destroying the man that he was trying to portray. He wants
to reveal his true identity about his sexual preferences.
Mamaaa,
Just killed a man,
Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger,
Now he's dead
Mamaaa, life had just begun,
But now I've gone and thrown it all away
Mama, oooh,
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
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, oooh
I don't want to die,
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all.
Grade, Strand & Section: 11-HUMMS
SONG ANALYSIS (BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY)
I. Introduction
A. HOOK
If you were a musician, what genre of music would you like to perform? From 1970 to 1980, a rock
band hit the rock chart of the US and Britain, the "Queen" founded in 1970 by a singer-songwriter,
Freddie Mercury. For almost forty-four years, it has always been heard around the world by many of
us. This song remained controversial for its song's structure and hidden meaning. It can be neither an
acapella, a ballad, an opera, nor rock.
B. BACKGROUND OF THE SONG
In 1970, the rock band "Queen" was founded by its late singer Freddie Mercury. Its members were
Brian May on guitar, Roger Taylor on drums, and John Deacon on bass.
But it was initially founded by Brian May and Roger Taylor in 1968, with Tim Staffell as the vocalist.
Freddie was a great fan of the band so, when Tim Staffell left the group to join another band, they
thought of Freddie right there and then.
Their first onymous album was first released in 1973 which, contains ten tracks. Mercury composed
its five tracks. The first track is entitled “Keep Yourself Alive,” by Brian May, its guitarist. Its self-titled
album was a juvenile launch to Queen’s endowment for Mercury's intense vocals and May's theatrical
sound. By the year 1970, they first performed at the City Hall of the city of Truro. Year after, Mercury
designed its logo with zodiac signs representing each member's zodiac. In 1974, Queen appeared in
the Top of the Pops, their songs such as Seven Seas of Rhye, See What A Fool I’ve Been, Sheer
Heart Attack, Killer Queen, and Flick of the Wrist managed to enter the American lists. Queen have
recorded in excess of 165 plus songs featuring Freddie Mercury but not all have been released as
singles, most are on their various albums.
In 1975, Mercury wrote his controversial song “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a seven-minute rock operetta
published for the 1975 album, A Night at the Opera. It has been at the top of the list of the United
Kingdom, brought them international success, and granted Mercury the Ivor Novello Prize to him for
the second occasion. Entitled Bohemian Rhapsody because it portrays the life of a Bohemian whose
original meaning is an artist, while Rhapsody is a fantasy. After promoting their latest album, Queen
released A Day at the Races in 1976, a sequel to the previous one, and News of the World in 1977,
“We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” that has been used in various sporting events. By
1978, Jazz would appear, and in 1980 The Game. The following year, the band would make its first
tour in South America.
The most popular theory of their greatest song served as Mercury’s way of coming out as gay or
bisexual.
Freddie Mercury’s biographer Lesley-Ann Jones revealed the hidden meaning of its lyric as a form of
his confession that he was gay. Lesley-Ann Jones added that her theory was then confirmed by
Mercury’s lover Jim Hutton after the star’s death in November 1991. Mercury died in 1991 at age 45
due to complications from AIDS. He confirmed the day before his death that he had contracted the
disease, having been diagnosed in 1987. Mercury had continued to record with Queen following his
diagnosis, and he was posthumously featured on the band's final album, Made in Heaven (1995). In
1992, his tribute concert was held at Wembley Stadium.
Regardless of how it has been criticized, it remained the greatest song rock ever,
, C. THESIS STATEMENT
I chose this song to encourage everyone to set their spirit free by going out of their shell and being
happy with who they are. Life is short and we need to make the most out of it. For as long as we
aren’t hurting anyone by the way we live, we all deserved to be free and live accordingly. We are all
equal in God’s grace, no matter who we are. He knew us by our names and not by our sins.
II. BODY
Bohemian Rhapsody
Queen
It explains not about Mercury's childhood but his sexuality. He was starting to come to terms
with his bisexuality, and his relationship with Mary Austin was falling apart.
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landside,
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 the wind blows doesn't really matter to
Me, to me
In the first verse of the song, Freddie Mercury emphasizes that he killed his manlike image. He
killed the old Freddie or his identity, destroying the man that he was trying to portray. He wants
to reveal his true identity about his sexual preferences.
Mamaaa,
Just killed a man,
Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger,
Now he's dead
Mamaaa, life had just begun,
But now I've gone and thrown it all away
Mama, oooh,
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
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, oooh
I don't want to die,
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all.
