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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1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:Wow. I had no idea there were so many interpretations of this song. For me it's always been clear: the song is about an execution. Please bear with me as I construct a detailed argument for this interpretation.
Here's the set-up (all of this is proven later): The narrator has committed murder. He might have done this out of malice, or self-defense, or anything in between; we don't know. The fact is that he killed someone, was caught and sentenced, and is now on Death Row. The man is not an important person, so to speak. He is not famous, nor rich, nor anything of the kind. He has no high-priced lawyers and no "connections" to help him in his plight. The narrator implies that, if he had higher social status, if he had money or fame or whatever, then he would stand a good chance of escaping death. But alas, he is merely a "poor boy" (aka ordinary person), and has no such power. His family and friends are attending the execution (or have otherwise heard about it), and are very distressed. Conversely, the family and friends of the dead man want revenge and they can't wait to see the narrator executed. The song takes place just prior to the execution, and involves the narrator talking to (or perhaps just thinking about) his mother, just before he dies.
If you're still reading, you have my thanks.
Here's the line-by-line analysis:
*We start with the narrator's thoughts:
"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?"
*The narrator is overwhelmed by the idea that he's going to die. He almost wonders whether this is all a nightmare or something.
"Caught in a landslide, No escape from reality"
Again, he feels overwhelmed, but he can't really deny that he's about to be killed.
"Open your eyes, Look up to the skies and see,"
Looking up to heaven, wondering about life etc.
"I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy
Because I'm easy come, easy go, Little high, little low"
Here he is quoting the common perspective: he's just a poor man ("boy"), and he doesn't deserve sympathy. Much of the song is about how no one seems to care for the narrator, even though he seems mournful and regretful for his actions.
"Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me"
Now that he's going to die, nothing more matters. He has no future, no hopes or dreams or goals. He's going to die within the hour, and there's nothing he can do about it. He feels very hopeless, and from his perspective nothing really matters.
"Mama, just killed a man, Put a gun against his head
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead"
This part is obvious. He committed murder. I don't he's confessing to his mother here, as surely she would already know by the time of the execution. I think that he's really just sadly reflecting on what he's done, and he mentions this to his mother (or perhaps he's just thinking about her)
"Mama, life had just begun
But now I've gone and thrown it all away"
He was a young man, in his 20s perhaps. He had the chance to live a meaningful life, but instead he killed a man, thus causing his own death via execution. The narrator laments, noting that he could have saved his own life by choosing not to murder. But now the deed is done, and the narrator will face justice.
"Mama, ooh, 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"
Again he's sorry for his actions, and regrets that his mother now weeps for him, as he will soon be killed. The execution will take place within the hour, so if he's not back again this time tomorrow, it will mean that the execution happened on schedule, that he failed to escape it via pardon or other means. The narrator tells his mother that, even if he dies, she should carry on living, almost as if his death didn't matter to her.
"Too late, my time has come"
The execution is imminent.
"Sends shivers down my spine, body's aching all the time"
These are symptoms of his intense fear.
"Goodbye, ev'rybody, I've got to go"
He says a final farewell to his family and friends.
"Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth"
The truth is that he killed a man, and now he faces strict justice. He will die.
"Mama, ooh, I don't want to die
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all"
This much is obvious. He doesn't want to be killed, and indeed he wonders if it would have been better never to have been born in the first place.
A new voice starts singing; this voice represents his friends and family who are (or have been previously) protesting his execution.
"I see a little silhouetto of a man"
The narrator seems so poor and pitiful, "a shadow of what he once was", so to speak
"Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango"
Honestly, I don't know what this means
"Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very fright'ning me"
Both he and them are afraid that he'll be killed. The "lighting" part might indicate that he's to be killed with the electric chair, or it might just be symbolic.
"(Galileo.) Galileo. (Galileo.) Galileo, Galileo figaro"
Galileo was unfairly persecuted by the authorities of his time. Granted, Galileo didn't commit murder, but the narrator's advocates still draw a parallel, insisting that he doesn't deserve the punishment he's receiving.
"Magnifico. I'm just a poor boy and nobody loves me"
The narrator repeats the common belief.
"He's just a poor boy from a poor family
Spare him his life from this monstrosity"
His friends and family argue that, because he's a poor boy, he deserves sympathy and compassion, not death.
"Easy come, easy go, will you let me go"
Here the narrator pleads for his life. He basically says "You don't seem to care about me; I'm 'easy come, easy go'. You don't really care if I live or die. So, if you don't really care whether I live or die, can't you just let me live? Can't you grant me a pardon or something?"
Then the opposite group, the friends and family of the dead man (and/or the execution authorities) respond to these pleas.
"Bismillah! No, we will not let you go"
The other group wants the narrator to be executed.
"(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.) Ah
No, no, no, no, no, no, no."
The two groups have a spirited argument.
"(Oh mama mia, mama mia.) Mama mia, let me go"
Here the chorus of friends and family says "let me go", but I really think they mean "let him go. Don't kill the narrator"
"Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me"
Beelzebub means Satan. The narrator feels (or speculates) that Satan is out to torment him by leading him to such a sad fate. After all, it was probably a devil that tempted him to commit murder in the first place. Likewise, his family feels Satan is tormenting them as well, by killing the narrator to make them feel sad. Perhaps even the dead man's family joins in on this chorus; they feel that it was Satan who told the narrator to commit murder in the first place, and now they insist that execution is the only holy response to such a sin.
Throughout this, the narrator has been lethargic and morose. But right before the end, he has a sudden burst of passion.
"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!"
I'm not sure if he's talking to anyone specific here, or if he's just ranting with passion, screaming at everyone and everything involved.
As I imagine it, the narrator throws off his guards and fights to escape from his shackles. In the ensuing musical piece, he struggles with the executioners, knocking the room into disarray. The two families watch closely, but everyone knows it's a useless struggle; there's simply no way for the narrator to escape. And the end of the musical piece, he is beaten down and finally subdued. Once again he become morose and dispirited, and the executioners drag him to his place of death (electric chair, perhaps). In his last few moments before death, the narrator resumes his previous state of mind.
"Nothing really matters, Anyone can see
Nothing really matters
Nothing really matters to me"
Again, because he's about to die, nothing really matters to him. He has no purpose, no hope, nothing.
"Any way the wind blows..."
This is an allusion to the begining of the song, where this image was used along with "nothing really matters"
So...yeah. I think that's a pretty thorough interpretation. Bohemian Rhapsody is about a remorseful murderer as he's about to be executed.
Questions? Comments? Did anybody even read all that? -
2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:The song is about of course about murder, and the consequences of your actions. I think Freddie used the five stages of grief for the verses 1. Denial/ Isolation "goodbye everybody-I've got to go" 2. Depression "sometimes wish I'd never been born at all" 3. Bargaining "I'm just a poor boy.. will you let me go?" 4. Anger "so you think you can stone me and spit in my eye.. just gotta get right out of here. and 5. Acceptance "any way the wind blows"
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3TOP RATED
#3 top rated interpretation:Sorry, but you're all wrong!
Well Freddie Mercury said in an interview that “it's just a bunch of rhyming nonsense” but I think it is about a poor boy killing a man and confessing it to his mother.
The 4 different styles of the song represent what he is going through after the murder. The 1st deals with him being in shock of the crime he just committed, (Is this the real life, is this just fantasy?). The second is when he confesses to his mother, (Mamma, just killed a man) but his mum doesn’t want anything to do with him so he ends up killing himself. The third part is when heaven and hell are fighting over him trying to decide where he will be sent. In the song it states “Bismillah no! We will not let you go”, Bismillah means in the name of Allah which means God so It means in the name of God, no! We will not let you go. He ends up losing and is going to hell (Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me). The fourth part of the song has a heavy metal sound to which I think he is telling them what he thinks of life, hell and everything, (so you think you can stone me and spit in my eye, love me and leave me to die). He asks for a second chance to go to heaven but god rejects him again. So now he loses hope and faith and it goes back to the slow part of the song at the start. Nothing really matters, anyway the wind blows.
Some of the unusual names in the songs actually have meaning believe it or not! “Scaramouch” according to the dictionary it means “a stock character who appears as a boastful coward”. “Fandango” is a Spanish dance done in triple time. “Beelzebub” is one of the many names given to the devil.
the song has nothing to do with him having AIDS the song was written 11 years before he even got AIDS!!
This is only my opinion of the song, no one really knows the real meaning of it only Freddie Mercury will know.
Any way the wind blows!! -
'The Queen's Vernacular' by Bruce Rodgers 1972 may tell how Freddie was defining the lyrics. Meaning is in the soul of the beholder and theirs to take at their liberty - so there can be as many meanings to these lyrics as humans connecting with them and their own reflection. Yet, words are put together to say 'something' to 'someone' and sometimes not say that 'something' to 'others' for - reasons, if you get my drift. The line says Mama just killed a man - not Mama I just killed a man - so what does that SAY to some? The middle section, for me, gives the explication of how Freddie could speak his truth, as Queen's vocalist, out aloud. The line 'Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me'+ 'Figaro' - nailed it. Freddie Mercury - One Mother of a poetic Killer Queen, in my little black book.
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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I think Bohemian Rhapsody is about Judas, the horrendous guilt that he felt after killing Jesus, and his decent into suicidal ideation.
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For me this is Freddy’s confession to Maria of his sexuality. " Mom I killed a man, put a gun to his head, pulled the trigger and now he’s dead". For me it clearly speaks of someone who gave him oral sex and freddie came in his mouth. Freddie feels guilty but has to tell Maria and the narrative speaks of the decency of a person to hell after that situation, although in the end it says "Nothing really matters" idk maybe I have a dirty mind, but I think that’s what it means.
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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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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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nobody:
queen: this is NOT what my song means wtf is wrong with y'all?!
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Confused about his bisexuality
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Really? Is it true? I can’t cope but’ll go with the flow
Caught in a landslide
It’s real being gay but rather it wasn’t
No escape from reality
Come on! Open eyes to the truth of it all
Open your eyes
Pray to God
Look up to the skies and see
Explanation of innocence ...
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy
Because I’m gay
Because I'm easy come, easy go ...gay
Hate it
Little high, little low
Carefree
Any way the wind blows...bi
Easy either way ...bisexual
Doesn't really matter to me, to me
Reluctantly, confession he’s gay.
He’s now committed metaphoric suicide
Mama, just killed a man
Put a gun against his head
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead
Life was good but I’ve ruined it
As a straight man
Mama, life had just begun
Will never have kids
But now I've gone and thrown it all away
Has gay affair. No way back to Mary
Expressive ooh. Mary is mama
Mama, ooh
Sorry for hurt I've been unfaithful
Didn't mean to make you cry
You won’t want gay son
Be prepared I prefer being gay
I’ll sleep on it and try to be straight ...but might not succeed
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow...still gay
It’s fine you’ll forget me soon I beg you
Forget you had a son
Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters
Reality set in he’s not going back to Mary. Slept on it but now an affirmed gay
Too late, my time has come
Really scared. I will miss you ...old carefree life
People will judge ...
Sends shivers down my spine
Hopeless fretting about leaving Mary, as still in love ...
Rue the devision
Body's aching all the time
It was once great
Goodbye normalcy
Goodbye, everybody, I've got to go
I’ll miss you greatly
I brought it on myself only me to blame but needs to set free
I’m gay gay gay
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth...properly gay
Expressive ooh
Mama, ooh (Any way the wind blows)
Sad in turmoil about starting gay encounters
Don’t want to be gay...
I don't want to die
Better to not have lived ...if not a straight guy
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all
Scaramouche is an imp to get you out of trouble
I see a little silhouetto of a man
Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?
Dance a gig perhaps it’ll help to make me forget
Because you have a bad feeling facing electric chair or the devils curse
Thunderbolt and lightning very, very frightening me
Philosopher
(Galileo) Galileo
(Galileo) Galileo
Galileo
Schemer
Figaro
Magnificent man
Magnifico-o-o-o-o
Pardon me I was just stupid
I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
Family pleads
He's just a poor boy from a poor family
Death
Spare him his life from this monstrosity
Gay
Easy come, easy go, will you let me go?
Please God
Bismillah! No, we will not let you go (Let him go!)
Please God
Bismillah! We will not let you go (Let him go!)
Please God
Bismillah! We will not let you go (Let me go!)
Will not let you go (Let me go!)
Never let you go (Never, never, never, never
let me go)
Oh oh oh oh
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
Please help, anyone?
Oh, mama mia, mama mia (Mama mia, let me go)
Eeek, Satan it’s a sin to be gay
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me
Ranting at perceived injustice. He’s simple shouldn’t be judged
Gays are stoned to death in Iran
So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye?
Once we’re friends but now turn back on him
So you think you can love me and leave me to die?
Lovers ...too
Oh, baby, can't do this to me, baby
How can I escape ...
Try not to be gay ...?
Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here
Ooooh, ooh yeah, ooh yeah
Subdued fate awaits
Nothing really matters
Hopeless
Anyone can see
Nothing really matters
Nothing really matters to me
As at the Beginning is it real?
Any way the wind blows. -
The song is most certainly about Freddie Mercury’s coming out. Freddie wrote these lyrics ( Bohemian Rhapsody) 10 years before he made the decision to present it to, and explain the meaning behind the lyrics to his band. I watched lead guitarist Brian Mays in an interview and he spoke of this very thing.
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It is really simple. He is understanding the life and like we say "oh god help me. he is using the Mama in this sense..
Oh Mama help me .. i am now understanding life.. it seems hard.. help me in my way.
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So basically, this song is about Freddie coming out. sure, it seems weird, but bare with me.
the ‘mama’ he’s referring to in the first part of the song would be his girlfriend at the time. the man he kills is his old self. the life that’d just become was his future with her, but then he went and threw it all away by having a homosexual affair. everything else, i got no fucking idea, that’s just kinda what i’ve always thought. -
Having heard the song and read the lyrics numerous times, I think it's talking about suicide. It's a letter to his mother telling her to forgive him for taking a man's life, his own. What led me to this conclusion is the overall aesthetic of the song. I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me, he feels lonely. It is a goodbye letter. He doesn't want to die, he didn't want to be born at first place. Also suicide is considered a sin, thus Beelzebub has also prepared a personal demon for him to torment him in hell. Just gotta get out of here means his need to escape reality.
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Put a gun to his head, pulled the trigger, now he’s dead”
I believe he is confessing not only that he is gay and has aids, but that he has infected someone and that they have died from it. -
Yep. It's Freddy's coming out 'hidden' confession. Some members of the band & a close friend of Fred who, I think was the producer(not absolutely sure) stated this the case. Fred as much as admitted it to his friend, but kept quiet around everyone else. It was very private to him & even the band members didn't talk about it or ask any questions. The lyric "pulled my trigger now he's dead" is Freddy's admission to killing his old self.
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