On this day (August 24) in 1975, Queen entered the Rockfield Studio in Monmouth, Wales, for the first of many sessions that yielded “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It was a massive hit in the United Kingdom, topping the chart there for 14 weeks. In the United States, it was their only top 10 hit, peaking at No. 2 on the Hot 100. Decades later, it is one of their best-known songs and is loved by generations of fans. However, no one outside of the band knows the true meaning behind the song.
On paper, “Bohemian Rhapsody” shouldn’t have been a hit. Usually, successful singles clock in at around three-and-a-half minutes and have a catchy chorus. Record labels still selected songs like that for radio and promotion. However, this Queen classic broke both of those rules. It is nearly six minutes and has no chorus. Instead, it’s a miniature rock opera with multiple distinct parts.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” started as three separate songs, all penned by Freddie Mercury. Eventually, he decided to stitch the songs together into a suite. “I remember Freddie coming in with loads of paper from his dad’s work, like, Post-It notes and banging on the piano,” Brian May recalled. “This song he had was full of gaps where he explained that something operatic would happen here and so on. He’d worked out all the harmonies in his head.”
The recording process stretched into September and spanned five studios. They recorded more than 150 overdubs to get the massive choral vocals. Due to the lengthy process, A Night at the Opera was the most expensive album ever produced at the time.
The Meaning Behind Queen’s Masterpiece
Generations of fans and critics have tried to nail down the meaning behind the lyrics of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” This has produced a few solid theories but nothing definitive. Journalists have been asking members of Queen about the meaning since before Freddie Mercury’s death. However, the mystery remains.
Some say that the song is about Mercury’s childhood, according to Songfacts. He was born in Zanzibar, but his family was forced out of the country by government upheaval when he was a teenager. Others believe that the lyrics were a way for Mercury to come to terms with his sexuality after being raised in Zoroastrianism, which frowns upon anything but heterosexuality. Lesley-Ann Jones, author of Mercury, believes that “Bohemian Rhapsody” was Mercury’s way of publicly coming out of the closet.
“It’s one of those songs which has such a fantasy feel about it,” Mercury said. “I think people should just listen to it, think about it, and then make up their own minds as to what it says to them.”
In the past Brian May said that the band agreed to keep the meaning private out of respect for Mercury. “Freddie was a very complex person–flippant and funny on the surface, but he concealed insecurities and problems in squaring up his life with his childhood,” May said. “He never explained the lyrics, but I think he put a lot of himself into that song,” he added.
Featured Image by Michael Montfort/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
The post On This Day in 1975, Queen Began Recording an International Hit With a Meaning That Remains a Closely Guarded Secret appeared first on American Songwriter.
Author: Clayton Edwards
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