Freddie Mercury and his band Queen were responsible for creating the most streamed song from the 20th century. Bohemian Rhapsody, the rock classic is full of hints and secrets that keep the audience guessing even years after its release.
Since 1975 fans worldwide have wanted to know what Freddie wished to communicate via the song.
The song is full of allusions to murder, damnation, and nihilism, and is sure to haunt each and every listener. In fact, Bohemian Rapsody has transcended from being just a song to a cultural artifact. Justin Trudeau Slammed for Singing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Days Before Queen Elizabeth II’s Funeral; Canada PM’s Office Issues Clarification After Video Goes Viral.
The song’s hidden meaning is always a discussion among fans, so here is everything we know about Freddie’s message through Bohemian Rhapsody.
What is the hidden message in Bohemian Rhapsody?
The song Bohemian Rhapsody is mostly about how different Freddie’s life could have been, and how much happier he could have been.
Freddie Mercury had not been able to be himself for the whole of his life, and that was essentially expressed through it. But Freddie had never truly explained it, giving vague statements like “just about relationships” with a bit of nonsense in the middle.
This meant that fans are still speculating over the secret, forty years after its release. The other band members like the guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, and bassist John Deacon too never disclosed Freddie’s intent.
The classic was not a simple fantasy song, about a boy confessing a murder, nor was it Freddie’s attempt at upstaging Led Zeppelin. The song dealt with poverty and other crucial elements of life before the unknown singer finally resigns to his tragic fate.
Freddie Mercury had the idea for the song as early as the late 1960s but didn’t get around to it till late 1975. The song was dabbled with for years before it became the masterpiece that is now.
The song had been an intensely personal project, not just a deliberate ‘showcase single’. Bohemian Rhapsody showed the world what Queen as well as Freddie Mercury was capable of in one single masterstroke.
A Song With Great Potential
Even though the rock classic was way too long, at 5:55 minutes, it became an instant commercial success. Initially, it was recorded as the band’s studio LP A Night at the Opera. But the band had seen its chart potential early on and went on to rally support from radio DJs for its release as a single.
The band’s prediction had not been wrong, the song went on to become the Christmas single of 1975. It held its spot that year and stayed on top of the UK singles chart for nine weeks straight.
By January 1976, the song had sold a million copies. Other places like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, and The Netherlands also saw the song topping their charts, making it a success worldwide.
Freddie Mercury died in 1991, and his death was followed by the song’s rise in popularity once again. The song may not have refined to number one after 1991, but it was still wildly popular. So much so that in 2004 it made its way into the Grammy Hall of Fame. And it was in 2012 when Bohemian Rhapsody once again topped a nationwide poll by ITV.
Considering over 60 years of music, the track was called “The Nation’s Favourite Number One”. Bohemian Rhapsody Trailer: Rami Malek as the Legendary Freddie Mercury Promises a Musical Treat For all Queen Fans – Watch Video.
Freddie Mercury’s Sole Undertaking
Bohemian Rhapsody was a group effort by the band, but the brilliance behind it had always been Freddie’s.
Queen’s lead guitarist Brian May did not shy away from giving credit where it belonged, insisting that Mercury had sole authorship over the masterpiece. It seemed that the singer had already worked out all the nuances in his head when he approached the band with the song.
The song had a host of instruments that all clicked to produce the melody. It had the piano, guitar, bass, and drums, even including a mock-operatic sequence along with a monster-rock crescendo. To the band, it had seemed impossible to connect, but Freddie knew how to connect the dots.
The song drew a lot from Freddie Mercury’s life. The words themselves, along with the characters introduced through the song, ‘Figaro’, ‘Beelzebub’, ‘Galileo’, and ‘Scaramouche’ all were drawn from life. In the end, the song had become an intricate tapestry of everything he was and wanted to be.
The song had many layers, but Freddie’s message through it had been simple. It was a self-admission-slash-confession, shedding the charade of being straight. It was admitted by the singer’s long-term live-in lover Jim Hutton, still insisting that it was Freddie’s business.
Too Bored To ‘Reveal’ Anything
Jim Hutton, who died of cancer in 2010 had said that Bohemian Rhapsody was Freddie Mercury himself, as he was in life. The song may seem convoluted or obscure, but it was the singer being himself.
Fans were extremely interested in the message behind it, but Freddie Mercury was bored by the incessant questioning.
The lyrics; from “Mama, I just killed a man”, to “I see a little silhouette of a man” all pointed to regeneration. His parents and society had played a huge part in Freddie suppressing his queer identity. But with this track, he has destroyed that previous image and was looking to embrace the new him.
The singer had expressed all that he wanted to with the song, and would not say anything else on the topic.
Fans may have thought that the vagueness regarding the lyric’s significance was a part of maintaining the mysticism, but that was not so. Bohemian Rhapsody approved itself against the passage of time and made sure that Freddie would be remembered forever.
The Bottom Line
Freddie Mercury’s Bohemian Rhapsody is still one of the most talked about songs, even after 40 years of its release. The track which came out as a single is one of those songs that are filled with hints and messages.
Freddie never went on record to express what he wanted to communicate through the lyrics. Fans have speculated, but the truth is, the complex melody was a way of coming out to the world for Freddie Mercury.
