Irini Sfyris
English Composition 102H
Professor Knippling
22 Feb 2012
English Composition 102H
Professor Knippling
22 Feb 2012
Bohemian Rhapsody
Despite being unusually long, Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” is without question their most famous song, and is widely agreed upon as one of the greatest rock pieces of all time. Its epic qualities and ambient vocals are only a few features that make this unique song resonate in the hearts of both its contemporary listeners and the generations of music aficionados that followed.
Everything about this song was experimental. Its sheer length, though not completely unique, certainly created a marketing obstacle simply because the song was intended for a pop radio audience. The lead singer, Freddie Mercury said of the single, “People were all going, you're joking, they'll never play it, you'll only hear the first few bars and then they'll fade it out…[our record company] were shocked – A six-minute single? You must be joking!” Yet in spite of their producers’ incredulity, the song soon became a huge hit in Britain, staying at the top of the UK Singles chart for nine weeks. The craze soon hit the United States, earning it a top-ten slot in the US Billboard Hot 100 (Wikipedia).
Interestingly enough, the song went against the traditional pop style where compositions usually consisted of verses that would vary and a refrain that would repeat throughout. “Bohemian Rhapsody” appeared to touch back to the classical era, though even this allusion was a bit experimental. Instead of writing this section in the more conventional style of the period, which typically consisted of a cyclical structure and variations on a principal theme, Mercury wrote a piece that resembled a classical suite. According to Dictionary.com, a suite is “an ordered series of instrumental dances, in the same or related keys, commonly preceded by a prelude.” With this definition in mind, “Bohemian Rhapsody” can be broken into several pieces: the intro (prelude), ballad, opera, rock, and outro (Denes). This structure goes against everything that was popular at the time and returns to music’s roots in the classical era. If circularity and repetition were popular, then Queen defied the norm by writing linearly in a form lacking repetition. The band also touched back to the classical age with their revolutionary operatic choir. Their lyrics in this portion include words and phrases like “Galileo”, “Figaro”, “mamma mia” and “magnifico.” These specific words seem to have been thrown in the piece haphazardly, but nonetheless serve to guide the listener in making the connection between this particular segment of the song and classical Italian opera. In addition, Queen pioneered a technique of recording their own voices multiple times and playing all the recordings simultaneously to achieve the effect of a singing choir. This involved having Brian May, Freddie Mercury, and Roger Taylor (all members of Queen) sing their parts continuously for ten to twelve hours per day in order to obtain enough of the recordings to combine (Wikipedia). The immense amount of work and experimentation that went into this piece easily lent themselves to the public’s understanding of its distinction.
In fact, the whole point of the classical style and operatic references was to make this song as grand and elaborate as possible. There is nothing more musically grandiose than the opera, and Queen wanted to create a piece that was larger than life—epic even. But, of course, they were still a rock band, and so they maintained a large rock section in their song with exciting guitar solos, loud drums and everything one would anticipate in a classic rock piece. According to a man named Denes, one of the many people who tried to analyze this song, “Bohemian Rhapsody” contains about 165 seconds of net melody content—significantly higher than that of any other hit single. This aspect only contributed further to the general epic feeling of the song, rather than to alienate the audience, as was usually the case with compositions containing such a significant melodic portion.
If these elements weren’t already enough to capture the attention of the listening population, the lyrics were. The song begins with Mercury singing, “Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy,” immediately making the listener question the logic of the lyrics to follow. In fact, there has been much debate surrounding the true meaning of the song. Mercury refused to explain his composition, saying only that it was about relationships. Long after his death, his band mates still aim to respect his wishes and keep their knowledge of the piece’s true meaning under wraps (Wikipedia). In the end, one can only speculate about what Freddie Mercury was so passionately trying to convey. In one of the more coherent, traditional lyrical sections of the song, the narrator apparently cries out to his mother about his regret over having killed someone. He repeats several times that “nothing really matters,” and some background voices mysteriously sing the words “any way the wind blows…” Eventually the lyrics begin to leave the realm of the conventional ballad and become erratic and disjointed, particularly in the operatic portion, with several references to the devil and religion. The choir sings of Beelzebub, the biblical “lord of the flies” who was also synonymous with the devil, and Bismillah, an Arabic phrase for “in the name of God”. The inclusion of such strange allusions and melodramatic plotline as well as the triumphant rock section all leave the song open to individual interpretation. It is this secret that Mercury took with him to the grave that continually entrances his audiences and guarantees the longevity of his composition’s fame.
Ultimately, it’s evident that “Bohemian Rhapsody” is well-deserving of its place among the greats. Queen’s biggest experiment ended up as their biggest success. The song’s grand style with its references to the greatest musical eras of history along with its sheer length give it an epic quality that is largely unrivaled by other hit songs. The mysterious words and dark story in the lyrics only heighten the listener’s curiosity and increase the piece’s popularity. Queen and their rhapsody will continue to reach new generations and secure the song’s position as one of the top hit rock pieces in history.
Everything about this song was experimental. Its sheer length, though not completely unique, certainly created a marketing obstacle simply because the song was intended for a pop radio audience. The lead singer, Freddie Mercury said of the single, “People were all going, you're joking, they'll never play it, you'll only hear the first few bars and then they'll fade it out…[our record company] were shocked – A six-minute single? You must be joking!” Yet in spite of their producers’ incredulity, the song soon became a huge hit in Britain, staying at the top of the UK Singles chart for nine weeks. The craze soon hit the United States, earning it a top-ten slot in the US Billboard Hot 100 (Wikipedia).
Interestingly enough, the song went against the traditional pop style where compositions usually consisted of verses that would vary and a refrain that would repeat throughout. “Bohemian Rhapsody” appeared to touch back to the classical era, though even this allusion was a bit experimental. Instead of writing this section in the more conventional style of the period, which typically consisted of a cyclical structure and variations on a principal theme, Mercury wrote a piece that resembled a classical suite. According to Dictionary.com, a suite is “an ordered series of instrumental dances, in the same or related keys, commonly preceded by a prelude.” With this definition in mind, “Bohemian Rhapsody” can be broken into several pieces: the intro (prelude), ballad, opera, rock, and outro (Denes). This structure goes against everything that was popular at the time and returns to music’s roots in the classical era. If circularity and repetition were popular, then Queen defied the norm by writing linearly in a form lacking repetition. The band also touched back to the classical age with their revolutionary operatic choir. Their lyrics in this portion include words and phrases like “Galileo”, “Figaro”, “mamma mia” and “magnifico.” These specific words seem to have been thrown in the piece haphazardly, but nonetheless serve to guide the listener in making the connection between this particular segment of the song and classical Italian opera. In addition, Queen pioneered a technique of recording their own voices multiple times and playing all the recordings simultaneously to achieve the effect of a singing choir. This involved having Brian May, Freddie Mercury, and Roger Taylor (all members of Queen) sing their parts continuously for ten to twelve hours per day in order to obtain enough of the recordings to combine (Wikipedia). The immense amount of work and experimentation that went into this piece easily lent themselves to the public’s understanding of its distinction.
In fact, the whole point of the classical style and operatic references was to make this song as grand and elaborate as possible. There is nothing more musically grandiose than the opera, and Queen wanted to create a piece that was larger than life—epic even. But, of course, they were still a rock band, and so they maintained a large rock section in their song with exciting guitar solos, loud drums and everything one would anticipate in a classic rock piece. According to a man named Denes, one of the many people who tried to analyze this song, “Bohemian Rhapsody” contains about 165 seconds of net melody content—significantly higher than that of any other hit single. This aspect only contributed further to the general epic feeling of the song, rather than to alienate the audience, as was usually the case with compositions containing such a significant melodic portion.
If these elements weren’t already enough to capture the attention of the listening population, the lyrics were. The song begins with Mercury singing, “Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy,” immediately making the listener question the logic of the lyrics to follow. In fact, there has been much debate surrounding the true meaning of the song. Mercury refused to explain his composition, saying only that it was about relationships. Long after his death, his band mates still aim to respect his wishes and keep their knowledge of the piece’s true meaning under wraps (Wikipedia). In the end, one can only speculate about what Freddie Mercury was so passionately trying to convey. In one of the more coherent, traditional lyrical sections of the song, the narrator apparently cries out to his mother about his regret over having killed someone. He repeats several times that “nothing really matters,” and some background voices mysteriously sing the words “any way the wind blows…” Eventually the lyrics begin to leave the realm of the conventional ballad and become erratic and disjointed, particularly in the operatic portion, with several references to the devil and religion. The choir sings of Beelzebub, the biblical “lord of the flies” who was also synonymous with the devil, and Bismillah, an Arabic phrase for “in the name of God”. The inclusion of such strange allusions and melodramatic plotline as well as the triumphant rock section all leave the song open to individual interpretation. It is this secret that Mercury took with him to the grave that continually entrances his audiences and guarantees the longevity of his composition’s fame.
Ultimately, it’s evident that “Bohemian Rhapsody” is well-deserving of its place among the greats. Queen’s biggest experiment ended up as their biggest success. The song’s grand style with its references to the greatest musical eras of history along with its sheer length give it an epic quality that is largely unrivaled by other hit songs. The mysterious words and dark story in the lyrics only heighten the listener’s curiosity and increase the piece’s popularity. Queen and their rhapsody will continue to reach new generations and secure the song’s position as one of the top hit rock pieces in history.
Works Cited
Denes. "Bohemian Rhapsody." Queen Songs. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.queensongs.info/the-book/songwriting-analyses/no-synth-era/a-night-at-the-opera/bohemian-rhapsody.html>.
Wikipedia contributors. "Bohemian Rhapsody." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 21 Feb. 2012. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.
Wikipedia contributors. "Bohemian Rhapsody." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 21 Feb. 2012. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.