What is Queens song Bohemian Rhapsody about?
Gotten from Wiki: There Queen states that “Bohemian Rhapsody” is about a young man who has accidentally killed someone and, like Faust, sold his soul to the devil. On the night before his execution he calls for God in Arabic, “Bismillah” (Basmala), and with the help of angels regains his soul from Shaitan.
The name “Bohemian” in the song title seems to refer to a group of artists and musicins living roughly 100 years ago, known for defying convention and living with disregard for standards. A “Rhapsody” is a piece of Classical music with distinct sections that is played as one movement. Rhapsody’s often have themes. Freddie Mercury wrote the lyrics, and there has been a lot of speculation as to their meaning. Mercury’s parents were deeply involved in Zoroastrianism, and words like “Bismillah” do have a meaning in that religion. His family grew up in Zanzibar, but was forced out by government upheaval in 1964, and they moved to England. Some of the lyrics could be about leaving his homeland behind. In an interview with Brian May and Roger Taylor on the Queen Videos Greatest Hits DVD, Brian said: “What is Bohemian Rhapsody about, well I don’t think we’ll ever know and if I knew I probably wouldn’t want to tell you anyway, because I certainly don’t tell people what my songs are about. I fin
I believe this song is about AIDS. Freddie Murcury was known to have been homosexual, and the line, “just killed a man” is suggesting the transference of AIDS. “pulled MY trigger now he’s dead”… The verse that begins “so you think you can stone me and spit in my eye” are the spoken words of the man “shot” at the beginning of the song. We can only guess that the man being shot is Murcury’s partner or lover. The lyrics also suggest that he didn’t wish any mourning for his death or passing because, “nothing really matters” to him. Ultimately, I think this song is about the guilt Murcury carried for having contracted and passing on the AIDS virus without his partner having known, possibly without having known it himself. This song can really tear me up… If this is really what he meant by the song, I wonder if anyone close to him realized so before he died. Hmm, very sad.
