I don’t want to die/
I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all.

Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” is one of the most ambitious songs in pop/rock music history. There are only a few that come close to rivaling it. Good Vibrations and Court of the Crimson King are the only two that come to mind. Bohemian Rhapsody is really three or five songs in one. The best part is “Mama, just killed a man…” That would have made a fine ballad on its own.

Bohemian Rhapsody’s lyrics are a bit obscure, but it seems to tell the tale of the narrator who is about to leave town and is having one last conversation with his mother. Along his journey he pleads with the gods and tries to justify his actions to the gods but it seems to fall on deaf ears.

There is a structure behind the scenes that we might not be conscious of. Part of that is intentional. It is a story about a man’s journey…and that journey takes him in many wildly different directions–internally and externally. We hear that in the music and the lyrics. Mercury carefully crafted this. The song is a Rhapsody about a Bohemian. A moody, episodic freer form of music about a person who lives as unconventional lifestyle: Bohemian Rhapsody.

This is one of the most beloved rock songs of all times. That is kind of peculiar. For the people who love it, 90% of them would say they hate opera and musicals, but “Bohemian Rhapsody” shares a lot of similarity with those genres. It really is the most unlikely hit. Except that it is amazing. It elevates and transcends pop and rock.

The harmonies are some of the best in any song by Queen. The guitar solo by May is iconic. It is progressive/hard rock sandwiched between two ballad-y aspects of the song. Who would think that would work? This is also the third song on this list mentioning the Fandango. They were wild about that dance in the 70s!

Bohemian Rhapsody Lyrics

Mama, just killed a man.
Put a gun against his head,
Pulled my trigger, now he’s dead.
Mama, life had just begun.
But now I’ve gone and thrown it all away.

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.

Too late, my time has come,
Sends shivers down my spine
Body’s aching all the time.
Goodbye everybody, I’ve got to go-
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth.

Mama, ooh,
I don’t want to die,
I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all.

I see a little silhouetto of a man,
Scaramouch, Scaramouch, will you do the Fandango!

Thunderbolts and lightning, very, very frightening me,
Galileo, Galileo,
Galileo, Galileo,
Galileo, Figaro – magnificoo.

I’m just a poor boy nobody loves me,
He’s just a poor boy from a poor family,
Spare him his life from this monstrosity.

Easy come, easy go, will you let me go,
Bismillah! No, we will not let you go.
(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)(Never) Never let you go
(Let me go) (Never) let you go (Let me go) Ah
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
Oh mama mia, mama mia, mama mia, let me go,
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me,
For meee.

So you think you can stop 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.

Nothing really matters, Anyone can see,
Nothing really matters,
Nothing really matters to me
Any way the wind blows…