This song is a masterpiece. Queen has had so much influence and has influenced so many in the music industry. Amount of talent in this band is staggering. Everything they did was groundbreaking. They all could sing and they all could write music queen was in a world of there own . They were just on a different level. They could do it all. There was nothing queen couldn't do. Queen is queen there will never be another queen they were just to good R.I.P FREDDIE WE MISS YOU
Your just getting started going down the queen rabbit hole. Queen will surprise you with every song they have and there songs are all so different and incredible. There live performances are jaw dropping and they never miss R.I.P FREDDIE WE MISS YOU
@@kierstenridgway4634 He didn't even pause that much. I've seen reactors who pause WAY more than he did. And at least he has the courtesy to rewind a bit when he does.
This is the studio version. The song is multi-tracked to give the sound of a 100 person choir with just three voices, Freddie, Brian and Roger. The opening acapella portion is just Freddie multitracked. Bear in mind there was no technology back then to have a computer do this stuff, they had to do it themselves. Only portions of this song were able to be performed live because of the multi-tracking but due to fan pressure, Queen did start doing the song live, eliminating the acapella intro and using the studio track for the middle opera portion. Incredible masterpiece this song is still popular 50 years after it was recorded. All members of this band are multi-instrumentalists. They are all also college educated with Brian May (guitar) even earning his PhD in Astrophysics. He still does some work with NASA even in his mid 70's. Too poor to be able to buy an electric guitar, he also built his guitar, unlike any other guitar available at the time, with his dad when he was a teen from junk they had laying around the house. John Deacon (bass) has an advanced degree in Electronics and built an amp from junk he found in a dumpster. That amp enabled Brian to make his guitar sound like horns or strings. People have been trying to recreate that amp for 50 years but so far, nobody has achieved it. There is one now that is very close but still not quite the same. Roger Taylor (drums) has his degree in Biology and dropped out of Dental School when Queen hit the road touring. Freddie Mercury has a degree in Design, Fashion and Advertising and created the official Queen Logo useing the astrological signs of the four band members as the basis of it. These are all very educated, talented and intelligent guys in this band as well as outstanding musicians. At this point, Freddie was still living with his fiance, Mary Austin. He had not yet come out. What this song is, is a Rhapsody. Thank you for your reaction.
Momma just killed a man is a metaphor for getting rid of the perception of who he is. The truth he faces is his sexuality. This is a very deep song. If you get into Queen even just a little bit you will get him . Great reaction Thankyou ❤️
you may be right but Freddie never disclosed what it was all about - so we are left with our imagination. The band were never told either - . Freddie wanted us to use our fantasy.
It's a song about suicide. When he sings about killing a man, he means himself. And that's why he's talking to his mother. Look at the song from that perspective. And the scene where he asks him to let go, it's a scene between heaven and hell... Then the last rebellion of the soul and peace comes.
I first heard, and saw, this on TV just before Christmas 1975, it was a gamechanger and music was never the same again. Four great musicians led by Freddie Mercury, the GOAT, the best frontman of any band ever.
You just heard part of it at live aid (first song) - where you thought all the famous songs were played at the end😂😂 Nothing more iconic than this one!
You have the reaction I would expect for this masterpiece! All the elements work so well together from vocals, backups, lead and bass guitar, drums, harmonies. Brilliant
@@salmarwow Maybe he is just blown away - as we all were the first time we heard it ?? But you are right - most of the reactors try to find the meaning in the songs they hear - - just to realize in the end that it all had another meaning - or none at all - or that it was more personal - or related to some specific thing/event/famine/war - - etc. - something specific for the time of the writing - - and this was 1975.
And to think. It only took ONE guy to write this legendary song. Something that not a single artist can say. Taylor Swift doesn't even write her own music without the help of several writers. Freddie Mercury is a genius
I don’t see any talent in Swift. I feel sorry for her . All of her work sounds the same. Nothing interesting .i guess I’m just spoiled from growing up in the sixties and seventies and having witnessed the best music ever!!
All four of Queen wrote no. 1 hits - and all of them are inducted in "The songwriters Hall of Fame" - - and all of them were multiinstrumentalists. Roger and Brian has made solo albums as well.
You've been Freddie'd! Freddie Mercury owned the stage! This video was ahead of it's time. I was 15 in 1975 when this came out. That is 6 years before MTV first aired in 1981. They really kicked off the trend of making music videos specifically to promote their songs. Brian May (the guitarist) made that guitar with his father using items they had at home. Freddie had 4 extra teeth that he never had them removed because he didn't want to do anything that might affect his performance.
Queen made this video because the song was number one in the charts vack then the sobg which was number one was preformed on a show called Top of the pops each week,this song Bo rap. Was at number 1 for 8 weeks and they were touring so produced this short film as they called it,and music videos were born xx
I held off watching the movie because I was afraid of being disappointed, but after hearing all the great reviews I gave it ago. Loved it! Rami Malek absolutely nailed it.
This beautiful song was written by Freddie Mercury (lead singer/piano). At that time, he was deciding to come out of the closet as gay to his mom and family. The “man” he killed was his former self, the man his mother raised and loved. Freddie didn’t want to hurt his mother, but he also needed to be happy. So he struggled with what to do. Once you know this, it makes the song very special. The world lost a beautiful soul when Freddie passed away. If you want to know how this song has affected millions of people, around the world, search for a video of “green day crowd sings bohemian rhapsody”. It’s amazing. I won’t say why. But you should definitely react to it. Nice reaction. Thank you 🙏🏻❤
Hey, Moon.. don't especially agree with your interpretation of the song's meaning... but also cannot disagree, b/c what Freddie always said was "it means what you think it means" - lol
If you haven't heard it yet; The Eagles, Hotel California live in '77 has an amazing guitar segment. As for Queen, Freddie was a talent that had crazy charisma on stage. I spent my 24th B-Day at the Queen concert in Montreal, 1981. Freddie passed away in 1991. The same day. I light a candle for him every year on my birthday and play 'Who Wants to Live Forever'.
🌸 so happy to see that you're going down to the older music because Queen is amazing ,talented, and all those other beautiful words... and this song is a masterpiece.
What you are listening to is a musical masterpiece ! Freddie Mercury maybe the greatest male vocalist ever ! EVER !! between him, Elvis and Steve Perry I mean that’s my opinion
Queen was truly revolutionary. Freddie Mercury loved to perform and considered himself more of an artist than a singer I think. He died of Aids when there were very few treatments for it. He continued to sing and perform even though he knew that HIV was a death sentence in short time in those days he was determined to keep singing and performing no matter what. The year he died, My favorite song from the group was released. "The Show Must Go On" it was written by Brian May the guitarrist for him but they weren't sure he was strong enough to sing it. He NAILED it. Then died later the same year the song was released. I think of that song as his last hurrah to not giving up no matter what.
They produced this in a studio with track over track over track all laid on top of one another. I think something like 20+ tracks. NO LIP SYNC! NEVER WITH QUEEN. It was all in Freddie's head and he and the band put this all together first time in the studio. Unbelievable creativity and talent.
Another Queen song you will love to react to from same era (1974) at the Rainbow Theatre London is 'Liar'. The musicianship from all 4 band members is exceptional, with a special shout out to John Deacon's bass solo - an instrument that doesn't often get that opportunity
Your journey down the Queen path cannot be complete without Bohemian Rhapsody. In fact, your journey into great MUSIC of the past cannot be complete without Bohemian Rhapsody! Bohemian Rhapsody, was released in 1975 on the album "A Night at the Opera" which gives a hint as to the musical genre. Freddie Mercury was a huge fan of opera so this song was written as an operatic suite consisting of five distinct parts: an acapella intro, a ballad segment, an operatic passage, a hard rock section, and a reflective coda. Generally it is classified as rock-and-roll, but specifically as a "rock opera" and "progressive rock." Truth is, labeling any Queen song, or Queen the band, is next to impossible! "Bohemian" describes an unconventional, artistic style with freedom and individuality as key elements. "Rhapsody" in musical composition refers to a single work comprised of episodic, diverse pieces arranged into a free-flowing structure designed to heighten emotions. This song came to be because Freddie had pieces of songs he never completed, so he put them together, each section totally different yet masterfully blended into a truly epic masterpiece. It is the band's magnum opus, and is unanimously considered one of the best songs ever written. As for the meaning of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", Freddie was purposefully vague. As with most of the greatest songs, the lyrics are written to be poetic and mysterious. Are they literal or figurative? As separate pieces initially, should the song have a singular meaning? Who knows! The meaning is open to interpretation for each listener to decide, based on how the music and lyrics touched them. You will read comments claiming the song's meaning, but the fact is, the entire band has never stating a specific meaning and has been firm that there isn't one, or if Freddie DID have a specific interpretation, he never shared it. Any assertion of the meaning pertaining to Freddie's sexuality are speculative and pushed by certain groups who WANT that to be the meaning. Nor could the lyrics have any connection to AIDS as the disease did not exist when this song was written. Sadly, there are people who insist one’s sexual preference is the only defining factor to everything one does in life, and therefore (to them) Freddie’s artistic talent is secondary and subjective to who he found attractive. This is ludicrous and insulting to one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time.
In 1975, there was no lip-synching, just multilayered tapes of live performances. This is a short opera in 3 sections - confession, then trial, and finally repentance and acceptance. It might interest you to know that his guitar is one he built with his father at the age of 14, not only that, but he has a doctorate (PhD) in astrophysics. Mama Mia is Italian for 'My Mother', this was made many years before the film of that name. In the section representing his trial, the word 'bismillah' is from an Arabic phrase meaning - "in the name of God, the merciful and compassionate", they are pleading for mercy.
Many times the lyrics in the song are not meant to be taken literally . He's speaking metaphorically. Rhapsody means a song in several movements usually of an emotional nature. This song starts with acapella, ballad, operetta, rock, outro. Freddy was a huge fan of opera. Check out his videos with Montserrat Caballe . I happen to be one of those people who doesn't really like being here but I'm not going to do anything and I rather I have never been born before. That however is the nature of depression. To sleep is good. To die is better. But the best of all is never having been born at all. That is what we struggle with all the time. Franz Nietzsche says the role of the artist is not to answer questions but to ask questions. That's why the song means so many different things to different people. You interpret the lyrics based on your perspective of life. What I've seen people say that the song means and I agree is the first part is he does not live up to his own expectations in standards and he doesn't want to be that person therefore he wishes he has never been born. The second is the discussion about which way he will go up or down. The last part is him accepting that whichever way he goes it's fine because it doesn't really matter. Many people interpret the line put a gun beside his head pulled the trigger now he's dead to Freddy killing off his old self so that his true self who happens to be gay can come forward and live out in the open
Not a play, opera. This song was groundbreaking in how it was recorded. Many of the rockers of the 60's 70's era could play multiple instruments. The guitar player is also an astrophysicist and has worked with NASA. It's only been a couple of decades that people with no musical talent and mediocre voices could make it in the music industry. Real talent is still out there but much less common.
The entire opening harmony part was done in the studio by Freddie alone. He sang all the parts and they mixed all the harmonies together, so it sounds like the whole band. In the operatic part, the whole band sings, but that part was never done live, it simply could not be reproduced as again, this was layers and layers of mixing to make the sound as big as it finally came out.
Thanks, Schuy! Not live.. mostly studio.. but some live shots from concerts... if you look for them, you will find plenty live where they are awesome.. not just lead singer Freddie Mercury, but the entire band... appreciate your reaction...please do more Queen... (p.s. so glad you had headphones - so important to "get it".. lol)
"Mamma mia" is an Italian expression that means "mother mine" or "my mother." It's kind of an English/American trope to have "Italians" start everything they say with "Mamma mia!" in a heavy Italian accent.
Although it looks like all four band members are singing in the beginning section, that is all just Freddie's voice layered. This song is a masterpiece. Queen's repertoire is vast. You never knew where they were going to go next, always fresh and innovative from anthems, heavy rock, pop, ballads, film music, rock opera. They were a genre.
With regard to playing multiple instruments, take a look at "Save Me" from the Montreal concert. Brian May (lead guitarist) starts off playing piano, switches back to guitar, and Freddie seamlessly picks up on piano again. No break, just awesomeness.
Oh, Freddie like girls too, and they liked him. The androgynous (part male/part female) look was a 'thing' in the 70s, so not necessarily an indication of one's true sexual orientation. A lot of rock stars played with. Freddie was probably genuinely bisexual, having mostly serious relationships with women early on, then mostly oriented towards men and more casual sex. However, apparently he did say at one point (sometime in the 80s IIRC), perhaps in a joking way, that he was 'thinking of giving up all this gay/ homosexuality stuff'. That was all before AIDS hit. I was lucky enough to meet him once before he was famous (having noticed him around in London a few times but not had the chance to speak) and I can tell you, the way his eyes glittered at me when I smiled at him - I'm female - was unmistakeably sexual! Although he quickly switched when I looked away, embarrassed, to just being genuinely warm and friendly. So, I think he was just a naturally highly sexual person, but also one who had it under control, up to a point at least. It didn't define him - he was a fascinating, multi-layered person, not your average human!
New sub! Imagine a 7yo telling her opera-loving mother that "Queen is the best band ever!" (Admittedly, I'm a bigger Prince fan, but as for a band - Queen is the GOAT). She didn't believe me, as they'd be competing against Wagner, Mozart, and Handel. But I played her this song, and she actually was pleasantly surprised. Freddie made this amazing short (ish) rock-opera into brilliance. Check out the Green Day concert where the entire crowd of people sing this song from start to finish. Goosebumps!
Bohemian Rhapsody was in a class of it's own, From the album 'A night at the Opera' released in 1975, this put Queen as a band, on the road to superstardom, If you like that, You should listen to their back catalogue, they were genius, but we never appreciated it at the time, This song was much more polished perhaps.❤
It actually was a combination of 3 songs that Freddie was working on and couldn’t seem to finish until he brilliantly decided to put them together and created what is considered the greatest rock song ever written. Definitely the best band and the best frontman in rock history. 🖤🎶🖤
If Freddie Mercury were still alive today he would be 77 years of age, I was born one week after him in 1946. He was extremely talented. It is thought the man he killed in the song was his previous self when he came out of the closet and informed his mother he was gay.
As for the whole gay thing, that's kind of complicated for most artists in the 70s and 80s. If they were gay, they would almost always deny it. And if someone was married, that didn't always mean they were straight. There were questions about Freddy, but he was seldom asked directly in interviews. When an interviewer did ask the question once, he gave a round about answer that boiled down to, "We were all young once." He never publicly embraced a gay or even bisexual identity. It's better just to say that he was a man who had sex with men, but the public didn't even know that for sure. He was very private about his personal life. And as for AIDS, this was the 80s, and people with AIDS generally didn't announce it. That would amount to simultaneously announcing that you were gay. AIDS afflicted the four "H"s--Homosexuals, Heroin addicts, Hemophiliacs, and Haitians. The worst thing about having AIDS was trying to convince your parents you were Haitian. A lot of people put off being tested because a positive result could cost you your job, your housing, your insurance, and often even your family. I don't really blame Freddy for not being tested in the mid-1980s.
Sir you have to watch the movie Bohemian Rhapsody to know the whole story about that song created by Freddie - how tthey started to create that song with combination of opera-acopela-ballad-rock - it's a brilliant masterpiece of Freddie Mercury Their songs - We are the champions Too much love will kill you A kind of magic Love of my life There must be more to love like this Killer queen
Great reaction, however you have just watched Live Aid where Freddie started off with Boh Rhap on the piano and then finished off with We Are The Champions sat at the piano and you didn't know he played it !!!!!!!!!!! Also please it is a given law that you should NEVER pause in the middle of Sir Dr Brian May's solo guitar sections, he is the Governor of all players (in my view and mostly everyone elses). Stay safe from Manchester UK
Poor Freddy died so young too. I remember hearing it on the radio was just driving home from one of my college courses. I was so bummed. Didn't hit me as hard as John Lennon dying but still was a moment I will never forget. Freddy and John both died way too young. Not a play it is more an opera. Freddy always wanted to sing opera so they put a little opera into some of their songs.
Freddie also made a whole album with the greatest soprano in the world at that time, Montserrat Caballé, Listen to "Barcelona" and watch it here - though it isn't live - he was too ill - so there is only one live version - and some others - it was Montserrat's hometown, and they thought that it could be used at the Olympics in Barcelona 1992 - but Freddie died in 1991, so only the videoversion could be used.
Freddy never actually "CAME OUT" till he was just days away from death. He felt it would make people not like the band anymore. It was a different time back then. Now no one would care but back in the 80's it was still kind of taboo. Although there was some in your face people too like Culture Club with Boy George, but was a different mindset I am glad times are better now.
Legend (or truth) had it that Freddie sang all the parts at the beginning. This song is full of metaphors. He killed the man he used to be in order to be himself. My theory is that this song is about him being a homosexual in the 70's with all the social rejection that came with it and the possibility of being physically assaulted, insulted, considered a sinner, an unnatural blasphemy.... With that in mind, the songs take on new meanings: as in ‘Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me'. PS: "mamma mia" is Italian exclamation for literally translated as "my mother".
Source? Mercury denied any particular meaning to Bohemian Rhapsody, as did every member of the band. Your "theory" has zero merit. Frankly it is insulting to the genius of Mercury to assume he could not possibly write lyrics that weren't focused on his sexuality.
@@SharonLathanNovelist ‘it's insulting to Mercury's genius to assume that he couldn't write lyrics that weren't focused on his sexuality’... Where and when I wrote that? Are you OK or do you need to go back to school and learn to understand what you read? Or take your pill and relax... I can't even imagine what your novels will be like.
@anne-mariesindruprix4792 You are correct, this is MY interpretation of that scence/section of the song! Could be a "spiritual courtroom" as much as a physical one, or it could be neither as it is MY interpretation of the song. To me it very much smacks of "Courtroom vibes" in lyrics and "set-up", but as Freddie never said.... 🤷♀️! Thank-you for responding to my comment! 😊🙏💚🙏
Musically it's a rhapsody. It's hard to explain in a few words so google Musical Rhapsody for a clear explanation. Rock bands don't usually do rhapsody so they broke new ground here. There's a whole lot more to check out. Enjoyed your reaction.
Queen's masterpiece, only song close to it: Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. Both rock groups diverged from their usual songs and created one-off songs, which will go down in history. This was a time of talent and genius, no autotune, and certainly no cell phones to break up consciousness.
Queen is fantastic and this is a masterpiece! Recommend their Somebody To Love. If you are interested in how an a cappella group does Bohemian Rhapsody, check out the version by Pentatonix.
If you're a big guitar fan, then i think you s.ould do a reaction to the band Dire Straits, and watch there first single called Sultans Of Swing Live version. It has one of the best guitar solo's i've ever heard. Please i don't think you'll be disapointed in any way. Thank You
Not a bad reaction, But, wwaaayyy too many interruptions! You paused the music 15 times which severely interrupted the smooth flow of this classic piece! 😢
Ok…look up the word “rhapsody”. Then you’ll understand better. And yes I think you get it about the women…and the men. I think he was writing about how he killed himself inside after “switching teams”.
DUDE YOU NEED TO LEARN ABOUT SERIOUS ROCK. This is called rock opera. Queen excelled in this genre. Groundbreaking and Iconic. Noone could match them. Ever! The pianist lead singer Freddie Mercury was bi-sexual. He was married to a woman. I miss him so much. You cut in way too much to hear the many inflections. It killed me to hear you ruin this masterpiece and know nothing of what you watch.
This song is a masterpiece. Queen has had so much influence and has influenced so many in the music industry. Amount of talent in this band is staggering. Everything they did was groundbreaking. They all could sing and they all could write music queen was in a world of there own . They were just on a different level. They could do it all. There was nothing queen couldn't do.
Queen is queen there will never be another queen they were just to good
R.I.P FREDDIE WE MISS YOU
Your just getting started going down the queen rabbit hole. Queen will surprise you with every song they have and there songs are all so different and incredible. There live performances are jaw dropping and they never miss
R.I.P FREDDIE WE MISS YOU
You NEVER pause during a Brian May guitar solo. It is just not done.
I am glad I am not the only one who thinks this.
It's sacrilege.
Well, apparently it is. He did it. He seems to pause a lot! Annoying. I'm out!
@@kierstenridgway4634 He didn't even pause that much. I've seen reactors who pause WAY more than he did. And at least he has the courtesy to rewind a bit when he does.
@@kierstenridgway4634 maybe your response can teach him not to??
This is the studio version. The song is multi-tracked to give the sound of a 100 person choir with just three voices, Freddie, Brian and Roger. The opening acapella portion is just Freddie multitracked. Bear in mind there was no technology back then to have a computer do this stuff, they had to do it themselves. Only portions of this song were able to be performed live because of the multi-tracking but due to fan pressure, Queen did start doing the song live, eliminating the acapella intro and using the studio track for the middle opera portion. Incredible masterpiece this song is still popular 50 years after it was recorded. All members of this band are multi-instrumentalists. They are all also college educated with Brian May (guitar) even earning his PhD in Astrophysics. He still does some work with NASA even in his mid 70's. Too poor to be able to buy an electric guitar, he also built his guitar, unlike any other guitar available at the time, with his dad when he was a teen from junk they had laying around the house. John Deacon (bass) has an advanced degree in Electronics and built an amp from junk he found in a dumpster. That amp enabled Brian to make his guitar sound like horns or strings. People have been trying to recreate that amp for 50 years but so far, nobody has achieved it. There is one now that is very close but still not quite the same. Roger Taylor (drums) has his degree in Biology and dropped out of Dental School when Queen hit the road touring. Freddie Mercury has a degree in Design, Fashion and Advertising and created the official Queen Logo useing the astrological signs of the four band members as the basis of it. These are all very educated, talented and intelligent guys in this band as well as outstanding musicians. At this point, Freddie was still living with his fiance, Mary Austin. He had not yet come out. What this song is, is a Rhapsody. Thank you for your reaction.
Brian May is Sir Brian May. The King knighted him not long ago. He’s been one of my favorite people for a long time. ❤
...not only and Phd in astrophysics, but also is published..🤯
It's a pure original song and it's one of the most beautiful of modern music !
Momma just killed a man is a metaphor for getting rid of the perception of who he is. The truth he faces is his sexuality. This is a very deep song. If you get into Queen even just a little bit you will get him . Great reaction Thankyou ❤️
Bingo
you may be right but Freddie never disclosed what it was all about - so we are left with our imagination. The band were never told either - . Freddie wanted us to use our fantasy.
It's a song about suicide. When he sings about killing a man, he means himself. And that's why he's talking to his mother. Look at the song from that perspective. And the scene where he asks him to let go, it's a scene between heaven and hell... Then the last rebellion of the soul and peace comes.
it is a mini Opera one of the greatest song ever written
Happy Birthday John Deacon!
That intro is all Freddie, overdubbing himself. The central Rock Opera, they practically wore the tape out with working on it.
I first heard, and saw, this on TV just before Christmas 1975, it was a gamechanger and music was never the same again. Four great musicians led by Freddie Mercury, the GOAT, the best frontman of any band ever.
You just heard part of it at live aid (first song) - where you thought all the famous songs were played at the end😂😂 Nothing more iconic than this one!
Great reaction. “Somebody to love” live at Montreal. You won’t be disappointed. 😁👍🏾
😮👍👍👍😍
You have the reaction I would expect for this masterpiece! All the elements work so well together from vocals, backups, lead and bass guitar, drums, harmonies. Brilliant
I'd say exactly opposite. He is too focused on the text. While it has it's meaning, there are other things which makes this song a masterpiece.
@@salmarwow Maybe he is just blown away - as we all were the first time we heard it ?? But you are right - most of the reactors try to find the meaning in the songs they hear - - just to realize in the end that it all had another meaning - or none at all - or that it was more personal - or related to some specific thing/event/famine/war - - etc. - something specific for the time of the writing - - and this was 1975.
Welcome to the rabbithole know as Queen. This legendary song created a whole new genre of music known as Rock Opera. I love all of your videos.
And to think. It only took ONE guy to write this legendary song. Something that not a single artist can say. Taylor Swift doesn't even write her own music without the help of several writers. Freddie Mercury is a genius
I don’t see any talent in Swift. I feel sorry for her . All of her work sounds the same. Nothing interesting .i guess I’m just spoiled from growing up in the sixties and seventies and having witnessed the best music ever!!
All four of Queen wrote no. 1 hits - and all of them are inducted in "The songwriters Hall of Fame" - - and all of them were multiinstrumentalists. Roger and Brian has made solo albums as well.
@@NancyMoran-r3b Same. Completely agree.
You've been Freddie'd! Freddie Mercury owned the stage! This video was ahead of it's time. I was 15 in 1975 when this came out. That is 6 years before MTV first aired in 1981. They really kicked off the trend of making music videos specifically to promote their songs. Brian May (the guitarist) made that guitar with his father using items they had at home. Freddie had 4 extra teeth that he never had them removed because he didn't want to do anything that might affect his performance.
meaning - affect his singing voice 😉
Queen made this video because the song was number one in the charts vack then the sobg which was number one was preformed on a show called Top of the pops each week,this song Bo rap. Was at number 1 for 8 weeks and they were touring so produced this short film as they called it,and music videos were born xx
Check out the video of the Greenday concert where the entire stadium sang this acapella.
The lyrics are amazing only he could sing this song god bless
That's Queen No lip syncing. They are a team.
The lyrics are his. See the movie to understand them. All symbolic.
I held off watching the movie because I was afraid of being disappointed, but after hearing all the great reviews I gave it ago. Loved it! Rami Malek absolutely nailed it.
This beautiful song was written by Freddie Mercury (lead singer/piano). At that time, he was deciding to come out of the closet as gay to his mom and family. The “man” he killed was his former self, the man his mother raised and loved. Freddie didn’t want to hurt his mother, but he also needed to be happy. So he struggled with what to do.
Once you know this, it makes the song very special. The world lost a beautiful soul when Freddie passed away.
If you want to know how this song has affected millions of people, around the world, search for a video of “green day crowd sings bohemian rhapsody”. It’s amazing. I won’t say why. But you should definitely react to it.
Nice reaction. Thank you 🙏🏻❤
I watched that Green Day video and it was amazing. I think if that song was playing anywhere the same thing would happen.
Ditto!!
Hey, Moon.. don't especially agree with your interpretation of the song's meaning... but also cannot disagree, b/c what Freddie always said was "it means what you think it means" - lol
@@tonyabomia7217 Go to a pub almost anywhere in England and play it loudly, often the same thing will happen. :)
@@GinMae I’ve tried to spin it in my head differently, and nothing else makes sense. Many others think the same, but no one will ever truly know. 😊
If you haven't heard it yet; The Eagles, Hotel California live in '77 has an amazing guitar segment. As for Queen, Freddie was a talent that had crazy charisma on stage. I spent my 24th B-Day at the Queen concert in Montreal, 1981. Freddie passed away in 1991. The same day. I light a candle for him every year on my birthday and play 'Who Wants to Live Forever'.
I was 8 when this came out and it made me cry, the first part.
🌸 so happy to see that you're going down to the older music because Queen is amazing ,talented, and all those other beautiful words... and this song is a masterpiece.
What you are listening to is a musical masterpiece ! Freddie Mercury maybe the greatest male vocalist ever ! EVER !! between him, Elvis and Steve Perry I mean that’s my opinion
Queen was truly revolutionary. Freddie Mercury loved to perform and considered himself more of an artist than a singer I think. He died of Aids when there were very few treatments for it. He continued to sing and perform even though he knew that HIV was a death sentence in short time in those days he was determined to keep singing and performing no matter what. The year he died, My favorite song from the group was released. "The Show Must Go On" it was written by Brian May the guitarrist for him but they weren't sure he was strong enough to sing it. He NAILED it. Then died later the same year the song was released. I think of that song as his last hurrah to not giving up no matter what.
Such a fun song! Driving around with friends in the mid '80s just rocking out to this wonderful creation.❤
They produced this in a studio with track over track over track all laid on top of one another. I think something like 20+ tracks. NO LIP SYNC! NEVER WITH QUEEN. It was all in Freddie's head and he and the band put this all together first time in the studio. Unbelievable creativity and talent.
This song was lead vocalist Freddie'ꜱ own history.😊
If you say so .
Another Queen song you will love to react to from same era (1974) at the Rainbow Theatre London is 'Liar'. The musicianship from all 4 band members is exceptional, with a special shout out to John Deacon's bass solo - an instrument that doesn't often get that opportunity
To understand the amazing legacy of this song check out green day crowd sings bohemian rhapsody and Hyde park 👍 30 years on still lighting up Concerts
Your journey down the Queen path cannot be complete without Bohemian Rhapsody. In fact, your journey into great MUSIC of the past cannot be complete without Bohemian Rhapsody!
Bohemian Rhapsody, was released in 1975 on the album "A Night at the Opera" which gives a hint as to the musical genre. Freddie Mercury was a huge fan of opera so this song was written as an operatic suite consisting of five distinct parts: an acapella intro, a ballad segment, an operatic passage, a hard rock section, and a reflective coda. Generally it is classified as rock-and-roll, but specifically as a "rock opera" and "progressive rock." Truth is, labeling any Queen song, or Queen the band, is next to impossible!
"Bohemian" describes an unconventional, artistic style with freedom and individuality as key elements. "Rhapsody" in musical composition refers to a single work comprised of episodic, diverse pieces arranged into a free-flowing structure designed to heighten emotions. This song came to be because Freddie had pieces of songs he never completed, so he put them together, each section totally different yet masterfully blended into a truly epic masterpiece. It is the band's magnum opus, and is unanimously considered one of the best songs ever written.
As for the meaning of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", Freddie was purposefully vague. As with most of the greatest songs, the lyrics are written to be poetic and mysterious. Are they literal or figurative? As separate pieces initially, should the song have a singular meaning? Who knows! The meaning is open to interpretation for each listener to decide, based on how the music and lyrics touched them. You will read comments claiming the song's meaning, but the fact is, the entire band has never stating a specific meaning and has been firm that there isn't one, or if Freddie DID have a specific interpretation, he never shared it. Any assertion of the meaning pertaining to Freddie's sexuality are speculative and pushed by certain groups who WANT that to be the meaning. Nor could the lyrics have any connection to AIDS as the disease did not exist when this song was written. Sadly, there are people who insist one’s sexual preference is the only defining factor to everything one does in life, and therefore (to them) Freddie’s artistic talent is secondary and subjective to who he found attractive. This is ludicrous and insulting to one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time.
🥰 Precisely. Thank you
In 1975, there was no lip-synching, just multilayered tapes of live performances. This is a short opera in 3 sections - confession, then trial, and finally repentance and acceptance. It might interest you to know that his guitar is one he built with his father at the age of 14, not only that, but he has a doctorate (PhD) in astrophysics. Mama Mia is Italian for 'My Mother', this was made many years before the film of that name. In the section representing his trial, the word 'bismillah' is from an Arabic phrase meaning - "in the name of God, the merciful and compassionate", they are pleading for mercy.
Freddie had 3 unfinished songs, he put them together, it worked.
Many times the lyrics in the song are not meant to be taken literally . He's speaking metaphorically. Rhapsody means a song in several movements usually of an emotional nature. This song starts with acapella, ballad, operetta, rock, outro. Freddy was a huge fan of opera. Check out his videos with Montserrat Caballe . I happen to be one of those people who doesn't really like being here but I'm not going to do anything and I rather I have never been born before. That however is the nature of depression. To sleep is good. To die is better. But the best of all is never having been born at all. That is what we struggle with all the time. Franz Nietzsche says the role of the artist is not to answer questions but to ask questions. That's why the song means so many different things to different people. You interpret the lyrics based on your perspective of life. What I've seen people say that the song means and I agree is the first part is he does not live up to his own expectations in standards and he doesn't want to be that person therefore he wishes he has never been born. The second is the discussion about which way he will go up or down. The last part is him accepting that whichever way he goes it's fine because it doesn't really matter. Many people interpret the line put a gun beside his head pulled the trigger now he's dead to Freddy killing off his old self so that his true self who happens to be gay can come forward and live out in the open
It seems one would need to research Freddie Mercury and his genius reasons behind this magnificent masterpiece.
Just 1 criticism. NEVER pause a Brian May guitar solo
Not a play, opera. This song was groundbreaking in how it was recorded. Many of the rockers of the 60's 70's era could play multiple instruments. The guitar player is also an astrophysicist and has worked with NASA. It's only been a couple of decades that people with no musical talent and mediocre voices could make it in the music industry. Real talent is still out there but much less common.
No radio station would air this they said it was too long until Kenny Everett did against all odds, the song exploded. Everyone went mad for it.
I literally just came here to see if you watched this 😂❤️
The entire opening harmony part was done in the studio by Freddie alone. He sang all the parts and they mixed all the harmonies together, so it sounds like the whole band. In the operatic part, the whole band sings, but that part was never done live, it simply could not be reproduced as again, this was layers and layers of mixing to make the sound as big as it finally came out.
Real music before your time. From 50svto 90s. No autotune. People actually played the instruments.
Thanks, Schuy! Not live.. mostly studio.. but some live shots from concerts... if you look for them, you will find plenty live where they are awesome.. not just lead singer Freddie Mercury, but the entire band... appreciate your reaction...please do more Queen... (p.s. so glad you had headphones - so important to "get it".. lol)
Freddie wrote it and he loved opera.
Queen had beautiful harmony
"Mamma mia" is an Italian expression that means "mother mine" or "my mother." It's kind of an English/American trope to have "Italians" start everything they say with "Mamma mia!" in a heavy Italian accent.
Freddie’s best instrument was his voice. Magical.
Try out "You take my breath away" 1976 Hyde Park. You'll be blown away ❤
I’ll add it to the list for sure !!
It may help to know that this track was first released on an album called "A Night At The Opera". 🙂
Although it looks like all four band members are singing in the beginning section, that is all just Freddie's voice layered. This song is a masterpiece. Queen's repertoire is vast. You never knew where they were going to go next, always fresh and innovative from anthems, heavy rock, pop, ballads, film music, rock opera. They were a genre.
With regard to playing multiple instruments, take a look at "Save Me" from the Montreal concert. Brian May (lead guitarist) starts off playing piano, switches back to guitar, and Freddie seamlessly picks up on piano again. No break, just awesomeness.
- and Brian having his guitar on the back while playing the piano 🥰🎸🎹
Buckle up you’re going for a ride❤😊 Queen does that….let them.✅😎
He did play piano for two different songs in the live performance you watched lmao not just guitar
who?? Brian?? They were all multi instrumentalists - and they all played the piano.
Oh, Freddie like girls too, and they liked him. The androgynous (part male/part female) look was a 'thing' in the 70s, so not necessarily an indication of one's true sexual orientation. A lot of rock stars played with. Freddie was probably genuinely bisexual, having mostly serious relationships with women early on, then mostly oriented towards men and more casual sex. However, apparently he did say at one point (sometime in the 80s IIRC), perhaps in a joking way, that he was 'thinking of giving up all this gay/ homosexuality stuff'. That was all before AIDS hit.
I was lucky enough to meet him once before he was famous (having noticed him around in London a few times but not had the chance to speak) and I can tell you, the way his eyes glittered at me when I smiled at him - I'm female - was unmistakeably sexual! Although he quickly switched when I looked away, embarrassed, to just being genuinely warm and friendly. So, I think he was just a naturally highly sexual person, but also one who had it under control, up to a point at least. It didn't define him - he was a fascinating, multi-layered person, not your average human!
Just so y'all know... ...the guitarist, Brian May, is also an astrophysicist who worked on the recent asteroid landing collecting space rocks.
New sub! Imagine a 7yo telling her opera-loving mother that "Queen is the best band ever!" (Admittedly, I'm a bigger Prince fan, but as for a band - Queen is the GOAT). She didn't believe me, as they'd be competing against Wagner, Mozart, and Handel. But I played her this song, and she actually was pleasantly surprised. Freddie made this amazing short (ish) rock-opera into brilliance. Check out the Green Day concert where the entire crowd of people sing this song from start to finish. Goosebumps!
GOATS..❤
Bohemian Rhapsody was in a class of it's own, From the album 'A night at the Opera' released in 1975, this put Queen as a band, on the road to superstardom, If you like that, You should listen to their back catalogue, they were genius, but we never appreciated it at the time, This song was much more polished perhaps.❤
Great lead guitar by Brian May--listen to the bass guitar on this song (John Deacon). I love it.
It actually was a combination of 3 songs that Freddie was working on and couldn’t seem to finish until he brilliantly decided to put them together and created what is considered the greatest rock song ever written. Definitely the best band and the best frontman in rock history. 🖤🎶🖤
If Freddie Mercury were still alive today he would be 77 years of age, I was born one week after him in 1946. He was extremely talented. It is thought the man he killed in the song was his previous self when he came out of the closet and informed his mother he was gay.
You have to watch the movie "Bohemian Rhapsody". You'll get a look at the story of the entire band.
Remember it is a movie - a good one - but not a documentary .
As for the whole gay thing, that's kind of complicated for most artists in the 70s and 80s. If they were gay, they would almost always deny it. And if someone was married, that didn't always mean they were straight. There were questions about Freddy, but he was seldom asked directly in interviews. When an interviewer did ask the question once, he gave a round about answer that boiled down to, "We were all young once." He never publicly embraced a gay or even bisexual identity. It's better just to say that he was a man who had sex with men, but the public didn't even know that for sure. He was very private about his personal life.
And as for AIDS, this was the 80s, and people with AIDS generally didn't announce it. That would amount to simultaneously announcing that you were gay. AIDS afflicted the four "H"s--Homosexuals, Heroin addicts, Hemophiliacs, and Haitians. The worst thing about having AIDS was trying to convince your parents you were Haitian. A lot of people put off being tested because a positive result could cost you your job, your housing, your insurance, and often even your family. I don't really blame Freddy for not being tested in the mid-1980s.
Brian May and his father built the guitar that Brian is playing.
Qeen and Freddie are the GOAT 👍👍🔥🔥🔥
they created this, nothing like this was done before this
Great reaction
thanks a lot !!!! have a bless day 💯💯💯
Sir you have to watch the movie Bohemian Rhapsody to know the whole story about that song created by Freddie - how tthey started to create that song with combination of opera-acopela-ballad-rock - it's a brilliant masterpiece of Freddie Mercury
Their songs - We are the champions
Too much love will kill you
A kind of magic
Love of my life
There must be more to love like this
Killer queen
Eddie Mucury wrote it. Watch the Movie Bohemian Rhapsody...history of the band.
But it is a movie - not a documentary . Rami Malek who played the role of Freddie got an Oscar - - and other prizes - for it.
Great reaction, however you have just watched Live Aid where Freddie started off with Boh Rhap on the piano and then finished off with We Are The Champions sat at the piano and you didn't know he played it !!!!!!!!!!! Also please it is a given law that you should NEVER pause in the middle of Sir Dr Brian May's solo guitar sections, he is the Governor of all players (in my view and mostly everyone elses). Stay safe from Manchester UK
They had so many overdubs, the 2" tape was almost see-through, so they had to mix it down onto a new tape so they could do some more overdubs 😅
There is an entire subtext under the lyrics of this song. If you learn more about him, you will get it.
Queen rabbit hole? "Don't Stop Me Now"
🌸 also, Freddy had a vocal range of 4 octaves.
Now listen to Edgar Winter group's Frankenstein studio version.
Poor Freddy died so young too. I remember hearing it on the radio was just driving home from one of my college courses. I was so bummed. Didn't hit me as hard as John Lennon dying but still was a moment I will never forget. Freddy and John both died way too young. Not a play it is more an opera. Freddy always wanted to sing opera so they put a little opera into some of their songs.
Freddie also made a whole album with the greatest soprano in the world at that time, Montserrat Caballé, Listen to "Barcelona" and watch it here - though it isn't live - he was too ill - so there is only one live version - and some others - it was Montserrat's hometown, and they thought that it could be used at the Olympics in Barcelona 1992 - but Freddie died in 1991, so only the videoversion could be used.
come on man you never interrupt a Brian May guitar solo!
Freddy never actually "CAME OUT" till he was just days away from death. He felt it would make people not like the band anymore. It was a different time back then. Now no one would care but back in the 80's it was still kind of taboo. Although there was some in your face people too like Culture Club with Boy George, but was a different mindset I am glad times are better now.
Legend (or truth) had it that Freddie sang all the parts at the beginning. This song is full of metaphors. He killed the man he used to be in order to be himself. My theory is that this song is about him being a homosexual in the 70's with all the social rejection that came with it and the possibility of being physically assaulted, insulted, considered a sinner, an unnatural blasphemy.... With that in mind, the songs take on new meanings: as in ‘Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me'.
PS: "mamma mia" is Italian exclamation for literally translated as "my mother".
Source? Mercury denied any particular meaning to Bohemian Rhapsody, as did every member of the band. Your "theory" has zero merit. Frankly it is insulting to the genius of Mercury to assume he could not possibly write lyrics that weren't focused on his sexuality.
@@SharonLathanNovelist ‘it's insulting to Mercury's genius to assume that he couldn't write lyrics that weren't focused on his sexuality’... Where and when I wrote that? Are you OK or do you need to go back to school and learn to understand what you read? Or take your pill and relax...
I can't even imagine what your novels will be like.
The section you thought was a play/opera is a "Courtroom" Freddie pleading his case to judge/jury! 🤔😊🙏💚🙏
That is up to you - Freddie never told - and Wouldn't .
@anne-mariesindruprix4792 You are correct, this is MY interpretation of that scence/section of the song! Could be a "spiritual courtroom" as much as a physical one, or it could be neither as it is MY interpretation of the song. To me it very much smacks of "Courtroom vibes" in lyrics and "set-up", but as Freddie never said.... 🤷♀️! Thank-you for responding to my comment! 😊🙏💚🙏
Musically it's a rhapsody. It's hard to explain in a few words so google Musical Rhapsody for a clear explanation. Rock bands don't usually do rhapsody so they broke new ground here. There's a whole lot more to check out. Enjoyed your reaction.
Great reaction but you’re paying too much attention to the lyrics and they are incredible but are you appreciating the incredible vocals?
Would love to see your reaction to Queen, Who Wants To Live Forever
Written by Brian May for the movie "Highlander" - about immortality. Queen wrote the soundtrack.
Listen to somebody to love Live
You can See this iive 👍👍
Supposedly his coming out song.
Oh really?
That has what has been said over decades. But who knows.
only Freddie is singing 200 times
Three words
"Fat Bottomed Girls".
It's by Queen and it's called "Fat Bottomed Girls". How could you not want to listen to that?
Freddie was getting the females and later both male and female.
Watch the movie Bohemian Rapsody, and then you will understand..
Stop interrupting the Guitar Solo!
Queen's masterpiece, only song close to it: Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. Both rock groups diverged from their usual songs and created one-off songs, which will go down in history. This was a time of talent and genius, no autotune, and certainly no cell phones to break up consciousness.
Queen is fantastic and this is a masterpiece! Recommend their Somebody To Love.
If you are interested in how an a cappella group does Bohemian Rhapsody, check out the version by Pentatonix.
Not Someone to love - but SomeBODY to love. - and the live version from Montreal 1981. - My favorite .
@@anne-mariesindruprix4792 Thanks
Its about him coming out as bisexual
If you're a big guitar fan, then i think you s.ould do a reaction to the band Dire Straits, and watch there first single called Sultans Of Swing Live version. It has one of the best guitar solo's i've ever heard. Please i don't think you'll be disapointed in any way. Thank You
Not a bad reaction, But, wwaaayyy too many interruptions! You paused the music 15 times which severely interrupted the smooth flow of this classic piece! 😢
Ok…look up the word “rhapsody”. Then you’ll understand better.
And yes I think you get it about the women…and the men. I think he was writing about how he killed himself inside after “switching teams”.
DUDE YOU NEED TO LEARN ABOUT SERIOUS ROCK. This is called rock opera. Queen excelled in this genre. Groundbreaking and Iconic. Noone could match them. Ever! The pianist lead singer Freddie Mercury was bi-sexual. He was married to a woman. I miss him so much. You cut in way too much to hear the many inflections. It killed me to hear you ruin this masterpiece and know nothing of what you watch.
The end is probably near, because we are running out of alphabet! 😜