a simple rhyme, "head" and "bed and "dead" should not be called ripping off the beatles. In fact, I like the beatles, but I believe that Queen is better. It is truly insulting that they would say that
the post coital reading is just ridic (& the beatles ripoff accusation insulting) - simply reading freddie's "life" into it baaaaah stop it with the dracula dramaturgy
i thought it was about when freddie found about his A.I.Ds but he hadnt been diagnosed yet and not for another like 10 years and the opera part is completely random
I appreciate all the theories of interpretation offered by fellow Queen fans (not the pompous, laughable Oxford guys in their tight underwear).
However, in an interview somewhere on the Tube, Freddie was laughing about people trying to interpret the BoRap lyrics (and all the attempts at lyrical interpretation of his music. He said something like, "Darling, I don't have a clue what the song means, and who cares" I wish I could remember where to find it.
Lol, its funny how people spend their time figuring tou the meaning of songs or books when in reality, the author of them has no interpretation of it either, they just wrote it down and thought it sounded good and went with that. Kurt Cobain in Nirvana once said that it was difficult to answer the questions about the meaning of his songs because a lot of them their is pretty much any meaning at all. Its funny how awesome songs are made like that.
But i think the 'Mamma' bit is about mary austin, Mamma mary, someone was telling me about it, not sure if its true though. Bloody good song though, great band :)
I think its about a man who does not know if he has killed a man or not, and goes to Hell and meets the devils. He asks himself does it really matter? Because any way the wind blows, it doesn't really matter to him.
come on guys, the lyrics is about a man (freddie) coming clean to his mother, a fervent parsi, and her judgement, the prejuices of a closeted society and the pple that understand him (Scaramouche, Galileo, Bismillah), and a baby (Mary Austin) who was a problem for the sexual issue of Fred...
And why the hell are they getting oxfords best minds why dont they get a smart person with amazing imagination and a good knowledge of rock and even if they found out the true meaning behind it how will they know it is roger wouldnt tell them
literaty minds my ass, if they were cultured they would know that Galileo was what a lot of people called Jesus. Freddy was more brilliant than they will ever be.
I think this is a really good documentary. The only thing that wrecks it is those pompous Oxford idiots analysing the lyrics from left, right and centre. None of them have a clue. Nobody does. The reality is that Freddie probably didn't even know what he was writing them about. It seems for all their supposed intellect, they can't just accept that these lyrics, however poetical they may be, don't have to mean anything. It's rock music, not Shakespeare.
These lyrics have meaning "Bismila"means in the name of God in Arabic, Galileo is what a lot of Peruvians called Jesus, just like noel for christmas. Scaramouche was a clown, which in the lyrics they are making him dance, the rest is self explanatory.
But what is the song meant to represent, if anything? That's what I'm getting at. It's one thing to define the individual words, but explaining how and why they've been put together in this song is a secret I think Freddie may have taken to his grave... Roger Taylor allegedly knows aswell... Wish he'd tell us all!
Thanks though! I didn't know any of that before you told me. :)
@fdrstrat yes and the "even oxford university" is too self-congratulatory, prolly imagining they're so "hip" to take on a "hit single" on a loo break. it's not even analysis of the musical structure, just purely text w/ biographical angle (starts off compassionate but doesn't explain anything beyond how africa/india/london are 3 different places. do we really need the obvious geography lesson?) nobody knows freddie's human experience
I am Russian but even to me the song sounds like a beautiful combination of phrases, meanings and funny words like "Scarmouche" or "fandango" or "Bismillah". Or phrases like "I don't want to die, I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all" - everybody can understand this feeling. I mean it is all about life and what we feel in life and how do we feel it. And it is beautifully organized and put into a musical stuff. And the music tells by itself. You haven' to be British to like the music.
Bollocks to what they think! Only Freddie knows what it's about! I can't stand the bloke who speaks the song... does my head in. Love the Bob Geldof "Can you do the fandango? No!" lol
I actually find the actor trying to be dramatic and serious and declaming the words of the song quite hilarious and embarassing. What a stupid idea, really!
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maybe this song was freddie's meaning of the way he rationalizes himself and his realization that he is gay. bohemian is a word that literally means "playboy"
this song is about a boy who kills someone and sells his soul to the devil and then later regrets this and calls upon the angels in arabic to save his soul from Satan... "We will not let you go"<Demons "Let him go" angels, stuff like that drops hints and yah know "beezelbub has a devil put aside for me", duh...
it doesnt take the worlds greatest scientist to figure it out. the soung is about him having a disease. and he doesnt have much time and saying ive got to go. there is no turning bak>>
geez!when will ppl stop saying this song is about him having this terrible disease!nobody knew about hiv or aids back then,and he also didn't know he had it until '87.
"Most people there did not know what to make of it".Of course that statement is made in such a condescending way! Why do the British insist on on drawing this imaginary line regarding intellect (presumably drawn down the middle of the Atlantic)? It really all comes down to marketing. The song was marketed differently in America. Hate to break it to the British... it's all the same DNA!
Richard E. Grant trying to gain some kind of prestigious acting award - Oscar, Emmy, BAFTA - but resulting in what today's youth dub "epic fail" (or the bad actor's award: Razzie).
lol! I thought i was the only teen in love with queen. go to msn dollies [dot com] and in the search box type freddie mercury there's a pretty col icon there =]
im american and seriously it upsets me that queen was shut down by a video that is suppose to be taken lightly. we think eveyrthing is tabooo yet we do it behing the scenes..ughh...
I don't see why it's so hard to figure out what the song means. The intro is him not believing what he just did (murder). The main part is him describing what he did and explaining to his mom that he's sorry and is upset at what he did. The opera part is the trial with the judge and jury as the chorus. And the rock part is him breaking out and standing up for himself. Am I not right?
You're right... actually I read an interview once in which Brian May supposedly stated that it was based on a dream Freddie had... either way, I've studied at Oxford and STILL think they over-analyze everything LOL
u know freddy is up there laughing his ass off having all these scholars try to dissect what the song is about. for all we know he prob wrote it after seeing star wars
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'Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head' there is nothing even close to the meaning in thise phrase and anything in Bo Rap, these guys are making too much money for nothing...
i dont know what the hell im talking about as ive never examined the lyrics until now, but for kicks: i get the imagery of a guy who made mistakes in life, dies, gets caught in some sort of hell, wants out, and accepts the reality of his situation.
I think it's about a guy who shot someone and is getting executed cause of it, he's writing a letter to his mother before he is getting executed, he is asking to get free cause he knows it was a mistake and he is confused and doesn't know if he really killed someone and is getting executed or not... :)
well if you try to analyze the song, it is more about a person who is looking for a place in this world. a confused person, who had lost his hope, self control and a person who doesnt know what is his purpose in life. it is not about Freddie, it is more on his general guts feeling of what he see in reality. it may connect him in some ways but this is for troubled ppl who can do anything when they are down, depressed and doesnt belong to someone or something.
I just have to laugh when they get all serious trying to discover what it means.
h0minid25 1 month ago
a simple rhyme, "head" and "bed and "dead" should not be called ripping off the beatles. In fact, I like the beatles, but I believe that Queen is better. It is truly insulting that they would say that
pwnographygamer 6 months ago 3
@pwnographygamer Well said
imputanium 6 months ago
Vote Richard E. Grant to play Zod! :D
TalesOfKrypton 10 months ago
fuck! those guy's are totally taking the fun out of it...
maximumridechik 11 months ago
the post coital reading is just ridic (& the beatles ripoff accusation insulting) - simply reading freddie's "life" into it baaaaah stop it with the dracula dramaturgy
edmame 11 months ago
i'm sorry grant's reciting is hilarious. way too serious/intense
edmame 11 months ago
Bo Rhap is about a guy transcending his pain thru artistic imagination
edmame 11 months ago
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magesada 1 year ago
7:05 "numberrr" Love him!
resilvina 1 year ago
BohRhap is about coming out
PushingAPullDoor 1 year ago
Bismillah,Freddie we will never let you go,never let you go out of our hearts!
Queenmime 1 year ago
It is all about a boy waiting on a death row in regret.. with grim reapers lurking around :P... i guess
enikisser 1 year ago
i thought it was about when freddie found about his A.I.Ds but he hadnt been diagnosed yet and not for another like 10 years and the opera part is completely random
HarryMcGibbon 2 years ago
this guy's a dork
shangoshun 2 years ago
i think lyrics are about how Freddie is gay or something... but, who cares,. its a wonderful piece of art
g1nce123 2 years ago
What's with the Christopher Walkin-like dude who is trying to sound so serious and mysterious while saying the lyrics? What a joke..
vixenmusique 2 years ago 12
@vixenmusique hahaha <3
Annna94xd 3 months ago
I appreciate all the theories of interpretation offered by fellow Queen fans (not the pompous, laughable Oxford guys in their tight underwear).
However, in an interview somewhere on the Tube, Freddie was laughing about people trying to interpret the BoRap lyrics (and all the attempts at lyrical interpretation of his music. He said something like, "Darling, I don't have a clue what the song means, and who cares" I wish I could remember where to find it.
vixenmusique 2 years ago
Lol, its funny how people spend their time figuring tou the meaning of songs or books when in reality, the author of them has no interpretation of it either, they just wrote it down and thought it sounded good and went with that. Kurt Cobain in Nirvana once said that it was difficult to answer the questions about the meaning of his songs because a lot of them their is pretty much any meaning at all. Its funny how awesome songs are made like that.
themillenia 2 years ago
Too true! A lot of music is for pure entertainment, not meant to be picked apart like a Shakespearian sonnet :)
vixenmusique 2 years ago
But i think the 'Mamma' bit is about mary austin, Mamma mary, someone was telling me about it, not sure if its true though. Bloody good song though, great band :)
xXx1beatles1xXx 2 years ago
@xXx1beatles1xXx it's actually freddie's prediction that abba will overtake bo rhap's top spot 9 wks later
edmame 11 months ago
at 7:00 - what live show was that at? Hammersmith Odeon?
Politicalchick99 2 years ago
I think its about a man who does not know if he has killed a man or not, and goes to Hell and meets the devils. He asks himself does it really matter? Because any way the wind blows, it doesn't really matter to him.
feiscool 2 years ago
come on guys, the lyrics is about a man (freddie) coming clean to his mother, a fervent parsi, and her judgement, the prejuices of a closeted society and the pple that understand him (Scaramouche, Galileo, Bismillah), and a baby (Mary Austin) who was a problem for the sexual issue of Fred...
thats the story
XOPAUXO 2 years ago
also, freddie was an underground bohemian who wrote a lot of simple verses jointed with his friends (A Rhapsody)
XOPAUXO 2 years ago
FREDDIE A MASTER
IVANSERRATOS 2 years ago
And why the hell are they getting oxfords best minds why dont they get a smart person with amazing imagination and a good knowledge of rock and even if they found out the true meaning behind it how will they know it is roger wouldnt tell them
GuitarLegendov96 2 years ago
at the moment i recon fred is a very depressed man
GuitarLegendov96 2 years ago
literaty minds my ass, if they were cultured they would know that Galileo was what a lot of people called Jesus. Freddy was more brilliant than they will ever be.
shanttamazian 2 years ago 3
I love this series......only got part 6
Forgot should we be taking notes?
Anybody know the date of final?
Hope it's open book.
louisejbjb 2 years ago
I think this is a really good documentary. The only thing that wrecks it is those pompous Oxford idiots analysing the lyrics from left, right and centre. None of them have a clue. Nobody does. The reality is that Freddie probably didn't even know what he was writing them about. It seems for all their supposed intellect, they can't just accept that these lyrics, however poetical they may be, don't have to mean anything. It's rock music, not Shakespeare.
fdrstrat 2 years ago
st8 just said that didn't notice you did : )
These lyrics have meaning "Bismila"means in the name of God in Arabic, Galileo is what a lot of Peruvians called Jesus, just like noel for christmas. Scaramouche was a clown, which in the lyrics they are making him dance, the rest is self explanatory.
shanttamazian 2 years ago
But what is the song meant to represent, if anything? That's what I'm getting at. It's one thing to define the individual words, but explaining how and why they've been put together in this song is a secret I think Freddie may have taken to his grave... Roger Taylor allegedly knows aswell... Wish he'd tell us all!
Thanks though! I didn't know any of that before you told me. :)
fdrstrat 2 years ago
@fdrstrat yes and the "even oxford university" is too self-congratulatory, prolly imagining they're so "hip" to take on a "hit single" on a loo break. it's not even analysis of the musical structure, just purely text w/ biographical angle (starts off compassionate but doesn't explain anything beyond how africa/india/london are 3 different places. do we really need the obvious geography lesson?) nobody knows freddie's human experience
edmame 11 months ago
Overanalyzed... Just a great song, that's it
DutchDanimal 2 years ago
I wish Freddie was here to see this.
I wonder what quiet Deacon thinks about this pseudo-intellectual pompous waffle.
I'm sure Brian and Roger find this more laughable than the Darkness.
JosephKuby 3 years ago
man those oxford guys are a band of douchebags
dabbivals 3 years ago
THIS is what Oxford Scholars came up with? Hmmm.
driverzero1 3 years ago
I am Russian but even to me the song sounds like a beautiful combination of phrases, meanings and funny words like "Scarmouche" or "fandango" or "Bismillah". Or phrases like "I don't want to die, I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all" - everybody can understand this feeling. I mean it is all about life and what we feel in life and how do we feel it. And it is beautifully organized and put into a musical stuff. And the music tells by itself. You haven' to be British to like the music.
facellina 3 years ago 2
Bollocks to what they think! Only Freddie knows what it's about! I can't stand the bloke who speaks the song... does my head in. Love the Bob Geldof "Can you do the fandango? No!" lol
MrMercuryKingOfQueen 3 years ago 3
The Guy at 3:57 thinks he's Sigmund Freud.
KanzlerM 3 years ago 3
i think only freddie will truely know what this song is realy about
and maby it should stay that way didn't freddie like people to just think whatever they want about his songs??
rockfan243 3 years ago 2
Anyone know the names of the professors from Oxford here? Love to know.
wizzyd2006 3 years ago
The first one to speak at length (about India and killing a man etc) is Valentine Cunningham. Haven't figured the others out yet.
rederic2004 3 years ago
I actually find the actor trying to be dramatic and serious and declaming the words of the song quite hilarious and embarassing. What a stupid idea, really!
Dedalusalley 3 years ago 4
cringe worthy
crankthetoto 3 years ago 2
Yup.
It's easier to ridicule what you don't understand than it is to dig deeper and think about why you don't understand it.
KanzlerM 3 years ago
Fantastic point.
People should not criticize what they don't know.
JosephKuby 3 years ago
Yeah, the actor sounds way too hammy, self important and overly pretentious.
Typical BBC high middle-class nonsense.
JosephKuby 3 years ago
Just gotta get out...
Just gotta get right out of here...
Narashava 3 years ago 2
I WANT TO BREAK FREE!!
i want to break free from you lies.... good times
PunkTierce 3 years ago 2
What the hell's with the guy saying the verses trying to be all dramatic and crap? O_o Weird.
Pianoismyantidrug2 3 years ago 4
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I know thats dumb.
Riddler95 3 years ago
It's even dumber that your comment was marked as spam. Wtf?
Pianoismyantidrug2 3 years ago
those literary guys come up with the kind of stupidity only really smart people can come up with.
NYtoPDX 3 years ago 4
whos the weirdoo singing the song while there eplaning what its about
baldyjordy 3 years ago
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maybe this song was freddie's meaning of the way he rationalizes himself and his realization that he is gay. bohemian is a word that literally means "playboy"
Prosopagnosia11 3 years ago
this song is about a boy who kills someone and sells his soul to the devil and then later regrets this and calls upon the angels in arabic to save his soul from Satan... "We will not let you go"<Demons "Let him go" angels, stuff like that drops hints and yah know "beezelbub has a devil put aside for me", duh...
Narashava 3 years ago
it doesnt take the worlds greatest scientist to figure it out. the soung is about him having a disease. and he doesnt have much time and saying ive got to go. there is no turning bak>>
GuitarMasta6 3 years ago
Um, no, Freddie didn't even have AIDS at this point in time... The song was just a bunch of nonsensical stuff that Freddie wrote because he can :D
breakingqueengrace 3 years ago 6
I think you have your dates abit wrong
samh90 3 years ago
geez!when will ppl stop saying this song is about him having this terrible disease!nobody knew about hiv or aids back then,and he also didn't know he had it until '87.
ukulele37 3 years ago
"Most people there did not know what to make of it".Of course that statement is made in such a condescending way! Why do the British insist on on drawing this imaginary line regarding intellect (presumably drawn down the middle of the Atlantic)? It really all comes down to marketing. The song was marketed differently in America. Hate to break it to the British... it's all the same DNA!
bookodead 3 years ago
how can we not get i want to break free???? i love that video
Beautifuldisasater13 3 years ago
Fuck Abba.
shootbinary 3 years ago 3
who's that annoying person saying the 'Bismillah, let him go', Bismillah, 'Let him go'? screw you.
rocksation 3 years ago 3
Richard E. Grant trying to gain some kind of prestigious acting award - Oscar, Emmy, BAFTA - but resulting in what today's youth dub "epic fail" (or the bad actor's award: Razzie).
JosephKuby 3 years ago
Ugh...that roadie annoyed me.
He seemed smug, and how dare he call Queen music 'bloody noise!'
SongfromBohemia 3 years ago
He didn't mean it, it's in jest. British/English humour :)
georgieporgie321 3 years ago
lol, I'm pissed easily
SongfromBohemia 3 years ago
never heard of the word 'cynicism'?
WudieRocks 3 years ago
Yeah that roadie doesn't deserve that record.
Queen are the most divine rock band ever and if he thinks that's bloody noise, he should try...
Exhorder, Sepultura, Electric Wizard, Slayer, Cannibal Corpse and the sub-genres of emo, screamo, metalcore & deathcore.
JosephKuby 3 years ago
yea, they say "I want to break free" was bad!
they should take a look whats on the mainstream MTV now.
marvinp01 3 years ago 13
*sniff* I'm American and I LOVE the I Want to Break Free video! DAMN!
0Pustee0 3 years ago 4
lol! I thought i was the only teen in love with queen. go to msn dollies [dot com] and in the search box type freddie mercury there's a pretty col icon there =]
xL0VEE 3 years ago
im american and seriously it upsets me that queen was shut down by a video that is suppose to be taken lightly. we think eveyrthing is tabooo yet we do it behing the scenes..ughh...
love freddie mercury, he's my boyfriend!
xL0VEE 3 years ago
no no no... he's mine!
RunSingEat 3 years ago
If freddie's taken, i call ROGER!!! <333
moodswings 3 years ago
nice song i love the song.! the lyrics are amazing.!and queen too..!!they rock..!!
great congrats..!! great..!! gr8..!!
chesslove 3 years ago
freddie is the best! Am i right or am i correct?
iloveshittyassholes 3 years ago 4
I don't see why it's so hard to figure out what the song means. The intro is him not believing what he just did (murder). The main part is him describing what he did and explaining to his mom that he's sorry and is upset at what he did. The opera part is the trial with the judge and jury as the chorus. And the rock part is him breaking out and standing up for himself. Am I not right?
bmo1616 3 years ago 7
You're right... actually I read an interview once in which Brian May supposedly stated that it was based on a dream Freddie had... either way, I've studied at Oxford and STILL think they over-analyze everything LOL
NiennaNolatari 3 years ago
i know lol they were all "is this real or is it fantasy...what dose it mean?" lol that was so funny
by god they over did it there
BMO1616 said it perfectly
i dont understand why they couldn't understand it?
and the darkness stating that you never need to understand it makes them sound like they just heard the song a few hours before the interview
kotzen081 3 years ago
srsly dude. They try to over analyze things to sound sophisticated.
"Well he said "Momma" - slang for mother - Mother: a woman - woman means beautiful - beautiful means infatuation - HE WAY GAY!!!
WE GOT IT JIM!!! He was admitting he was gay! By god thank goodness for Oxford. Fucking morons.
And then at the end of that segment that one douche bag was like "He'd be greatful that oxford was talking about him. Fucking aye, haha"
Uptight white collar morons.
oddballito 3 years ago 5
americans didnt get because there to homophibic... not all but most.
KanoakaVirus 3 years ago 6
haha this is just hilarious, why do they even bother... Freddie's fucking with all of us.
CampusFox12 4 years ago 4
u know freddy is up there laughing his ass off having all these scholars try to dissect what the song is about. for all we know he prob wrote it after seeing star wars
chriskoob 4 years ago 7
MY GOD - when Freddie purrs/growls the intro to bo rhap at 7:10,gave me killer goosebumps, what a voice!
blushersthegreat 4 years ago 3
the concert they are playing in 7:00 it is amazing!can it be found on dvd ??
volkank 4 years ago 2
Now:
"mama mia....
here I go again...*gasp*
My-my...*gasp*
How can I resist you?
Mama mia..."
60 year old academics, please help me know what those words realy meant.
buopako 4 years ago
lmao who's that reciting the lyrics like a poem
amarnamriju 4 years ago 3
Nevermore
chriskoob 4 years ago
hahahaha.
1:31 - 1:57
i loled
sourxxjane 4 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
'Scarmouch scaramouch will you do the fandango???'
Who cares...you might as well be asking why the planet Earth was made and why are we here and what's the meaning of life.
Dumb asses.
vaiman777 4 years ago
Richard E. Grant reciting Queen. Now THATS entertainment!
kuasehfgaiurghfilms 4 years ago 11
This comment has received too many negative votes show
'Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head' there is nothing even close to the meaning in thise phrase and anything in Bo Rap, these guys are making too much money for nothing...
chloepraz 4 years ago
ya those oxford peoples are bitches but i think the song is just freddie expressing himself through music
vegan555 4 years ago
those oxford people are bitches that song to me is talking about forgiveness from god
PIACguitarist 4 years ago
"If you see it, then it's there."
"People still ask me what Bohemian Rhapsody's about, and I say, 'I don't know!'"
- Freddie Mercury
zander8605 4 years ago
Exactly! I was just about to type up that quote. XD
Why the Hell are they trying to make sense of it? That's part of the greatness of the song. It doesn't make sense!
evilsmileyface666 4 years ago 4
we don't need to kno what it means Freddie just wrote it for ur imagination!
ahhh and I'm sure bo rhap will come around again
CheersmaDears 4 years ago
i am queens biggest fan
queenfan07 4 years ago
i dont know what the hell im talking about as ive never examined the lyrics until now, but for kicks: i get the imagery of a guy who made mistakes in life, dies, gets caught in some sort of hell, wants out, and accepts the reality of his situation.
thefiremelted 4 years ago
I think it's about a guy who shot someone and is getting executed cause of it, he's writing a letter to his mother before he is getting executed, he is asking to get free cause he knows it was a mistake and he is confused and doesn't know if he really killed someone and is getting executed or not... :)
RMUPmkl 4 years ago
well if you try to analyze the song, it is more about a person who is looking for a place in this world. a confused person, who had lost his hope, self control and a person who doesnt know what is his purpose in life. it is not about Freddie, it is more on his general guts feeling of what he see in reality. it may connect him in some ways but this is for troubled ppl who can do anything when they are down, depressed and doesnt belong to someone or something.
xanadu68cherry 4 years ago
Don't think Freddie knew about his aids at the time he wrote this? If he did, then it could be about him knowing he will die before he's old..
MHJE 4 years ago
Why do people perpetuate this myth? This was 1974-75 - he didn't contract HIV 'til the mid-80s. Freddie was great, but not prescient.
squooge 4 years ago
I always thougth it was about self reconstruction. But you are right, "It means whatever it means and its sold shitloads of copies..." :)
karakudam 4 years ago
Freddie said in numerous interviews that the song was not
about anything in particular.
ghtygoku 4 years ago
The guys tryin to figure it out r bloody idiots! its freddies song his words and you dont need kno what its about!
justslightlymad1946 5 years ago
well ppl still try to. But it does have a meaning
imputanium 5 years ago
WTF why try to figure this out??? It means whatever it means and its sold shitloads of copies. It mean s different things to different people
beaverliqour 5 years ago