Brian May supports suggestions that the song contained veiled references to Merc

ury's personal traumas.

Roger Taylor described it as "fairly self-explanatory with just a bit of nonsens
e in the middle."
The following, is my take on the meaning of Bohemian Rhapsody. I am aware that i
t more than likely isn't completely initially correct, but that's the point of
a discussion forum, thus - I am more than happy to edit this if any better sugg
estions come along to its meaning, or remove parts which would be undoubtedly wr
ong.
"The New York Times commented that "the song's most distinct feature is the fata
listic lyrics". Mercury refused to explain his composition other than saying it
was about relationships; the band is still protective of the song's secret. Bria
n May recalls "Freddie was a very complex person: flippant and funny on the surf
ace, but he concealed insecurities and problems in squaring up his life with his
childhood. He never explained the lyrics, but I think he put a lot of himself i
nto that song." May, though, says the band had agreed that the core of a lyric w
as a private issue for the composer." Wiki quote.
"People still ask me what Bohemian Rhapsody is all about, and I say I don't kno
w. I think it loses its myth and ruins a kind of mystique that people have built
up. Rhapsody is one of those songs that has a fantasy feel about it. I think pe
ople should just listen to it, think about it, and then decide for themselves wh
at it means to them."
Mercury quote.
One of the things I noticed many misinformed saying about Bohemian Rhapsody is i
t's about about Freddie Mercury having Aids, and him dealing with it - which is
ridiculous. Mercury did not have HIV or AIDS in 1975. He was diagnosed as HIV po
sitive in the spring of 1987. Aids hit the New York scene in the early 1980's, w
here he begun clubbing. AIDS was known as the "Gay plague" at that time by the m
edia, as the vast majority of people dying from it were homosexual. It's extreme
ly doubtful that Mercury, like many others, would have even heard of the disease
before it broke out. In hindsight, the lyrics are hauntingly fitting at various
times to the way in which he died: "Too late, my time has come/ body's aching a
ll the time/gotta leave you all behind and face the truth/I don't wanna die" whi
ch almost runs as a bizarre parallel to the songs original meaning. However, the
song was without doubt, certainly not about Aids. I have given this tune a fair
bit of thought, and I shall explain it as far as I can see, although, give or t
ake a few details not completely covered in the operatic section.
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide,
No escape from reality,
The line caught in a landslide line is what he refers to as realising there's no g
etting away from the fact he is gay, although he later had a relationship with a
woman again later on in the year 1984 which would suggest he was actually bisex
ual) However, in 1974/5 it would ve been much harder to deal with than the times w
e live in now, and furthermore - his religious background
hence No escape from re
ality .
Open your eyes, Look up to the skies and see,
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy,
Feeling helpless over the situation, he wants no-one s sorrow; possibly including
the God he was brought up to believe in.

Because I'm easy come, easy go, little high, little low, any way the wind blows
doesn't really matter to me, to me...
Mercury s nature was quite dismissive over things
that s how he coped with life, as
a case of having to, and it worked for him. "A very complex person" - and this s
ong deals with various aspects of his character all at the same time.
Mama I just killed a man, Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he'
s Dead
The man that Mercury is talking about in the line Put a gun against his head
is hi
s own head, after his first full on sexual encounter with another guy. The now he s
dead lyrics tell how he feels about that
his soul left with no purity, as if he
has in fact died. Predominantly, his religious upbringing is leaving him feel th
ese things which takes us to the next line .
Mama, life had just begun,
But now I've gone and thrown it all away
I think in light of what I previously said, these lines are fairly self-explanat
ory - he has "thrown it all away" in the eyes of his upbringing/religion.
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
Of course, he didn t mean to upset his mother. Although it was believed he might n
ot have told her directly, she would ve found out at some point eventually. If I m no
t back again this time tomorrow, carry on" - is what he is suggesting she should
do if she sees that her son has departed from her, or died, i.e. not the son sh
e once had, not being able to accept how he has turned his back on his religion,
and possibly his family over his sexual orientation. Then, he is saying she sho
uld Carry on as if nothing really matters - by which, for him, there's a sense of
helplessness over the situation with these lyrics.
Too late, my time has come,
Sends shivers down my spine, body's aching all the time
There's a couple of ways to look at the line "Too late, my time has come". First
ly, in his conflicted mind, he has possibly sold his soul to the devil, so to sp
eak - or more than likely, that he thinks his parents would see it that way. Sec
ondly, for the showman aspect of his character, to make his mark on the world, A
fter the release of their third album Sheer heart attack , Bohemian Rhapsody is be
ing penned, and , Queen have risen in popularity somewhat and are now starting t
o hit the big time. And yet unable to feel fully at ease with himself - he is fe
eling held back. It wasn t just a gay act of Mercury's which was a fashionable way
to be in the early 1970 s as guitarist Brain May first thought in the initial yea
rs of the band. As stated by Mary Austin, Mercury s lover of seven years; once he
finally admitted to her he was gay, he became at one with himself again, and was
happy. Yet for a fair while before he told her, he was troubled, and according
to her - "avoiding issues, which wasn't him."Fortunately, the pair remained very
close friends ever after, finally leaving his house, and the main bulk of his m
illions to her. Forever judged by his religion, his "body's aching all the time"
with guilt at the time of writing this tune.
Goodbye, everybody, I've got to go,
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth
This is about Farok Bulsara (his real name) becoming 'Freddie Mercury' and perso
na that went with it including, ironically, the star that was famously known as

fiercely private. And yet - there's a sense of; even though that's who he is goi
ng to be from here on in, once and for all, he feels on a personal level, a pri
ce is going to be paid, or is in fact being paid. There s another take on the matt
er of leaving at the end of the tune when the line Just gotta get right out of he
re is sung, later on - which I'll get to...
Mama, ooh, I don't want to die,
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all
The line "I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all" suggests that he ("someti
mes") feels he can't live up to expectations, and by the mere fact it's said to
"Mama", the meaning points towards those expectations of him being a particular
kind of son, baring all the other lyrics in mind. This takes us to the next par
t of the tune; the operatic part, in which the battle is more intense
I see a little silhouetto of a man
Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango
Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening me
(Galileo.) Galileo. (Galileo.) Galileo, Galileo figaro
Magnifico. I'm just a poor boy and 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.) Will not let you go. (Let me go.) A
h
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 me
There has been particularly a lot of speculation as to the meaning of this part.
Many of the words appear in the Quran. "Bismillah" is one of these and it liter
ally means "In the name of Allah." The word "Scaramouch" means "A stock characte
r that appears as a boastful coward." "Beelzebub" is one of the many names given
to The Devil. Mercury's parents were deeply involved in Zoroastrianism, and the
se Arabic words do have a meaning in that religion. Mercury claimed the lyrics w
ere nothing more than "Random rhyming nonsense" when asked about it, but it appe
ars once again, he was being a little too dismissive. The operatic section sees
him crying out for his mother to let him go - a mother who loves him as any moth
er loves her son, and yet a mother who worships her faith, which frowns upon hom
osexuality. It concludes with him admitting defeat, and that the Beelzebub has a
devil put aside for him no-matter which way he turns, which leads to the heavy
rock section, building up to yet another conclusion
So you think you can stone 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
This part appears to be outcome of Mercury s anger, from the battles and confusion
of his inner self, and the outter conflicting views also. He has fears of hurti
ng his parents, worries of his mother and father unable to love him when seen in
this new light. And even if his parents still loved him as they did before, the
ir religion would disagree with his lifestyle, then becoming a weight upon their
shoulders - the weight that had been his. This leaves him feeling terribly resp
onsible, angry and frustrated with himself - then again annoyed at his loved one
s. As if it's all too much, he finally wants to escape the whole situation, irat
ely leaving everyone
Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here with a ki
nd of Fuck all this attitude (as almost snarled on the recording). Again, remember

the earlier line Goodbye everybody, I ve got to go

- the painful path taken by the
private Farok Bulsara, not the showman Freddie Mercury - yet somehow, the entir
e song represents both sides of his character, which merge and become one . bringi
ng us to the final part of the song
Nothing really matters, anyone can see
Nothing really matters
Nothing really matters to me
Going back to the line just before the confession to his mother that he just kil
led a man , as if he confesses or not it s still the same outcome for him, it s still e
verything that s been said . taking us to the final line
Any way the wind blows...
To finish on a good note - his mother, family, and Mary Austin always loved him
, as he did them, and they still do - to this day, and are extremely proud of hi
s legacy.