The ultimate question. Seeing as Freddie never explained the meaning of this song, I would like to offer my own analysis. No one will ever know the real answer to this question though unless one day a recording surfaces of Freddie explaining it, which is very doubtful.
I have had a theory on the meaning of Bohemian Rhapsody for many years and to me it was obvious, especially as it became public knowledge that Freddie was bisexual after he passed away.
Here it is:
Let’s start with the title:
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
Bohemian: a socially unconventional person, especially one who is involved in the arts.
Rhapsody: an instrumental composition irregular in form and suggestive of improvisation. Dictionary.com
A rhapsody in music is a one-movement work that is episodic yet integrated, free-flowing in structure, featuring a range of highly contrasted moods, colour and tonality. An air of spontaneous inspiration and a sense of improvisation make it freer in form than a set of variations. Wikipedia
I think this is fairly clear. Freddie was certainly unconventional and as you will see with the remaining interpretation, an unconventional lifestyle is what the song is about. And yes, it is certainly a Rhapsody. I think it qualifies as free flowing and featuring a range of highly contrasted moods, colour and tonality.
Now to the lyrics:
“Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide,
No escape from reality”
Freddie is struggling in his life. He’s unsure whether what he’s experiencing is what life is about or whether it’s a fantasy world all of his own. He feels out of control and like he wants to escape, but cannot avoid what is really happening to him and the reality of what his life entails.
“Open your eyes,
Look up to the skies and see,
I’m just a poor boy, I need no sympathy,
Because I’m easy come, easy go
Little high, little low
Any way the wind blows doesn’t really matter to me, to me”
Freddie is saying here that he doesn’t want sympathy and he doesn’t really care what others think. His life isn’t really his own, it’s up and down and he doesn’t have much control over it. When he refers to, “Any way the wind blows doesn’t really matter to me” he is stating that however his environment (friends, family, fans, business, relationships) behaves, it doesn’t matter to him, he is who he is. He’s also stating that he’s not fully in control of his own destiny.
“Mama, just killed a man
Put a gun against his head
Pulled my trigger, now he’s dead
Mama, life had just begun
But now I’ve gone and thrown it all away”
Here is the crux of the song. Freddie here is referring to realising that he is bisexual (not gay). He has just murdered his old self, the person his parents knew and who has certain expectations placed upon him. Freddie knows he’s going to disappoint his mother and as such the reference to having thrown it all away. He’s thrown away all her hopes and dreams for him.
“Mama, ooh (any way the wind blows)
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”
He is referring here again to the fact that he has disappointed his deeply religious mother. He’s telling her not to worry about who he is and that if the old Farrokh isn’t back home, not to worry and to carry on with her life. I get the idea here that he knows he doesn’t have her approval and his best hope is that she stops worrying about him and just carries on.
“Too late, my time has come
Sends shivers down my spine
Body’s aching all the time
Goodbye, everybody, I’ve got to go
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth”
This is where I find the song quite prophetic. Ok, so Freddie may still be referring to his sexuality and to leaving his old life behind, however I can’t help but think of Freddie’s destiny which would befall him years later. His ill health as a result of the HIV virus and how he passed away prematurely.
“Mama, ooh (any way the wind blows)
I don’t wanna die,
I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all”
Did Freddie actually think in 1975 that he was going to die? No, he is referring to the death of his old self. The line, “I don’t want to die” is indicative of the fact that this is not an easy decision for him and that he actually doesn’t want to be bisexual, but rather feels he has no choice in the matter.
“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-o-o-o-o”
Freddie is here referring to his old self as a silhouette and to Scaramouche (a clown character from Italian traditional theatre who often wore a mask and who was a rascal) as being the new Freddie. He’s asking here whether he will proceed into the world of being bisexual (doing the Fandango – a Spanish dance done in triple time – 3 beats to the bar). The relevance of this dance is that it is in a different time signature to traditional music and a little offbeat.
Immediately after the question is asked as to whether Scaramouche will do the Fandango (i.e. whether Freddie will explore his bisexuality), all hell breaks loose (thunderbolts and lightening). Freddie is very frightened at the reaction he will receive when his mother and others react to his choice of lifestyle.
It would be an error to ignore the phrase Galileo Figaro Magnifico. This is a key phrase in the song and is vital to its understanding. The phrase Galileo Figaro Magnifico is translated from latin as, “Magnify the Galilean’s image”.
“Galileo” was the name of Jesus Christ in the ancient Rome. I take this phrase to mean that he feels the only way to escape his horrible predicament is to magnify Jesus Christ and ask for his help.
Galileo is also the Italian physicist and astronomer who made the first functional telescope and was the first to view the sky with one. He was the first person to view the planet Mercury through a telescope! By now I’m sure you are starting to realise that Freddie Mercury’s epic Bohemian Rhapsody is an absolute masterpiece!
I’m just a poor boy, nobody loves me
He’s just a poor boy from a poor family
Spare him his life from this monstrosity
Freddie here states that he’s not good enough to ask Jesus Christ for help as he’s just a poor boy from a poor family. He’s pleading here to have his life spared from this terrible condition. He is in a predicament between who he feels he is and what he thinks is right/wrong/moral/immoral about who he is according to his religious beliefs.
“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 him go!)
Will not let you go (let him go!)
Never, never let you go
Never let me go, oh
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”
Here Freddie is really delving into biblical concepts and a terrible struggle is occurring between God, the Devil & Freddie. Bismillah is an Arabic phrase which means, “in the name of God”. Freddie is pleading to be let go to live his life and be who he is. He repeats mama mia and asks her to let him go also. It’s clear he sees his mother as deeply religious and as a representation of traditional beliefs which do not align with his lifestyle choice.
“So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye? (Yeah!)
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”
As the operatic section ends, the mood shifts and the expression here is of anger. The song becomes very heavy and Freddie is referring to someone stoning him and spitting on him. Freddie belonged to the medieval religion, Zoroastrianism which is from Iran. According to Zoroastrianism, conversion from Zoroastrianism to any other religion carried the sentence of death and the chosen method was stoning.
One can hypothesise that becoming bisexual would be akin to changing religions and was certainly against the tenets of Zoroastrianism.
Freddie is stating that he’s leaving the religion and just has to, “get right outta here”.
“Nothing really matters
Anyone can see
Nothing really matters
Nothing really matters to me”
The song now takes on an apathetic tone in it’s final verse. Freddie doesn’t denigrate his religion and state that he disagrees with it so much as saying that “nothing really matters” to him. He’s basically saying that he doesn’t care.
“Any way the wind blows”
In the final line of the song, Freddie states that he is at the whim of the wind. In other words, he isn’t in control of his own life.
So there it is, that’s what I think. I think this is one of the most tragic and brilliant songs ever written in modern times. Freddie Mercury was indeed a master of his craft and chose this forum to give us his life’s most challenging time.
Lots of love to you all!
Gareth
I think what you have just said is spot on I’ve believed for many years that this song was defiantly about his sexuality ,mother ,religion, struggles to come to terms with who he is and watching the movie over 10 times I am convinced more than ever it was his way of dealing with it all it just flowed out of him what he must have been dealing with and struggling to come to terms with I’m sure when he got it out in that amazing song Bhoemian Rhapsody some of the pressure may have lifted from him I certainly hope so any way Freddie was Brilliant loved the movie and now love the man we’ve all got to know because of that great movie????
When we like to do some task or move , muslim say Bismilah , we encourage the task do or start with a name of God.
So when he wrote the line, ” he is a little boy , let him go, half says Bismilah means go ,
But half say don’t go. I understood the concept of hid writting , its very unique .
The concept came from the cultural background of Muslim Indians.
Wow great info Carol! Interesting as Freddie was a Zoroastrian “Indian”… A Parses. Thank you for your comment!
Your analysis is pretty good with the exception of the part that I believe Freddy was actually accepting the fact that he was gay and not bisexuality. Yes, he loved Mary Austin very much. So much so that he left her the lion’s share of his estate. But at some point I think he realized he could never give himself fully to her and if this song his about self realization of his true nature, it is that he was gay, not bi.
Fair enough. Yeah I was in two mind about this too. He did end up having other female relationships later in life which is why I said bisexual, however you are probably right that he believed himself to be gay at that time.
Wow! I like ur thinking. I had some of the same thoughts but not as detailed as you have here. This is beautiful. I’d like to think this is what was the meaning of the song was. It’s beautiful and one of the most outstanding songs out there. And this makes it even more real. Thank you! I love it.
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I enjoyed reading your comments. It was something lately when I heard the song on the radio, I just stopped and listened. This song has so much emotion it almost makes you cry. The voice and musicianship is perfect!! This is defiantly one of my favorite songs. I want to see the movie again too. Thank you for breaking down the possible meaning, along with breaking down the meaning after the lyrics. ????
Thank you so much!!! We really appreciate your feedback!!
As a (relatively!) young Queen fan of 15 years, I really appreciate this explanation. The music is almost universally easy enough to “follow”, but the words are famously tricky to follow. Your explanation links the music and words together in a way that not only rings true, but also enhances the meaning, emotion, and movements of both! That’s my main comment. Now just a couple of other thoughts…
“Pulled *my* trigger” – Freddie is not only BOTH men, he is ALSO the gun itself
And where your explanation really shines is the operatic section. Thank you for your thoughts on Scaramouche, Fandango, and Galileo Figaro Magnifico
It is a powerful song, a frightening song, about life in the darkness as beings with the image of God and the freedom of choice. He like all of us are magnificent beings in perpetual motion with an adversary who is the god of this world but also a defeated foe who understands that our inner thoughts guides us and as a man thinketh so he is. Freddie gave us a moving song but at the cost of his own soul, foreign semen destroys a man body because it is has no purpose there while it carries immense purpose. Thank you for your interpretation and explanation of this dilemma to choose right or wrong even knowing the consequences as do many persons today as they practice what is unseemly and call it rightly, a choice but a choice to have their name execrated by God. Freedom of expression!
Thank you for this insightful explanation of the song’s true meaning. Sounds ‘spot on.’ Freddie truly created a masterpiece; a beautiful revelation of the man he is. It is sad in a sense because Freddie is very cognizant of the fact that his choice of lifestyle will affect his relationship with his family, band mates, partners, and religious beliefs. Freddie’s ‘voice’ can definitely be heard and warrants respect and understanding. Thank you Freddie Mercury for your sincere creation of a song that is and will be loved by many.
I am glad to hear that. I had the same thoughts about this song way back in the mid 90s. It really does seem to fit doesn’t it
Absolutely! Thanks Greg!
Agreed, although I think he wants Bismilla, his God/religion/beliefs to let him go. He’s deeply conflicted as a believer, not just as the product of his mother’s beliefs. He has sentenced himself to hell with his homosexual behavior, and forgiveness isn’t exactly an option short of converting to Christianity. You could read “Just killed a man” and “pulled my trigger” as a tongue in cheek Romantic Era reference to a sexual climax. The deed is done and he is both spent and bringing a death sentence on his head. As well as the added meaning you suggest of literally embarking on a new life. Yes the song is absolutely brilliant, as was Freddie Mercury. Thanks for this insightful analysis.
And thank you for your excellent input also! Indeed a song we will be attempting to interpret for many years to come!
I agree with the analogy of the sexual reference ‘pulled my trigger, now he’s dead’. I think it means that by climaxing. you have now passed on AIDS to another person, and in those days it was basically a death sentence. Having said that, AIDS didn’t break out until 1981 and this was written in 1975 !!! So go figure…..
Interesting. I appreciate your interpretation of this, thank you. The duality between whether to sacrifice our authenticity for a belief system we grew up with is a very interesting one, and something that I think plenty of people in this world struggle with. Authenticity is essentially freedom; and some people are drawn very strongly towards feeling free. Self-love is to not abandon oneself, and so where does this leave someone who feels drawn in two different opposing directions?
Fantastic questions! I guess it comes down to a person finding their own way and working out what their own integrity is. Parents can provide a foundation and yet a young adult can strike out on their own. I get the very strong impression that Freddie really did struggle with this and loved his parents very much, not wanting ever to hurt them.
This is how I interpret the song as well. We have heard the song a thousand times since 1976 and you tend to just hear the music, but when you revisit the words again, with your own wisdom having grown and expanded over the subsequent years, you realise what an amazing opus it is. I don’t think, unfortunately, we will ever hear such a song again, not from the current bred. The compositions of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s for genius, expressed in popular music, will, I believe, never be repeated
Hi Kat! We couldn’t agree more!! Hopefully the music industry one day changes again and we can once again see such brilliance. The crop from the 50’s, 60’s & 70’s certainly did produce a Golden Age of music didn’t they!!
;)
I believe that he knew he had hiv. Put my gun against his head and pulled my trigger now he’s dead is fellatio when he knew what he was doing. I love their music but body aching all the time is another hiv or aids reference he was living. How many he killed? Who knows. Put my penis in his mouth, got off and know he’s dead. Clear as rain to me.
Hi Jason. Interestinhg observation. The only issue however is that HIV didn’t exist in the public consciousness until the early 80’s and Bohemian Rhapsody was written & released in 1975.
Brilliant thanks for sharing.
Thanks Louise!
the song have so many different meaning and you are turning up about being gay! like hell no
Fair enough. Yes, just my interpretation…
Always thought it was a song about a guy who had committed murder and was heading for the electric chair.
😂
Regardless of interpretation(s) I like to think music is made to be thought/emotion in-vocative for the listener, regardless of what they may think or feel. bH is epic in that regard. You can spend hours debating its true meaning but really, it doesn’t matter to Freddie, or Queen for that matter. Just let it go! Let it go! And be you – your ticket to reality.
Anyway, great interpretation, but especially thanks for clarifying the biblical and other references and saving me from Google hell.
Thanks Rod!! The most likely explanation actually is the song is a mish mash of ideas and even Freddie probably didn’t know the full meaning… Thanks for your great comment mate!
I like the idea that when an artist allows the muse to help them create a magnificent work of art, that the artist themself does not completely understand what it all means! This is why a great work of art can mean different things to each of us.
Totally!! I don’t think anyone will ever know the true meaning of this track and that’s one of the things that makes it so beautiful!
Wonderful interpretation! Maybe he didn’t know the exact meaning, since this lyrics could have come direct from his unconscious. But knowing about his life, family religion and beliefs, you certainly designed a very probable meaning. Thank you.
Thanks Ellen! Much appreciated!
You are way off. Freddie will be turning in his grave at this blasphomy.
Hey Bella, thanks for your contribution! What do you think Bohemian Rhapsody means?
Fantastic, it was always a puzzling dramatic song for me. I thought it was stream of consciousness dream lyrics. Maybe you need to be a religious person to more deeply understand it?
I agree Pauline!
An old theory. Freddie made this song by combining three songs. Cowboy song was from late 60’s, just killed a man. The song might have meant something to Freddie but he said his songs were not like lennons delivering a meaning. As Freddie said, find your own meaning of the song!
Yes, and it most likely is meaningless, however I have always thought about certain lyrics and thought, “Why not…”
Zoroastrian religion is about three thousand years old. And it does not belong to the Middle Ages. And I don’t think the punishment for returning from this religion is death. Finally, thank you for your complete interpretation of this masterpiece
My pleasure!
An amazing song both lyrically and musically. The words are overflowingly potent with meaning, hence the manifold interpretations. I find the AIDS references the funniest in their complete ignorance. As you’ve pointed out, he wrote it before the disease was even acknowledged, so unless he had phenomenal insight, how could he have been writing about that.
This song is, to me, metely a bunch of words that ‘seem to be coherent’, like Stairway To Heaven or early Dylan songs, but are left to the listener to form meaning from. Humans like (and are programmed) to make sense from the irrational and we do it with most anything: we make coherent stories.
Life is incoherent and that’s it’s wonder. Take that from our lives and we lose its magic. Magic makes it spark
Very insightful Greg, thank you!
I described in my book, ‘The Deeper Meaning of Bohemian Rhapsody,’ asserting that the song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ embodies the journey towards nirvana, symbolizing the human spirit’s quest for enlightenment.”
Wow! You wrote a whole book on this subject? Please send a link!
Dude sold his soul for fame and this is the artistic equivalent of the fight he lost. From Bob Dylan to Eminem DMX so many others… they all have songs that tell of this same fight just not so eloquently told. It’s called the Faustian Bargain, and it spares poor little boys from their humble existences if they’re willing to pay the price.
I really hope that isn’t the case. One would assume that one who sells his soul in exchange for fame & fortune, would have another price to pay. Symbolism in the music maybe? Spreading the devil’s message? For someone who kept his antics relatively private, it’s hard for me to imagine he held up his end of the deal… It’s not like this theory hasn’t occurred to me before. I just don’t know whether he fits the bill.
Queen were are & still are thè best band in the world still goinģ even wìthout FREDDIE long live FREDDIE MERCURY he wàs & stiĺĺ is the best in the woŕld
AGREED!!!
Though this theory is almost convincing but I think there could be many other messages behind this song such as he is talking about a guy who killed a man in an accident and now he is imagining all the consequences it will bring or personally I think it was AIDs the disease he was struggling with and how he was going to die because of it. And he literally did lost his life to it. He was embarrassed to tell his mother and the world because that disease was viewed as untouchable in those times which shows his mentality from having it. Even god couldn’t have cured him from it so nothing really mattered to him in the end nor fame neither money or relationships. He knew it was over. And so such a rhapsody.
Hi there Chinmay, thanks for your comment! I understand what you are saying however Freddie was only diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 1987 but the song was written in 1975. And also, AIDS was not known about until around 1980/1981…
This break down of the song is eye opening!!! I am embarrassed to say that I NEVER really listened to the lyrics or never tried to understand them. I would just blindly bop my head to the beat of the music, not thinking of the meaning behind the strange lyrics. This song is so poetic! I will never listen to it the same again! Freddie was a tortured soul in so many ways and for him to write something so meaningful and so personal in such a poetic way just showcases how talented he truly was. Thank you for the break down and I feel that your interpretation is spot on, if not close to the true meaning.
Thank you Shirley!
I am 73 years old-A African American. I finally realized who I am some years back! I don’t understand why my heart is soooo big but it is! I love everybody. I refuse to carry the load of hate that some hold tightly. I watched the story of Freddie Mercury & I think ‘Bohemian Rhapsody is the Absolute Best in all music that I have listened to. My feelings were & are wrapped up in Freddie’s words . I believe he was a good person-raised properly and then ‘Life’ happened. Sometimes we make choices and decisions without knowing, understanding and realizing what the consequences of our decisions Could lead to! Freddie was so very talented! Superb! He like everybody else was as Hunan Being and None of us are Perfect! Some of us managed to slip, slide or sneak thru in-noticed. Some are trapped & confused. Of course there are decisions to make and not always the right or correct ones are chosen! My heart still hurts for Freddie! That Outstanding song & Performance is Absolutely so deep. It seems like he putt his entire being into it. Regardless of a persons faith-Love is Love! I don’t think his mother was Ever going to stop loving him and also he didn’t want to hurt her! Freddie holds A Very lasting space in my heart and brain. A Masterpiece Creator-A innocent being caught up in the turmoil of life with all of the stumbling blocks ahead of him. Sometimes we get to make choices and sometimes we don’t. I am Christian and I cannot explain exactly how deep in my heart & life that I live. But as I’m trying to type now-tears are are falling . I knew they were going to come so I’m sitting on my back porch writing this-I came out here with tissues. I’m sure almost everyone knew about AIDS but many didn’t realize how terrible & deadly it would be: HIV. That song makes me cry everytime that I hear it! So many of us were praying that it would just (Go Away). Unless someone comes along and deciphers to me in a different way-I will continue to read & learn more about Freddie Mercury! Bohemian Rhapsody stands Alone! Thank You for allowing little old me to say what is in My Heart!
What a beautiful sentiment Dianna!!
[…] the only reason behind it. So many people have stated what they think this song is about but this theory is layered perfectly and very thought […]
Thank you!
I think the song is not about HIV (timeline wrong) but the psychological ‘death’ of the old Freddie as he morphs into and accepts the new version of himself. He had had same-sex experiences previously at his school, but here he is actually coming to accept this significant part of himself that takes him off in a completely different direction from his morally conservative Zoroastrian upbringing. He always, despite whatever direction his life choices took him, remained deeply religious and faithful to his religious beliefs ( think of, for example, his Zoroastrian funeral). I further feel that his was a ‘once in a lifetime talent’, a genius comparable to that of Mozart or Beethoven, an almost supernatural musical ability. His death was the world’s loss, but that is often the way with geniuses – they burn themselves out before their allotted time. In the end his family accepted his homosexuality and his husband, Jim Hutton, and were glad he had found happiness.
I agree wholeheartedly Jen!