“Bohemian Rhapsody” is one of the most popular and well known songs across the world. Led by Freddie Mercury, the group Queen released this widely known, multi-genre hit in 1975, leaving the world questioning its meaning. “Bohemian Rhapsody” was not a typical rock song due to the fact that there was a very prominent piano part through the entire song.
The message behind the song has been a toss up for a variety of different people all with varying opinions on what the song really means. I believe that the song is about Freddie Mercury finding his sexuality. I have this opinion because in many of the other songs by Queen the group is all singing together, while in “Bohemian Rhapsody”, the group is staying behind in a way and playing the role of ‘support’ in musical terms.
Many of the lyrics in the song have also led me to this conclusion. For example, when he says “Mama, just killed a man,” I believe the “man” in this sentence is his previous self when he didn’t know his sexuality, and he was like a new man after discovering this part of his identity. The first third of the song is almost like a note to his mother about how he has departed and he is saying this as if he will never see her again.
Both of Mercury’s parents practiced Zoroastrianism, which views homosexuality as an act of evil or that anyone who was homosexual worshiped the devil. Another lyric in the song says “Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me,” a potential acknowledgment that his sexuality could be seen as an act of evil. He also says “Goodbye, everybody, I’ve got to go. Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth.”
“The truth” in this statement could be about his truth and how he is going to have to leave his past life behind him to face his newfound truth.
There are many lyrical references to leaving his past life behind and starting a new one, but lyrics are only one part of a song. When taking a look into the music behind his voice, every time Mercury talks about his own life, the music becomes calm and quiet, but when he talks about backlash or hardship, the music becomes loud and intense.
This could be symbolizing that when looking within himself, he has found peace; while when others look at him, they see chaos. I think this symbolization is a very strong statement that declares he has found who he really is and he has come to accept whatever consequences come next.
To this day, nobody except the group members know what this iconic song means, and that was to the request of Mercury. The living members of Queen have upheld his requests to keep the song a secret. “Bohemian Rhapsody” will remain a mystery for the foreseeable future, open to the public for endless speculations and theories.
