Meaning of Bohemian Rhapsody

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Gallileo, Jun 24, 2012.

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  1. Gallileo

    Gallileo Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Europe
    Well, this one is something about... "me". :)

    I've read somewhere that the line "Gallileo figaro magnifico" in the middle of the "operatic" section of the song, actually, is a slightly corrupted Latin phrase, "Galileo figuro magnifico", translated as "Magnify the Galilean's image".

    It's a key phrase, which reveals the entire meaning of the song, and usually it isn't translated by the researchers.

    In fact, "Galileo" was the name of Jesus Christ in the ancient Rome. In other words, the only way to get out of the demonic nightmare of the song is to magnify Jesus Christ and ask Him for help. But the boy can't believe that God is concerned about him, and refuses the salvation ("Nobody loves me")."

    But why "Gallileo" is repeated five times? In The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini the crowd calls to the town barber five times: Figaro, Figaro, Figaro, Figaro, Figaro! So it's not difficult to see the analogy.

    Plus, as everybody knows, Galileo is the name of the an Italian physicist and astronomer, who made in the early 17th century the first telescopic observations of the planet Mercury...

    If this is true, what kind of GENIUS Freddie was?
     
  2. Scooterpiety

    Scooterpiety Ars Gratia Artis

    Location:
    Oregon
    "...really, it was just chords like any other chords".
     
  3. Jayski

    Jayski Forum Resident

    Location:
    Charlotte, NC
    I think your reading too much into this.

    Pretty the the Gallileo was for the astronomer because of Brian May.

    I thought one time I heard an interview about this song and it really doesn't mean anything.
     
  4. Gallileo

    Gallileo Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Europe
    Sure, maybe... But here I was talking about Freddie Mercury, not John Lennon. :)
     
  5. Scooterpiety

    Scooterpiety Ars Gratia Artis

    Location:
    Oregon
    I'm sure you get my meaning :)
     
  6. Gallileo

    Gallileo Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Europe
    Of course. :)
    As well as I understood what Jayski said.
    But... who knows?
     
  7. Lord Hawthorne

    Lord Hawthorne Currently Untitled

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    Is this just fantasy?
     
  8. Jayski

    Jayski Forum Resident

    Location:
    Charlotte, NC
    Only Freddie.........and the Shadow.
     
  9. katstep

    katstep Professional Cat Herder

    This should be fun.:shh:
     
  10. cungar

    cungar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Torrance, CA
    I heard Bicycle Race on the radio today. Now there's a Queen song with no meaning.
     
  11. very cool, thanks for the insight
     
  12. proufo

    proufo Forum Resident

    I think it is <<Galileo Figaro Magnificat>>. Operatic swine-Latin.
     
  13. alfeizar

    alfeizar Active Member

    Location:
    Argentina
  14. alfeizar

    alfeizar Active Member

    Location:
    Argentina
    Well seems that it has english captions also so enjoy!
     
  15. therockman

    therockman Senior Member In Memoriam

  16. Helmut

    Helmut Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Germany
    That is the real magic of art, that anyone can read anything into it.
     
  17. Gallileo

    Gallileo Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Europe
    LOL :)

    Oh, glad you liked it. You're more than welcome.

    The problem is not (only) the Spanish, but no Flash player installed here.

    That is simply E-P-I-C. :laugh:

    Exactly. And that is what makes art so fascinating.
     
  18. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Sure, Freddie & co. could have drawn from all of this, but I think you may be reading a little bit too much into this. I think they were just having fun building the song.
     
  19. Gallileo

    Gallileo Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Europe
    I agree, Grant. I think it too: above all, he/they was/were having a lot of fun building the song. Well, not so much Roger Taylor and Brian May, as well as Freddie said once about the incredible elaborate recording of the vocal parts... :laugh:
     
  20. alfeizar

    alfeizar Active Member

    Location:
    Argentina

    The video has captions (engish) subtitles, find a computer whre to watch it, I know you will like the analisis that is described there! :cheers:
     
  21. Gallileo

    Gallileo Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Europe
    OK, I'll try to check it out for sure! :cheers:
     
  22. Gems-A-Bems

    Gems-A-Bems Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Duke City
    I think some of the magic is lost when you invent "facts" like "'Galileo' was the name of Jesus Christ in the ancient Rome". I can't believe a single person has not commented on that yet!
     
  23. Gallileo

    Gallileo Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Europe
    "In Luke 23:7-15 (the only gospel account of this episode), Pilate realizes that Jesus is a Galilean, and is thus under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas."
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus
     
  24. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Be careful not to get too religious in this thread.
     
  25. jeighson1

    jeighson1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ann Arbor, MI
    I wonder if it is sort of a coming of age focusing on his coming out to his mother as gay as a young man and her rejecting him over it. ("Mama just killed a man...").

    He then leaves home to seek out social acceptance in gay culture ("Too late, my time has come / Sends shivers down my spine, body's aching all the time / Goodbye, everybody, I've got to go / Got to leave you all behind and face the truth").

    And ultimately rebukes her and those others who rejected him ("So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye? / So you think you can love me and leave me to die?") but still laments the loss of closeness ("Nothing really matters / Anyone can see / Nothing really matters-/ nothing really matters to me / Any way the wind blows....")
     
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