Meaning of Bohemian Rhapsody

Isn't Roger Taylor quoted as saying that the song is self-explanatory with some "nonsense" in the middle? If that's the case then it seems to be someone's confession of taking a person's life, and the emotions they feel as a result. It's always fun to try and puzzle out different meanings, though.

 

You guys also need to focus on the other 'key' words to find the 'deeper' meaning.

Scaramouche
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaramouche
"Scaramuccia, also known as Scaramouche, is a roguish clown character of the Italian commedia dell'arte who wears a black mask and, sometimes, glasses. He entertains the audience by his "grimaces and affected language"."

Fandango
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fandango
"Fandango is a lively couples dance, usually in triple metre, traditionally accompanied by guitars and castanets or hand-clapping..."


Bismillah
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basmala
It is sometimes translated as "In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful"...The Iranian authorities permitted an album of songs by English rock band Queen to be released in Iran in August 2004, partly because the song "Bohemian Rhapsody" contained several exclamations of the word Bismillah. The group's lead singer, Freddie Mercury, was born in Zanzibar as Farrokh Bulsara to Indian Parsi parents and was proud of his Persian ancestry."


Beelzebub
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beelzebub
"a Semitic deity that was worshiped in the Philistine city of Ekron. In later Christian and Biblical sources, he is referred to as another name for Satan, and in demonology, is one of the seven princes of Hell."

 

I remember reading somewhere that all of the phrases had religious connotations.

Great thread..thanks for the details. Interesting.

 

Well, thanks to you. You're very welcome.

 

I think you guys are getting on the wrong track about the Gallileo/Jesus thing.

I'm pretty sure the the Gallileo (first name) is about the astronomer since Brian was/is into that sort of thing.

 

Galileo as Christ is a huge stretch and a poor attempt to make the song communicate a Christian message. Absolute nonsense if you ask me. Shall we baptize Anne Frank while we're at it?

 

Thank you!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHeIl_GSIdU

http://www.brianmay.com/brian/briannews/briannewsjul11a.html

Brian explains the song yet again here:
http://www.brianmay.com/brian/briannews/briannewsaug11.html
(Scroll down, look for "**Wed 17 Aug 11** / "FAT BOTTOMED GIRLS" EXPLAINED"); also transcribed HERE.

 

It always struck me as though Queen always went out of their way to avoid Religious overtones, but on reflection there are as many direct references as vague ones.

In the World We Created they were ambiguous "if there's a God, up in the sky, what must he think.." But similarly, they have "One God, One Vision", Thank God, it's Christmas,and others. I'm discounting Lap of the Gods(plural) as that's more Greek mythology.

In the final analysis, it's about someone on "death row" with "a lot of nonsense" in the middle. If anyone wants to interpret it as coming out of the closet, that's their prerogative.