In this post, I remember Queen’s tremendously creative and innovative operatic rock masterpiece – Bohemian Rhapsody – that defied musical industry limitations and became legendary fifty years ago.

Do you remember the first time you heard Freddie Mercury sing those famous opening lyrics? “Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide. No escape from reality.”¹ Were you as impressed as I was, considering Bohemian Rhapsody’s many changes in key and tempo? Or was it simply Queen’s incredible performance that made such a lasting impression?

Mercury had been working on the song for several years and Queen finally released it fifty years ago on October 31, 1975. Nearly six minutes in length, the operatic rock song was originally discouraged by record executives who believed it was too long to be played on the radio. They wanted Queen to trim it down to a shorter version, but Mercury refused to yield. 

Instead, Freddie gave a copy of Bohemian Rhapsody to disc-jockey, Kenny Everett, who played the song on London’s Capital Radio. The station was flooded with calls to play the song again and Everett did so multiple times over the next two days. It took off from there, and the rest, of course, is rock history.

As you can imagine from such disparate lyrics and seemingly obscure references to Beelzebub, Bismillah, Scaramouch, and Galileo, the meaning and interpretation of the song by fans is all over the place. There are similarities, for example, between Bohemian Rhapsody and the novel, The Stranger, by Albert Camus, where a young man admits to impulsively committing a murder and is then executed for his crime.

“Others have pointed out the lyrics were Mercury’s way of dealing with his personal issues,” said writer Charles Apple. “Not many public figures had yet come out as gay in 1975.”²

Freddie and the other members of Queen never fully explained the song’s meaning. “It’s one of those songs which has such a fantasy feel about it,” he said. “I think people should just listen to it, think about it, and then make up their own minds as to what it says to them.”³

I most appreciate songs and poems that lend themselves to multiple interpretations – that’s where the true art is found – and Bohemian Rhapsody certainly does just that. 

Then, there is its tremendous orchestration, harmonies, and Brian May’s outstanding guitar solo. He said his goal was to play “a little tune that would be a counterpart to the main melody. I didn’t just want to play the melody.”⁴ Mission accomplished.

Little wonder that Bohemian Rhapsody is recognized as one of the most significant rock songs of all time.

REMEMBER…

◊ One memorable line in the song repeats the words “Mamma Mia.” Ironically, the song that replaced Bohemian Rhapsody after nine weeks at number one on the U.K. charts was none other than Mamma Mia by Abba.

◊ There are a number of excellent documentaries about the history of Queen, its band members, and their legacy. And if you haven’t seen the movie, Bohemian Rhapsody, be sure that you do. Actor Rami Malek won an Academy Award for playing Freddie Mercury in the excellent 2018 film.

◊ Visit www.davidajolley.com for additional blog posts, other interesting content, and updates on future book releases and appearances.

1. Mercury, Freddie, Bohemian Rhapsody, ©Queen Music Ltd., From A Night at the Opera, released by Queen in 1975. ↩︎
2. Apple, Charles, Further Review – A Rock Rhapsody, The Spokesman Review; The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, November 24, 2025. ↩︎
3.  Apple, Charles, Further Review – A Rock Rhapsody ↩︎
4.  Apple, Charles, Further Review – A Rock Rhapsody ↩︎