I have a doubt: "anyway" or "any way"?

mooghead wrote:

Its 'the direction of the wind is irrelevant to me' as in, everything is irrelevant as the song is about a man who has reached such desperation he has ended it all with a bullet. Am I the only one who sees this?

Its about suicide.

even in YOUR context it could still be "anyway"
as in - "it's all over now, and i know the wind will continue to blow, but so what, i couldn't care less"

brENsKi wrote:

i am not convinced of either way being the correct.
consider it:


anyway - this is a dismissive context a sort of "so what, i know the wind blows regardless"

both work equally well...and without Freddie's handwritten lyrics we will never know

I think you´re right!
Since English is not my native language i remember at the time doing some research over this to find out the meaning, and my conclusion is the same as yours.

I find it to be more poetic, in conjuction with the tension that Freddie created with his first lines. By now we all know that this song is about (believed to be) his fight with the fact that he was gay. But the meaning is not important here. It´s clearly about an emotion strugle going on inside the character (can be Freddie or just a character)

So my view is:

If it was "Any way the wind blows" then the next line "doesn´t really matter to me" was simply about the wind and direction of the wind, wich doesn´t do much sense in this context, and it really doesn´t guive it the punch that Freddie intended. It pratically dismisses all the lyrics before that and doesn´t connect the song in either way.

But by saying "Anyway" as Brenski stated in his post, it makes the line " Doesn't really matter to me" really strong, because now Freddie isn´t talking about the wind but about all the verses before that. His questions about life - the song starts with a question - life and fantasy.- His self portrait and the fact that he feels traped in a reality wich he then proceeds to say "so what, the wind is still blowing so it doesn´t really mater to me" in a dismissive way.

Then he proceeds to go into an emotional journey of the highest order, and yeat again releases all the tension with the dismissive "Anyway the wind blows". Genius!

Just my two cents.

Now, i remember that the Freddie handwritten lyrics of Bo Rhap were in a box that he gave to Jim Huton?? i really can´t remember but i´m pretty shure i read in one of his bios that the lyrics were in a box that he handled to someone. Maybe someone remembers this better than me.

Mr.QueenFan wrote:

brENsKi wrote:

i am not convinced of either way being the correct.
consider it:


anyway - this is a dismissive context a sort of "so what, i know the wind blows regardless"

both work equally well...and without Freddie's handwritten lyrics we will never know

I think you´re right!
Since English is not my native language i remember at the time doing some research over this to find out the meaning, and my conclusion is the same as yours.

I find it to be more poetic, in conjuction with the tension that Freddie created with his first lines. By now we all know that this song is about (believed to be) his fight with the fact that he was gay. But the meaning is not important here. It´s clearly about an emotion strugle going on inside the character (can be Freddie or just a character)

So my view is:

If it was "Any way the wind blows" then the next line "doesn´t really matter to me" was simply about the wind and direction of the wind, wich doesn´t do much sense in this context, and it really doesn´t guive it the punch that Freddie intended. It pratically dismisses all the lyrics before that and doesn´t connect the song in either way.

But by saying "Anyway" as Brenski stated in his post, it makes the line " Doesn't really matter to me" really strong, because now Freddie isn´t talking about the wind but about all the verses before that. His questions about life - the song starts with a question - life and fantasy.- His self portrait and the fact that he feels traped in a reality wich he then proceeds to say "so what, the wind is still blowing so it doesn´t really mater to me" in a dismissive way.

Then he proceeds to go into an emotional journey of the highest order, and yeat again releases all the tension with the dismissive "Anyway the wind blows". Genius!

Just my two cents.

Now, i remember that the Freddie handwritten lyrics of Bo Rhap were in a box that he gave to Jim Huton?? i really can´t remember but i´m pretty shure i read in one of his bios that the lyrics were in a box that he handled to someone. Maybe someone remembers this better than me.

Interesting points, this thread has certainly made me look at it differently, whereas before I didn't really think that much into the lyrics to be honest, I mean, it was Bohemian Rhapsody, it was just what it was.

Perhaps aside the point, but your English is fantastic for someone who's not a native speaker. Especially compared to the likes of Anton and Medusa, very refreshing.

brENsKi wrote:

mooghead wrote:

Its 'the direction of the wind is irrelevant to me' as in, everything is irrelevant as the song is about a man who has reached such desperation he has ended it all with a bullet. Am I the only one who sees this?

Its about suicide.

even in YOUR context it could still be "anyway"
as in - "it's all over now, and i know the wind will continue to blow, but so what, i couldn't care less"

I stick by my interpretation, I perhaps could have articulated it better but I know what I meant. Ultimately I think both meanings are pretty much the same...

Maybe the lyric should have been 'I don't really give a fuck, doesn't really matter to me'

Kenny Everett would maybe only have got away with playing it just once though....

I think it's hinting at 9/11, just saying.

GratefulFan wrote:

This is really quite cool. Thanks Silken.

Thanks to you and to everyone who participated!
It's interesting to see how all of us have different interpretations.

People for whom English is not a first language may not recognize the idiomatic nature of the phrase 'any way the wind blows'. It's almost automatic that a native English speaker would hear 'any way' in the context of the song. On reflection it's interesting but predictable that the interpretation of 'anyway' mostly comes from non native English speakers. But that's what makes it so interesting, and as I said earlier the idea that Fred choose this spelling on purpose to add some ambiguity is a neat thought. It's a topic in general that could easily have never been considered were it not for Silken's post, so again I'm really grateful for it. :)

I think of it as both "any way" and "anyway." In different points of the song it sounds like either or and at some, both work and other parts only one works. If you look on different versions on Apple Music and you scroll to lyrics, some say any way while some say anyway which leads me to believe Freddie wanted everyones interpretation on the song to be different considering thats what he wanted. In an interview for the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, both Brian and Roger said that they don't even know why Freddie wrote it or what the song is even about and without the handwritten lyrics he gave to Jim, we'll never know...

Mr.QueenFan wrote:

I think you´re right!
Since English is not my native language i remember at the time doing some research over this to find out the meaning, and my conclusion is the same as yours.

I find it to be more poetic, in conjuction with the tension that Freddie created with his first lines. By now we all know that this song is about (believed to be) his fight with the fact that he was gay. But the meaning is not important here. It´s clearly about an emotion strugle going on inside the character (can be Freddie or just a character)

So my view is:

If it was "Any way the wind blows" then the next line "doesn´t really matter to me" was simply about the wind and direction of the wind, wich doesn´t do much sense in this context, and it really doesn´t guive it the punch that Freddie intended. It pratically dismisses all the lyrics before that and doesn´t connect the song in either way.

But by saying "Anyway" as Brenski stated in his post, it makes the line " Doesn't really matter to me" really strong, because now Freddie isn´t talking about the wind but about all the verses before that. His questions about life - the song starts with a question - life and fantasy.- His self portrait and the fact that he feels traped in a reality wich he then proceeds to say "so what, the wind is still blowing so it doesn´t really mater to me" in a dismissive way.

Then he proceeds to go into an emotional journey of the highest order, and yeat again releases all the tension with the dismissive "Anyway the wind blows". Genius!

Just my two cents.

Now, i remember that the Freddie handwritten lyrics of Bo Rhap were in a box that he gave to Jim Huton?? i really can´t remember but i´m pretty shure i read in one of his bios that the lyrics were in a box that he handled to someone. Maybe someone remembers this better than me.

It's really interesting to read a well thought out interpretation from someone for whom English is not their first language and I thank you for sharing. :)

However, "any way the wind blows" is an idiomatic expression, metaphorically meaning "what will be, will be."

I mean, I guess, Freddie could have written
"Nothing really matters
Anyone can see
Nothing really matters nothing really matters to me
What will be, will be"

I mean, it's an extra rhyme! How did he resist the temptation?!?! haha, I guess that's why he's a songwriter, not a silly potato like... ME! SEE! I did another rhyme! Wheeeeee!

Is Freddie singing 'anyone' or 'any one'.

Also in Nevermore is he singing 'nevernmore' or 'never, more'. Apples and oranges and all that.

In the official lyrics video on youtube its 'Any way' after the intro and 'Anyway' at the end.