Meaning Of Bohemian Rhapsody

Maybe Freddie told Jim "Leech" Hutton about the meaning of the song, and what he is waiting for is just a briefcase with some million notes in it. Just Joking, Well, I think what the song is about a man who is rejected by society after killing someone else, or maybe that he is not rejected by society but also by himself, hence the operatic part which would be the voice of that man's conscience.Well, I know this sounds like shit but it's the only thing I can come up with.
Cheers Peeps

I know what the meaning behind bohemian rhapsody is.

But that doesnt nessicarily mean it is the universal meaning. Just what I had picked out on my own.
Cheers

Something I noticed a while ago is that the lyrics correspond to the stages of the emotional trauma cycle: shock, denial, bargaining, anger and acceptance. VERY unusually for me, I don't even want to know the exact meaning, if Freddie didn't want to say (and he obviously didn't) It means more to me than if there were some archived interview somewhere with the answer.

S'cuse me for butting in here, isn't a Bohemian someone who doesn't conform and lives a somewhat abstract and avant garde life? Embraces all possibilities and looks for different experiences? In my humble opinion fits Freddie and the life (even then) he chose. Having said all that phiosophical type stuff-probably agree with the : its what YOU intepret it to mean crowd. Ah well another Stella please.....

Not again.......

who gives a f**k. that wot makes the song so gd, cos u dont know wot its on about

well freddies songs didnt really have a meaning, apparantly, (im reading his biography), he said that basically he just writes what gets into his head. maybe there was some war going on at that time or something, dunno, but its true, i guess we enjoy the song more if we dont kno exactly its true meaning

Not saying BoRap is based on Albert Camus's "The Stranger" but a friend convinced me to read the book in 1976 after discussing this matter. Your mileage may vary.

You may also want to read Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet" to find inspiration into some of Brian's songs.

The song seems to be about his finding out that he has AIDS and does not have much longer on this earth.  "My mother pulled MY trigger" . Also demonstrates his fight between good and evil.  He is scared to "say goodbye", but knows "its time to go" and is accepting of it!

LakeSide wrote:

Not saying BoRap is based on Albert Camus's "The Stranger" but a friend convinced me to read the book in 1976 after discussing this matter. Your mileage may vary.

 



You may also want to read Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet" to find inspiration into some of Brian's songs.



 

Never thought about that before. Good spot.

gbostany wrote: The song seems to be about his finding out that he has AIDS

Errrr.... no.



gbostany wrote: "My mother pulled MY trigger"

Errrr.... no.

Carry on...

It's just a song.

Everyone loves to reading deep meaning into it because it's so serious-sounding and heavy. Freddie's gone on record saying he doesn't know what it's about. Lace a song with cryptic lyrics and implied wrong-doings, then add to that the songwriter's tragic death and you have a recipe for everyone saying "I know what it means! He's singing about [insert personal theory here]!"

The song has whatever meaning you want to apply to it. That's why it remains popular nearly 35 years later. What amuses me the most is how people only select the lyrics that support their theory and disregard the lyrics which don't.

My theory is that Freddie used lyrics that sound good together, not giving much or any thought to deeper meaning. The sounds of the words and the music were more important to him. Songs evolve and lyrics change in the songwriting. You rarely get songs appearing fully formed out of nothing. Sometimes, the writer has a definate message, but I really believe this isn't one of those times.

fred_is_my_name wrote:

well freddies songs didnt really have a meaning, apparantly, (im reading his biography), he said that basically he just writes what gets into his head. maybe there was some war going on at that time or something, dunno, but its true, i guess we enjoy the song more if we dont kno exactly its true meaning

I agree, and especially with what Brian recently wrote in his box a few  weeks ago. A musician not always writes about himself, but instead about a story that he likes. The writer just happens to put himself into the character.
Besides that, I think BR has both. It has personal things of Freddie's life at that moment and also he just kept writting about it to go along with the song.
I think the parts (espcially the first part before the opera) it's really about him finding out that he was homosexual. And how he felt a little bad about it. Or guilty. After that first part, in the opera section and the rock part he just kept playing along with that character he formed before, to complete the lyrics in the song. But it's just what I think maybe Im wrong. We should ask Roger who told on an interview that Freddie told him a little bit about it.

we'll never know what this song is about, but in my view the song is about freddie coming out of the closet "mama Just killed a man"   telling his mother to carry on as if nothing really matters.  I think the ballad part of the song is deep. the middle part is Just for fun.

The Fairy King wrote:

Watch "Freddie's Loves" documentary!
Phoebe explains it all! :)

Fuck Pheobe, they are all cashing in in poor old Fred.