B is For “Bohemian Rhapsody”

Fandango

It’s time for this year’s A to Z Blogging Challenge to get underway. My theme is classic rock songs. Each day during the month (except for the first four Sundays, I will post a classic rock song: a video from YouTube, along with a brief bit of background about the song and the recording artist(s).

My B song should come as no surprise to those of you who know me. Of course it’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” from the British rock band Queen

Bohemian Rhapsody” was written by Freddie Mercury for Queen’s 1975 album A Night at the Opera. In the United States, the song peaked at number 9 in 1976, but reached a new peak of number 3 after appearing in the 1992 film Wayne’s World. In 2004, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

There’s a lot of speculation about the meaning of the song, but Mercury was tight-lipped, and the band agreed not to reveal anything about the song’s meaning. Mercury stated, “It’s one of those songs which has such a fantasy feel about it. 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.”

Some have suggested the song has its roots in his parents’ religion of Zoroastrianism. Many of the words in the song appear in the Qu’ran. “Bismillah” is one of these and it literally means “In the name of Allah.” The word “Scaramouch” means “a stock character that appears as a boastful coward.” “Beelzebub” is one of the many names given to the devil.

Another interpretation is that it’s about a boy pleading in front of an unsympathetic jury after murdering a man, evidenced by the lyric “He’s just a poor boy from a poor family / Spare him his life from this monstrosity.”

And of course there is my personal favorite verse for obvious reasons:

“I see a little silhouetto of a man
Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?
Thunderbolt and lightning very very frightening me”

How many of you noticed that “Fandango” also showed up in my A song, “A Whiter Shade of Pale”?

“We skipped the light fandango”

Here are the lyrics to “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see
I'm just a poor boy
I need no sympathy
Because I'm easy come, easy go
Little high, little low
Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me

Mama, just killed a man
Put a gun against his head
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead
Mama, life had just begun
But now I've gone and thrown it all away

Mama, ooh
Didn't mean to make you cry
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow
Carry on, carry on
As if nothing really matters

Too late, my time has come
Sends shivers down my spine
Body's aching all the time
Goodbye everybody, I've got to go
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth

Mama, ooh (any way the wind blows)
I don't wanna die
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all

I see a little silhouetto of a man
Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?
Thunderbolt and lightning very very frightening me
Gallileo, Gallileo
Gallileo, Gallileo
Gallileo Figaro, magnifico
I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
He's just a poor boy from a poor family
Spare him his life from this monstrosity
Easy come easy go, will you let me go?
Bismillah! No, we will not let you go (let him go)
Bismillah! We will not let you go (let him go)
Bismillah! We will not let you go (let me go)
Will not let you go (let me go)
Never, never, never, never let me go
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
Oh, mama mia, mama mia
Mama mia, let me go
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me
For me
For me

So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye?
So you think you can love me and leave me to die?
Oh, baby
Can't do this to me, baby
Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here

Ooooh, ooh yeah, ooh yeah

Nothing really matters
Anyone can see
Nothing really matters
Nothing really matters to me

Any way the wind blows

A

Previous 2023 A to Z posts:

44 thoughts on “B is For “Bohemian Rhapsody””

  2. bushboy April 3, 2023 / 6:06 am

    There will be multiple entries under “F” 😂

    Liked by 1 person

  4. newepicauthor April 3, 2023 / 6:37 am

    That would be wonderful if everyone of your 2023 A to Z songs would contain Fandango somewhere in the lyrics.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango April 3, 2023 / 4:22 pm

      I checked. I could maybe manage 10, but not 26.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Miss Andi April 3, 2023 / 7:10 am

    We used to sing this in uni conventions as a roll call, different areas standing up when singing specific lines which was super fun at the quick part 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Jamie April 3, 2023 / 8:43 am

    I never knew Bismillah, Beelzebub and Scaramouche until this song. I’d heard the song many times before learning the lyrics. They always sounds like something else!

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Paula Light April 3, 2023 / 9:43 am

    I adore this song! I read that it’s about coming out of the closet and “killing” one’s previous identity…

    Liked by 1 person

  8. eschudel April 3, 2023 / 10:18 am

    I channel Wayne’s World whenever I hear this in the car.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. John Holton April 3, 2023 / 11:16 am

    Does the song for tomorrow have the word “fandango” in it as well?

    Liked by 1 person

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  14. junedesilva April 5, 2023 / 6:19 am

    Such an evocative song, as is the video. I have very few regrets but turning down an invite to see Queen play Wembley is one of them!

    Liked by 1 person

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  16. Carol anne April 6, 2023 / 2:02 pm

    this queen song has always been a favourite of mine!

    Liked by 1 person

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  22. leigha66 April 12, 2023 / 9:48 pm

    Now that would be a real challenge… doing songs A to Z each with Fandango in the lyrics. Ha, ha!

    Liked by 1 person

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