The legendary song that rocked the world: “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen

Widely known to be one of the greatest rock songs of all time, “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen would serve as an enriching and valuable contribution to Columbia University’s Music Humanities curriculum. “Bohemian Rhapsody” was one of the first singles released in Queen’s album, A Night at the Opera, and was voted as Britain’s favorite singles of all time, ranking above the Beatles, and stayed No. 1 for 9 consecutive weeks (2). The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004 and proclaimed the world’s most-streamed song of the 20th Century in 2018 (1). There are reasons for the great fame that this song has received in the UK and internationally. In this paper, I will present my argument about why the “Bohemian Rhapsody” should be included in the Music Humanities syllabus as it is a progressive masterpiece that broke conventions in rock, opera, and popular music in all ways possible – with its musical structure, expression, themes, and fatalistic lyrics. I will also explain how “Bohemian Rhapsody” implements opera and classical styles which are sections in the current Music Humanities syllabus and how the song’s addition serves to show how music throughout history has evolved and adopted styles from the past. Finally, I will show how the song itself left a legacy that influences our music today, making it a worthy contribution to the curriculum.

Rock music is one of the biggest genres of music in the world, but there are currently no sections dedicated to rock music within the syllabus, and the addition of “Bohemian Rhapsody” would be a good introduction to this important music genre. Rock music rose to popularity as a type of pop music, and it originated from rock ‘n’ roll in the 1950s from America (5). Rock ‘n’ roll is a popular music genre that combines elements of rhythms and blues, jazz, and country music, with electric elements (5). Jazz and blues were both sections in the Music Humanities curriculum, and we can see their influence on rock music with jazz chords, improvisation, syncopated rhythm, showing how popular music developed through the decades and adopted influence from past styles (6). Rock music was also associated with youth revolt and transgression, which are evident themes in Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” in empowering the youth and exploration of one’s own identity and self, including homosexuality, which is likened to that of a transgression within the song.

The operatic section and sonata form of “Bohemian Rhapsody” further connects the song with musical concepts and styles within the Music Humanities curriculum and demonstrates the genius behind its artistic rendition. The operatic section within the song shocks listeners and breaks conventions of rock music. It starts with “I see a silhouette of a man” and weaves between arias and recitatives that begins to climax at “thunderbolt and lightning very very frightening” followed by a call-and-response between singers as they belt “Galileo Galileo Galileo Figaro – Magnifico” (10). It then transitions into a section consisting of a solo aria followed by a crescendo of the multi-voiced background response that serve as both a plea and resistance against the aria. In this operatic section within “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Queen fully pushes forward the notions of opera being “exotic and strange” and “a battle between words and music” as described by Parker in A History of Opera (8). In fact, this section resembles a parody mocking conventional opera by incorporating bombastic choruses, sarcastic recitatives, excessive emotion, and a confusing plot (4). In A History of Opera, Parker speaks of the debate regarding the level of details for the translations for opera’s that are performed in their original language, and concludes that “understanding a specific word is not as critical as it might seem in the experience of an opera” (8).  The “Bohemian Rhapsody” embodies this idea of the audience not necessarily having to understanding all the words to get the overall picture, as the song throws out a seemingly nonsensical concocted mix of words in Italian, French, and Arabic, belting out “Galileo”, “Figaro”, “Scaramouche”, “Mama mia,” and “Fandango” (10). The chaos of the operatic section towards the end, which includes a call-and response between Mercury’s solo aria and the thick polyphonic voices created by 180 choral overdubs of the others, mimics the chaos of ensembles within operas, such as that of The Marriage of Figaro in the end of Act I when the two sides bicker back and forth. The aria’s of Mercury are emotion-packed and reflective, similar to those of Countess Rosine’s within the Marriage of Figaro. In both, emotions and feelings are dramatized as the singers they lament over their predicament. Interestingly, although the “Bohemian Rhapsody” breaks conventions of rock music, it appears to follow a sonata form, by beginning with a development and introducing an idea, then juxtaposing and fragmenting it in the operatic section, and finally recapitulating in the coda section.

The popularity and fame of “Bohemian Rhapsody” as “one of the greatest songs ever” is due to its novel elements that broke all conventions of popular music in its era, and its legacy continues to influence modern music today. Unlike most popular songs during the era that lasted around 3 minutes, “Bohemian Rhapsody” was released as a 6-minute rock single. However, rather than boring listeners, the song’s unique structure, catchy tunes, and lyrics enraptured them. Furthermore, it does not follow the normal conventions of a song in the format of: verse, chorus, verse, chorus. Instead, the song contains six sections: acapella intro, ballad, guitar solo, opera, hard rock, and coda outro. There is no repeated chorus in the entire piece. The song is often described as a “genre bender” since each section is unique in itself with different melodies, rhythms, textures, lyrics, and makes it so that it appears that there are five separate songs within one masterpiece. Queen changed the very concept of rock music and what rock ‘n’ roll bands could do by blending opera and heavy rock together seamlessly and setting the stage for a newer progressive era of music. They showed that artists and singers did not have to follow the norm of popular music and could lend to more artistic and creative expression. The song’s unique structure of putting together different sections with no chorus are implemented by famous artists in our modern day. In Kendrick’ Lamar’s Pultizer winning album, Damn., the song “XXX. FEAT. U2”’ follows a similar structure. Similar to “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the song has several different sections with different textures, timbres, rhythm, and vocals, yet no chorus. “Bohemian Rhapsody” also popularized the music video format and continues to influence music and artistic expression world wide (12).

Another distinct feature of “Bohemian Rhapsody” is its fatalistic lyrics entangled with themes of murder and nihilism. The song starts with a five-part harmony acapella in B flat major, with the lyrics asking “Is this the real life? Is this just a fantasy?”  before concluding that there is “no escape from reality” adding themes of fantasy and helplessness. In the next ballad section of the song, Mercury confesses, “Mama I just killed a man” by putting a “gun to his head” (10). He then embraces his emotions, crying that “I don’t want to die” and “sometimes I wished I’d never been born at all” (10). His tumultuous mental and emotional state is displayed in the operatic section, as he cries out “Galileo,” “Scaramouche,” “Figaro”, “Beelzebub” (10).  He then enters into a conversation or “call-and-response” with his consciousness or an omniscence presence. He wrestles between two sides, in which one side sings to “spare him his life from this monstrosity” and another cries “Bismillah! We will not let you go!” (10). During the hard rock section that comes next, Mercury fights off the demons plaguing him and declares “So you think you can stop me and spit in my eye?” (10), casting off the lost and distraught state he was in prior. Finally, the beginning is recapitulated in the ending coda when Mercury finally comes to terms and gently sings “nothing really matters to me” (10).

On the surface, “Bohemian Rhapsody” appears to tell a story of how one man threw his life away after murdering another man with a gun, and comes to terms with his predicament in the end. However, on a deeper level, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is actually about Freddie Mercury coming to terms with his sexuality. He tells his mother that he has “killed a man” when that man is himself and he has killed his past self by coming out as bisexual. The rest of the song involves the singer wrestling with his transgression and seeking redemption, and the end of the song has him finally accepting himself for who he is and finding peace. Following the nature of the unconventional structure of the 6-minute opera rock single, the song is progressive in touching upon topics of homosexuality and queerness in a time when it was not accepted by society. In doing so, it empowers listeners to search for their identities and discover who they truly are as well. The Music Humanities syllabus currently contains music that include themes on culture, ethnicity, and race, but not of one’s gender and identity, and this song provides an opportunity for an interesting analysis into the nihilistic metaphor presented and the topic of sexuality.

The award-winning hit single “Bohemian Rhapsody” by British rock band Queen has reshaped rock music, and shaken the world with its novel musical structure, expression, themes, and fatalistic lyrics, breaking all conventions of normal pop music. Not only is it progressive in its structure and form, but the “Bohemian Rhapsody” is also progressive in its story and underlying message in regards to one finding one’s own identity and going through a rollercoaster of emotions and mental states to seek redemption and finally accept oneself. Overall, the “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a song of brilliant artistic expression that has left a legacy in the world of music and qualifies as a masterpiece that should be included in Columbia University’s Music Humanities syllabus.