Was Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ originally ‘Mongolian Rhapsody’? – Times of India
It’s one of rock’s best-known and strangest songs: a six-minute radio hit that starts out as a piano ballad, becomes a high-pitched opera, then tumbles into a headbanger’s anthem. Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”, released in 1975, sold millions of copies, topped charts and helped redefine what pop music could be.
But the track’s history could have been very different — in one aspect at least. An early draft of the song by Freddie Mercury, Queen’s frontman, suggests that he once considered giving the anthem a different title: “Mongolian Rhapsody. ” The draft is among thousands of Mercury’s belongings that will be auctioned in September by Sotheby’s on behalf of his friend and heir Mary Austin.
The collection, which had been kept in Mercury’s London home since his death in 1991 of bronchopneumonia resulting from AIDS, includes stage costumes and furniture as well as the 15 pages of early drafts for “Bohemian Rhapsody”, estimated to be worth up about $1. 5 million. On one page, Mercury wrote the words “Mongolian Rhapsody” near the top. He then crossed out that first word and added “Bohemian” above it. The page will go on public view at Sotheby’s New York through June 8.
The drafts make it clear that Mercury played around with lyrics when writing songs, swapping in and out words with similar sounds, Gabriel Heaton, a books and manuscripts specialist at Sotheby’s, said. “Of course ‘Bohemian,’ ‘Mongolian,’ it’s the same rhythm,” he said of the song in question.
Rock history is filled with songs that could have been. When the Beatles wrote “Yesterday”, they famously gave it the working title “Scrambled Eggs. ” But the potential alternative title for “Bohemian Rhapsody” has been unknown since the song premiered almost 50 years ago, and has gone unmentioned in prominent Queen biographies. Mercury made it clear in interviews that “Bohemian Rhapsody” was tough to write. “It didn’t just come out of thin air,” Mercury once said according to “Freddie Mercury: A Life, in His Own Words”. “Certain songs require that sort of pompous flair. I had to work like crazy. ”
The band’s guitarist, Brian May, and drummer, Roger Taylor, declined to comment. In a 2002 documentary, May recalled the moment Mercury suggested the title “Bohemian Rhapsody”: “You never knew quite whether Freddie was joking or what. Some of his ideas turned out to be not serious, but that one stuck. ” Heaton said the final title carried a certain air of mystery, but it was hard to say how important it had been to the song’s success.
But the track’s history could have been very different — in one aspect at least. An early draft of the song by Freddie Mercury, Queen’s frontman, suggests that he once considered giving the anthem a different title: “Mongolian Rhapsody. ” The draft is among thousands of Mercury’s belongings that will be auctioned in September by Sotheby’s on behalf of his friend and heir Mary Austin.
The collection, which had been kept in Mercury’s London home since his death in 1991 of bronchopneumonia resulting from AIDS, includes stage costumes and furniture as well as the 15 pages of early drafts for “Bohemian Rhapsody”, estimated to be worth up about $1. 5 million. On one page, Mercury wrote the words “Mongolian Rhapsody” near the top. He then crossed out that first word and added “Bohemian” above it. The page will go on public view at Sotheby’s New York through June 8.
The drafts make it clear that Mercury played around with lyrics when writing songs, swapping in and out words with similar sounds, Gabriel Heaton, a books and manuscripts specialist at Sotheby’s, said. “Of course ‘Bohemian,’ ‘Mongolian,’ it’s the same rhythm,” he said of the song in question.
Rock history is filled with songs that could have been. When the Beatles wrote “Yesterday”, they famously gave it the working title “Scrambled Eggs. ” But the potential alternative title for “Bohemian Rhapsody” has been unknown since the song premiered almost 50 years ago, and has gone unmentioned in prominent Queen biographies. Mercury made it clear in interviews that “Bohemian Rhapsody” was tough to write. “It didn’t just come out of thin air,” Mercury once said according to “Freddie Mercury: A Life, in His Own Words”. “Certain songs require that sort of pompous flair. I had to work like crazy. ”
The band’s guitarist, Brian May, and drummer, Roger Taylor, declined to comment. In a 2002 documentary, May recalled the moment Mercury suggested the title “Bohemian Rhapsody”: “You never knew quite whether Freddie was joking or what. Some of his ideas turned out to be not serious, but that one stuck. ” Heaton said the final title carried a certain air of mystery, but it was hard to say how important it had been to the song’s success.
