NationStates Jolt Archive

...no you have...allot of time on your hands

Just wondering... Listening to a Queen album and got to thinking... Did Freddie Mercury write BoRhap when he found out he had AIDS? Or is it just my weird interpretation of some of the lines?

...no you have...allot of time on your hands
Are you the G-man?

No. Bohemian Rhapsody was written in 1975. He was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987.

No. Bohemian Rhapsody was written in 1975. He was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987.

AIDS wasn't even a medically documented condition in 1975.

AIDS wasn't even a medically documented condition in 1975.
True, although you HIV doesn't officially progress into AIDS until your WBC count drops below a set limit, a very late stage occurence with HIV infection and one that is usually liked with a rapid decline in health and death. The earliest known infection of HIV was 1959, although following the phylogenetic tree suggests infections ran as far back as the 1930s. IIRC though, Freddie Mercury didn't know he had HIV until the late 80s and didn't publicly admit it until right before his death.+

EDIT: Oh, wait, what the Mindset said. Once again, my reading skills prevail in spectacular fashion.

Just wondering... Listening to a Queen album and got to thinking... Did Freddie Mercury write BoRhap when he found out he had AIDS? Or is it just my weird interpretation of some of the lines?

In an interview with Brian May and Roger Taylor on the Queen Videos Greatest Hits DVD, Brian said: "What is Bohemian Rhapsody about, well I don't think we'll ever know and if I knew I probably wouldn't want to tell you anyway, because I certainly don't tell people what my songs are about. I find that it destroys them in a way because the great thing about about a great song is that you relate it to your own personal experiences in your own life. I think that Freddie was certainly battling with problems in his personal life, which he might have decided to put into the song himself. He was certainly looking at re-creating himself. But I don't think at that point in time it was the best thing to do so he actually decided to do it later. I think it's best to leave it with a question mark in the air." (thanks, Callum - Bendigo, Australia)
The name "Bohemian" in the song title seems to refer not to the region in the Czech republic, but a group of artists and musicians living roughly 100 years ago, known for defying convention and living with disregard for standards. A "Rhapsody" is a piece of Classical music with distinct sections that is played as one movement. Rhapsody's often have themes. (thanks, George - Dusseldorf, Germany)

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=685
we will never know but considering the year (1975) i doubt it

Aw man! And I had my hopes up high... http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/GermanNightmare/FreddyKrger.gif

I think you can relate that song pretty easily to drug use.

Just wondering... Listening to a Queen album and got to thinking... Did Freddie Mercury write BoRhap when he found out he had AIDS? Or is it just my weird interpretation of some of the lines?

This ranks up there with the '37 Reasons To Love The US' thread as one of the worst instances of fact-checking that we've so far experienced on NSG. You have a brain. You have a search engine. Use them.

I remember that thread!! Gravedig?

;)

This ranks up there with the '37 Reasons To Love The US' thread as one of the worst instances of fact-checking that we've so far experienced on NSG. You have a brain. You have a search engine. Use them.

Agreed.

I remember that thread!! Gravedig?

;)

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=357576 ;)

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=357576 ;)

The horror, the horror.

Yeah, as stated, the condition of AIDS wasn't documented until over 6 years after this song was written.

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=357576 ;)
That thread's older than my nation! I feel so young...:(

It would be creepy if he wrote it based upon a death premonition, sort of like Tchaikovsky did with the final part of his Sixth Symphony. Of course, he died a week after the fact so there's a pretty huge time difference, but the effects would presumably be similar.

That thread's older than my nation! I feel so young...:(

Dude, you posted on that thread...

Dude, you posted on that thread...
I know, but it was started a full month before my nation was born.

Also, keep my posts in the on the lowdown. I was a n00b, I am not proud...:(

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=685
we will never know but considering the year (1975) i doubt it

Well, being in the band, Brian should know. I always thought it was based on Camus's L"Etranger.