Songs

Side One

1. Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)

   "Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)" is a song by the British rock band Queen and is the opening track on their fourth album A Night at the Opera. The song was written by Freddie Mercury about the band's fall-out with their original manager and Trident Studios owner Norman Sheffield. Though the song makes no direct reference to him, Sheffield sued both the band and the record label for defamation. This resulted in an out-of-court settlement,[3] thus revealing to the public his connection with the song. Mercury said that his lawyer had cautioned him against discussing the lyrics, but that it was written from a "very emotional" place for which he felt music was the best outlet.[4] Roger Taylor also noted that despite the success of "Killer Queen" and Sheer Heart Attack, the album preceding A Night at the Opera

2. Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon

   I go out to work on Monday morning Tuesday, I go off to honeymoon I'll be back again before it's time for sunny-down I'll be lazing on a Sunday afternoon Bicycling on every Wednesday evening Thursday, I go waltzing to the zoo I come from London town I'm just an ordinary guy Fridays, I go painting in the Louvre I'm bound to be proposing on a Saturday night (There he goes again) I'll be lazing on a Sunday Lazing on a Sunday Lazing on a Sunday afternoon

3. I'm in Love with My Car

   "I'm in Love with My Car" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released on their fourth album A Night at the Opera in 1975. It is the album's only song written entirely by drummer Roger Taylor.Taylor played the guitars in the original demo, but they were later rerecorded by May on his Red Special and Taylor also doubled on electric guitar in addition to drums

   

4. You're My Best Friend

   "You're My Best Friend" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by the band's bass player, John Deacon, who wrote it for and about his wife. It was first included on the 1975 album A Night at the Opera, and later released as a single. The ballad[5] also appeared on the Live Killers (1979) live album, and on the compilation albums Greatest Hits (1981), Absolute Greatest (2009) and Queen Forever (2014). The song reached number seven in the UK Singles Chart and number 16 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[6] It is certified platinum by the RIAA in the US with over one million copies sold. The song has since featured in television, film, and other media, such as The Simpsons and Family Guy.

   

5. '39

   "'39" is a song by British rock band Queen. Composed by lead guitarist Brian May, it is the fifth track on their fourth studio album A Night at the Opera. The song was also the B-side to "You're My Best Friend". The song relates the tale of a group of space explorers who embark on what is, from their perspective, a year-long voyage. Upon their return, however, they realise that a hundred years have passed, because of the time dilation effect in Einstein's special theory of relativity, and the loved ones they left behind are now all dead or aged.[5]

   

6. Sweet Lady

   "Sweet Lady" is a song by British rock band Queen, which was written by Queen guitarist Brian May. Details "Sweet Lady" is a distortion-driven fast rocker written by May. The song is an unusual rock style in 3/4 meter (which gives way to 4/4 at the bridge). According to an online source, Roger Taylor once said that because of its unusual time signature, "Sweet Lady" was the hardest song for him to play live on the drums.[3][user-generated source?] The backing track was probably recorded live, as one can hear the wires on the snare drum of Taylor's kit vibrating along with John Deacon's bass guitar riff.

7. Seaside Rendezvous

   written by Mercury, has a mock-instrumental bridge section which begins at around 0:51 into the song. The section is performed entirely by Mercury and Taylor using their voices alone. Mercury imitates woodwind instruments including a clarinet and Taylor mostly brass instruments, including tubas and trumpets, and even a kazoo; during this section Taylor hits the highest note on the album, C6. The "tap dance" segment is performed by Mercury and Taylor on the mixing desk with thimbles on their fingers. Mercury plays both grand piano and jangle honky-tonk.

Side Two

8. The Prophet's Song

   was composed by May. He explained that he wrote the song after a dream he had had about The Great Flood and his fears about the human race and its general lack of empathy.[46] He spent several days assembling the song, and it includes a vocal canon sung by Mercury. The vocal, and later instrumental canon was produced by early tape delay devices.[citation needed] Over eight minutes long, it is also Queen's longest studio song.[46] The speed-up effect that happens in the middle of the guitar solo was achieved by starting a reel-to-reel player with the tape on it, as the original tape player was stopped.

9. Love of My Life

   is one of Queen's most covered songs (there have been versions by many acts like Extreme featuring May, Scorpions and Elaine Paige). Mercury played piano (including a classical solo) and sang all vocals, including multi-tracked harmonies. May played harp (doing it chord by chord and pasting the takes to form the entire part), Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar (which he had bought in Japan) and his Red Special. May eventually arranged the song so it could be played on an acoustic 12 string for live performances. "Love of My Life" was such a concert favourite that Mercury frequently stopped singing and allowed the audience to take over. It was especially well received during concerts in South America, and the band released the song as a single there. When Queen and Paul Rodgers performed the song (specifically Brian solo) he sang almost none of the words and let the audience sing it all, continuing the tradition

10. Good Company

    was written and sung by May, who sings all vocals and plays ukulele. The recording features a recreation of a Dixieland-style jazz band using May's Red Special guitar and Deacy Amp. May composed the song on his father's Banjo ukulele, but recorded the song with a regular ukulele.[58] Mercury was not involved with the song's recording, making it one of the few Queen songs not to feature their lead singer.

11. Bohemian Rhapsody

    "Bohemian Rhapsody" was written by Mercury with the first guitar solo composed by May. All piano, bass and drum parts, as well as the vocal arrangements, were thought up by Mercury on a daily basis and written down "in blocks" (using note names instead of sheets) on a phonebook. During the recording, the song became affectionately known as "Fred's Thing" to the band, and the title only emerged during the final sessions. The other members recorded their respective instruments with no concept of how their tracks would be utilised in the final mix. The operatic section was originally intended to be only a short interlude of "Galileos" that connected the ballad and hard rock portions of the song. The interlude is full of "obscure classical characters: Scaramouche, a clown from the Commedia dell'arte; astronomer Galileo; Figaro, the principal character in Beaumarchais' The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro; and Beelzebub, identified in the Christian New Testament as Satan, Prince of Demons, but in Arabic as "Lord of the Flies". Also in Arabic the word Bismillah', which is a noun from a phrase in the Qur'an; "Bismi-llahi r-rahmani r-rahiim", meaning "In the name of God, most gracious, most merciful".[62]

    

12. God Save the Queen

    May recorded a version of "God Save the Queen", the British national anthem, on 27 October 1974 at Trident Studios before their Sheer Heart Attack tour. He played a guide piano which was edited out later and added several layers of guitars.[59] After the song was completed it was played as a coda at virtually every Queen concert.[60] When recording the track May played a rough version on piano for Roy Thomas Baker, producer, and Mike Stone, engineer. He called his own skills on the piano sub-par at the time.[59] He performed the song live on the roof of Buckingham Palace for the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002.[61] May has stated that he performed the song on the roof of Buckingham Palace as a homage to Jimi Hendrix's version of "The Star-Spangled Banner".