Bohemian Raphsody by Queen - Stuck in a Small Box, All Alone
As a kid, I never listened to very much 'pop' music or anything that was fairly new. I mostly listened to what my parents listened to, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, etc. Queen has always been one of my favorite bands, and their song Bohemian Raphsody was one of my favorite songs. When I was younger, and probably still now, this song confused me. In one verse Mercury, the singer, would be singing about one thing and in the second verse he is singing about having killed someone, and I was never able to put it all together to really mean something. For this blog on a song, I chose Bohemian Raphsody because I knew it would be challeging to piece together, but I've always been under the impression that once I understood how I interpret it it would have a very powerful meaning.
I've read and reread the lyrics again and again and I believe that the song is about a person who is in this big scary world and feels completely lost and alone. I'm not exactly sure if it is meant to have a message, but I think that it may be that everyone is important and people must look for that in everyone. The whole song gives off a general feeling of worthlessness where the speaker feels as though they are treated like nothing and people walk all over them. He is showing his anger and how much it hurts, which leaves me with the idea that everyone must be treated as equally special and important. For example, Mercury sings," So you think you can stop me and spit in my eye! So you think you can love me and leave me to die!" towards the end of the song. He then sings "Just gotta get out, just gotta get right out of here." I believe that this means he has been mistreated and suddenly is brought down to feeling worthless, and I believe the feeling of being trapped comes from the fact that he sees nowhere to go and starts yelling that he just has to get out, but doesn't seem to have anywhere he can go. Also, the line, "Bismillah! No! We will not let you go!" shows me that he feels stuck and held back by all the 'demons' around him. Bismillah means in the name of God, and the way this line is yelled conveys distress and anger.
In addition, the musical affects of this song actually show a lot of the feeling that is going on. For example, at the end of the first verse Mercury's voice fades out while singing 'doesn't really matter... me' putting no stress on the importance of his own opinion. Also, I think that it comes off as though no one is listening to him and there is just no point in trying. Later in the song, while singing an electric guitar comes on and he starts yelling and escalating the volume at which he sings for the lines "I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all!" and then for ,"So you think you can stop 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!" Which makes me think he is getting incredibly angry and frustrated as the song progresses. Unlinke when reading a book, when listening to a song it's not just the text that helps me figure out the message and mood, but I also use the music and volume and things like that.
When I hear this song it really has an impact on me. I think that there are very few people who have never at least been in a situation where they feel trapped and alone, or like everyone is against them. I loved trying to get into this song just because there are so many things that feel random and strange yet when you put it all together make sense. In conclusion, I think that Bohemian Raphsody is about the idea of feeling alone and trapped, and how upsetting and confusing that is for people.
