Queens Bohemian Rhapsody: The surprising truth behind the iconic song

Before Freddie Mercury put a gun against a man’s head and pulled the trigger, he considered sending him off to war.An early draft of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the 1975 hit that would define the band, included the verse, “Mama, there’s a war began / I’ve got to leave tonight,” according to “A Life in Lyrics: The Official Creative Legacy of Freddie Mercury,” (Dey Street Books, out now), by Mercury and Mary Austin, the singer’s former fiancée.Published ahead of what would’ve been Mercury’s 80th birthday on September 5, the book draws on notebooks and musical sketches found at the singer’s London home after his 1991 death — papers that show how even Queen’s most familiar songs passed through some strange early versions.That includes even the band’s name.Austin recalls being present at an early meeting as the members debated what to call themselves.

Mercury suggested Queen, while guitarist Brian May offered the curious alternative Build Your Own Boat.When Mercury asked her opinion, Austin sided with May.“Freddie smiled but said nothing,” Austin writes.

“I have since wondered whether it was some sort of test; if so, I suspect I did not fare particularly well!”Mercury won the argument.But the book shows how much revising took place before another of his inspired names became permanent.“Bohemian Rhapsody” began with a single line, “Mama, just killed a man,” which Mercury is thought to have written in 1968 while studying graphic design at Ealing Art College.

The line suggested an Old West story to him, and he informally called the unfinished fragment “The Cowboy Song.”The song took a dramatic turn after Mercury bought the Yamaha grand piano on which he’d compose much of it.Austin wonders whether shopping for the instrument helped steer him toward its grander sound.“When you visit a piano showroom, you’re surrounded by sound,” she writes.

“You’re hearing instruments played, perhaps classical music in th...