“My lyrics and songs are mainly fantasies. I make them up. They are not down to earth, they’re kind of airy-fairy really.“
Explore the origins, lyrical themes and significance of Freddie Mercury’s early songs with Queen.
Great King Rat, from Queen, 1973
Great King Rat is a dark character portrait about a filthy, syphilitic man who dies at the age of 44. Its melody echoes the traditional British nursery rhyme, Old King Cole, subverting its jovial associations to introduce themes of sin, faith, and hypocrisy.
Structured as a series of shifting musical passages, the song unfolds like a miniature drama, revealing Queen’s early instinct for theatrical storytelling through allegorical figures and episodic structures that would later develop more fully in songs such as The March of the Black Queen.
My Fairy King, from Queen, 1973
My Fairy King offers an early glimpse into Freddie Mercury’s fascination with elaborate fantasy worlds. Former Queen bassist Barry Mitchell recalled that the song existed during his brief tenure with the band in 1970, suggesting it was among Mercury’s earliest realised compositions.
The song’s opening imagery draws inspiration from Robert Browning’s 1842 poem, The Pied Piper of Hamelin: “The sparrows were brighter than peacocks here, And their dogs outran our fallow deer, And honey-bees had lost their stings, And horses were born with eagles’ wings”.
My Fairy King presents an enchanting contrast between a pastoral realm ruled by a mythical fairy king and the destructive intrusion brought about by humans.
According to Brian May, the song’s closing lines “Mother Mercury, look what they’ve done to me, I cannot run I cannot hide” were a reference to his own mother, and that writing the song coincided with his decision to adopt the surname Mercury.
Liar, from Queen, 1973
Liar began life as an Ibex track titled Lover, co-written by Mike Bersin. Brian May later recalled hearing Ibex, who later became known as Wreckage rehearse this song and being struck by one particular riff. When Queen reworked the material, May’s guitar ideas were developed further and paired with Freddie Mercury’s newly written lyrics, transforming the song into something far more expansive.
Its lyrics explore themes of repentance, guilt and inner conflict, specifically in the context of Catholic redemption. The subject asks forgiveness from “father” (or Catholic priest) and an uncredited Hammond organ underscores its introduction, suggesting the action takes place in the confessional.
Jesus, from Queen, 1973
Jesus reflects Mercury’s early fascination with religion and theology, specifically Christianity. Its lyrics reference two episodes from the life of Jesus Christ: the Nativity and the healing of a leper.
Unlike traditional religious music, however, Jesus does not preach faith or doctrine. Instead, Mercury presents biblical imagery in a detached, almost observational manner. The narrative is described, rather than interpreted, allowing the story to function less as theology and more as myth. In this sense, religious imagery becomes another imaginative landscape for Mercury, similar to the fantasy worlds that he would later inhabit.
Listen to Jesus live at Imperial College in 1970 via YouTube
Mad the Swine, b-side from the 1991 Hollywood Records CD reissue of Queen, 1973
Originally intended as a track on Queen between Great King Rat and My Fairy King, Mad the Swine focuses on the return of an eccentric prophet who compels others to gather round and praise the Lord.
Queen and Roy Thomas Baker disagreed over the drum sound and percussion, and it was left off the album. It later resurfaced when Hollywood Records revisited Queen’s vaults in search of bonus tracks.
Mad the Swine was released on the CD single of Headlong in May 1991, and then as a bonus track on Queen that same year, and again a decade later on the deluxe edition of the debut album.
Ogre Battle, from Queen II, 1974
Written as early as 1972, Ogre Battle is a ferocious assault, packed with menace, shrieking vocal harmonies and densely layered guitars.
Rooted in fantasy storytelling and early heavy metal theatricality, the song draws the listener directly into the drama of a battlefield populated by giant ogres who hold a “focus in your direction”.
The “two-way mirror mountain” echoes the song’s palindromic construction, with its introduction reappearing as the outro played in reverse. The effect is both disorienting and exhilarating, marking Ogre Battle as one of Queen’s most savage and structurally adventurous early recordings.
Watch Ogre Battle live at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1975 via YouTube
The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke, from Queen II, 1974
The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke is a frantic and surreal composition, densely packed with vivid fantasy characters. The song depicts a gathering for a momentous event: a woodcutter raising his axe to split a hazelnut in two, creating a carriage for Queen Mab. Mercury was fascinated by Richard Dadd’s painting of the same name and is known to have taken friends to view the work at the Tate Gallery. The painting, like the song, is obsessively detailed, presenting a roll call of arcane figures drawn from Shakespeare and English folk tradition.
The sale of Mercury’s belongings at Sotheby’s later revealed the depth of Mercury’s fascination with both the painting and Dadd himself. Alongside several books on the artist, Mercury retained a Sunday Times Magazine entitled Midsummer Nightmare (1972), written by Dadd curator Patricia Allderidge. The article describes the action of The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke in language that closely parallels the imagery of Mercury’s lyrics, suggesting it may have shaped his interpretation of the scene.
Nevermore, from Queen II, 1974
Nevermore is a brief, piano-led composition which shows Mercury’s experiments with more vulnerable songwriting, likening romantic heartbreak to the experience of enduring a drought. Similar to My Fairy King, the lyrics contrast the lushness of the valleys where the sun remains warm and tender with a desolate landscape in which seas have dried and the rain has ceased to fall.
Despite its brevity, Nevermore presents a moment of fragile introspection between the heavier fantasy tracks on Queen II, and remains one of the album’s most tender and understated moments.
The March of the Black Queen, from Queen II, 1974
The March of the Black Queen is one of Mercury’s most structurally ambitious compositions, and the epic centrepiece of Queen II. The song features a succession of contrasting scenes of heaven and hell presided over by a tyrannical and grotesque black queen. Mercury’s fleeting invocation of a “Queen of the Night” suggests a possible an operatic echo of the Queen of the Night aria from the second act of the Mozart opera The Magic Flute (K. 620). Both works explore themes of corrupted innocence and damnation through heightened theatrics.
Running for over six minutes and comprising several interwoven musical sections, March of the Black Queen has frequently been characterised as a precursor to Bohemian Rhapsody, establishing Queen’s early fascination with multi-part song structures, abrupt stylistic contrasts, and elaborate studio-constructed narratives.
Funny How Love Is, from Queen II, 1974
Funny How Love Is serves as a sunny and emotionally buoyant respite from the darkness of Queen II. The lyrics speak of love striking in unexpected places and at unexpected times.
Funny How Love Is utilised a “Wall of Sound” technique, invented by Phil Spector and later refined by Robin Geoffrey Cable. Cable had previously worked with Mercury to contribute vocals to his reworkings of I Can Hear Music (1973) and Goin’ Back (1973) (both released under the pseudonym of Larry Lurex).
Due to the complexity of its performance, Funny How Love Is was never performed live.
Seven Seas of Rhye, from Queen II, 1974
Seven Seas of Rhye began life as a slower instrumental on Queen’s debut album, before being reworked into Queen’s first true hit, peaking at number 10 in the UK charts in February 1974. The lyrics feature Mercury’s imaginary kingdom of Rhye, a recurring mythical landscape invented in childhood by Mercury and his sister, Kashmira.
Introduced by Mercury’s commanding piano motif, the song asserts ownership over this fantastical realm and its subjects. Its themes of resilience and defiance of natural laws reflect the group’s growing confidence and tenacity.
The grand fantasy world of Seven Seas of Rhye abruptly dissolves into the British musical hall song, I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside, creating a striking contrast between the song’s domineering conviction and the joy of its conclusion.
Killer Queen, from Sheer Heart Attack, 1974
Peaking at number 2 in the UK singles chart in November 1974, Killer Queen transformed Queen’s career almost overnight. Mercury remarked that the song came easily, having scribbled down the words one Saturday night, describing it as one of those “bowler hat, black suspender numbers,” reminiscent of an old Noël Coward song.
Killer Queen introduced Mercury’s fascination with decadence, ambiguity and social performance, casting the central figure as a high-class call girl. Mercury presents the figure with wry admiration, capturing her elegance, autonomy and effortless command of the world. Its intricate arrangement and precise vocal harmonies reflect the character’s composure and control, marking a turning point in Mercury’s career as a songwriter of wit, subtlety, and precision.
Unlike the mythological landscapes of Queen II, Killer Queen draws its drama from real-world personalities and social hierarchies. The song would go on to win several awards, including an Ivor Novello Award for 1974–5.
Flick of the Wrist, from Sheer Heart Attack, 1974
By late 1974, Mercury was becoming increasingly aware that Queen were trapped in exploitative contracts, working hard but earning very little. Flick of the Wrist framed this power imbalance in scathing terms, portraying the music industry as another form of feudal servitude. Mercury would go on to downplay its autobiographical dimension, describing it as a tongue-in-cheek story about the con-men and rip-off artists they encountered. Death On Two Legs on A Night at the Opera (1975) would expand upon these themes, and reveal the depth of resentment towards Queen’s first manager, Norman Sheffield.
Watch Flick of the Wrist live at the Rainbow in 1974 via YouTube
Lily of the Valley, from Sheer Heart Attack, 1974
Lily of the Valley concludes the Sheer Heart Attack medley, offering a moment of quiet reflection following the bitterness of Flick of the Wrist. The composition is a fragile plea for release, incorporating Shakespearean imagery, including an adaptation of Cleopatra’s description of herself as the “Serpent of old Nile” in Antony and Cleopatra (Act 1, Scene 5) and a direct quotation from Richard III, Act 5, Scene 4: “My kingdom for a horse”.
Lily of the Valley is also significant in that it features the final reference to Mercury’s Kingdom of Rhye, describing the grief of its dethroned king. In this way, the composition represents a rare thematic crossover between the fantasy landscapes of Queen and Queen II and the emotionally vulnerable songwriting that would come to define Mercury’s work on A Night at the Opera and beyond.
In the Lap of the Gods, from Sheer Heart Attack, 1974
Opening Side Two of Sheer Heart Attack, In the Lap of the Gods begins with Roger Taylor’s piercing, almost operatic scream. It then collapses into Mercury’s languid, heavily phased vocal, possibly enhanced through varispeed tape manipulation. Built from layered overdubs, phasing effects and tape manipulation, the track foregrounds Queen’s later operatic ambitions.
In a 1977 interview with BBC Radio 1, Mercury remarked that working out the harmonies and song structure on In the Lap of the Gods proved instrumental in the development of Bohemian Rhapsody. In the same discussion, Mercury recalled how the track was received: “Somebody said this was like Cecil B. DeMille meets Walt Disney.”
Watch In the Lap of the Gods live at the Rainbow in 1974 via YouTube
Bring Back That Leroy Brown, from Sheer Heart Attack, 1974
Bring Back That Leroy Brown is a jaunty ragtime detour, turning a two-minute novelty into a stage piece of musical comedy. Referencing the 1972 Jim Croce hit, Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, the track features over seventy vocal overdubs alongside grand piano, jangle piano, a banjo-ukulele, and double bass.
Despite the seemingly throwaway nature of the song, the composition was painstakingly constructed in the studio, foreshadowing Mercury’s later explorations in vaudeville, such as Seaside Rendezvous and Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy.
Watch Bring Back That Leroy Brown live at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1975 via YouTube
In the Lap of the Gods…Revisited, from Sheer Heart Attack, 1974
Lyrically, In the Lap of the Gods…Revisited is both vulnerable and existential, defensively pushing back against the expectations of others. Its vast chorus transforms that resistance into something communal, giving Mercury and his audience the opportunity to reclaim the declaration: “But I’m no fool…”
A fitting conclusion to Sheer Heart Attack, the song represents one of Queen’s earliest experiments with live audience participation, anticipating later anthems, such as We Are the Champions and Radio Ga Ga.
Watch In the Lap of the Gods…Revisited live at the Rainbow in 1974 via YouTube