Even if you are not a rock music fan, you may have heard of the legendary British music group Queen and its lead singer Freddie Mercury. Formed in the early 1970s, the band took the world by storm and sold more than 300 million albums in total. Unfortunately, the death of the band’s lead singer, Freddie Mercury, in 1991 broke this spell. The group is still active in music today with different members.
What if we say We Will Rock You? Isn’t it hard to read this sentence without clapping your hands? This was exactly what the author of the legendary song, Brian May, wanted. May, who wants Queen’s fans to have an anthem of their own and sing together at every concert, wrote this legendary song about the three phases of human life. Let’s take a closer look at the story of the song We Will Rock You.
It wasn’t cool to sing along in the past:
In 1977, when Queen’s star was shining, she started a UK tour after the USA tour. During the concerts held throughout the tour, the audience enjoyed listening to the band’s music, but they did not show the frenzied participation we know today, except to keep the rhythm with their feet. It wasn’t because they didn’t like the songs, it was because it didn’t look cool to sing along at that time.
For some reason or another, the situation changed in the later concerts of the tour and the audience was accompanied by songs. The incident that shocked the Queen group took place in Liverpool, England. The band stepped off the stage for a while at the end of the concert and took the stage again for one last song. This time, when they stepped off the stage, they heard the audience sing the song You’ll Never Walk Alone.
You’ll Never Walk Alone was an anthem for Liverpool fans to sing for their team. Even when the band took the stage again, the audience continued to sing this song and completed it. A light bulb went off in the mind of Brian May, the band’s lead guitarist. Why shouldn’t they have a song that they can sing with the audience and turn into a kind of anthem?
Everyone will be ecstatic We Will Rock You:
After the concert was over and the band returned to the hotel, they talked among themselves and said that it was not bad for the audience to accompany them in this way. The words We Will Rock You were running through Brian May’s mind as everyone dispersed to his room. Not knowing that he would change the fate of the music world, he went to his room and started working.
Brian May had a small tape recorder that not everyone had at that time. He had found the chorus, but he could not be sure of the words. Just then, it occurred to him how the group and those who loved them remained strong, and he decided to write three lines describing the three phases of a person’s life. Childhood, youth and old age.
“Buddy, you’re a boy, make a big noise / Playin’ in the street, gonna be a big man some day / You got mud on yo’ face / You big disgrace / Kıckin’ your can all over the place. ”
[Dude, you’re a kid, you’re loud / You’re playing in the street, one day you’ll be a big man / Your face is always muddy / You’re a disgrace / You hit a tin more or less]
“Buddy, you’re a young man, hard man / Shoutin’ in the street, gonna take on the world someday / You got blood on yo’ face / You big disgrace / Wavin’ your banner all over the place. ”
[My friend, you are a young man, a young man / You shout in the street, one day you will face the world / Your face is covered in blood / You are disgraceful / You wave your flag up and down]
“Buddy, you’re an old man, poor man / Pleading with your eyes, gonna get you some peace someday / You got mud on your face, big disgrace / Somebody better put you back into your place, do it!”
[Dude, you’re old man, you’re strange / You plead with your eyes, one day you’ll find peace / Your face is covered in mud / You are disgraceful / They show your place]
The words in the first line talk about how a child can leave a mark in life, the words in the second line talk about the angry youth period and the last line talk about the period of acceptance in old age. The chorus We Will Rock You is a real challenge.
“Not bad, let’s try it”
Brian May roughly recorded this entire song and went to sleep. When he woke up in the morning, he sang the song to the group, although he wasn’t sure of himself. It was an interesting song for all. Freddie Mercury listened to the song with a calm nod and when it was over he said, “Not bad, let’s try it. ” they decided to enter the studio.
In the summer of the same year, they went to Wessex Sound Studios. They created some rhythms by guessing the hand movements that the audience could easily make in a cramped concert where they were standing. They took a few wooden boards from the warehouse and placed them on the floor and recorded their foot rhythms. After dozens of trials, they had actually recorded rhythms that a stadium full of people could pull off.
When Freddie Mercury took the microphone, they received the first signals that the song would become a legend because this man’s unique style created a magnificent atmosphere. The song has only the rhythms, except the ending. Brian May signed on to the song but didn’t want to interrupt the anthem. For this reason, he recorded a legendary guitar solo and added it as a signature at the end of this song.
And here is the result:
We told the story of We Will Rock You, the unforgettable song of the legendary rock band Queen, and talked about how Brian May felt while writing this song. You can share legendary songs like We Will Rock You in the comments.