Freddie Mercury’s Favorite Queen Songs Were All About Love—But in Very Different Ways

Born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar in 1946, the singer who became known as Freddie Mercury rose to become one of rock music's leading vocalists. He was brought up in Zanzibar and India until age eighteen, when the family relocated to England. In 1970, he formed Queen – a band that would go on to astonishing international success. Mercury's distinctive voice and incredible vocal versatility made him a star.

As a songwriter, he was the man behind numerous Queen hits, and when the band's official Spotify account published a list of Freddie's favorite songs, three of the group's tracks were included. Each featured a very different take on the concept of love.

"IT'S A HARD LIFE"

The song, “It's a Hard Life,” first appeared as a single from the group's 1984 album, The Works. Written by Mercury, the melody and a portion of the lyrics are based on an aria from the opera Pagliacci, by Italian composer Ruggero Leoncavallo. The song begins with Mercury's dramatic singing of the words: "I don't want my freedom; there's no reason for living, with a broken heart.”

The song continues: "You win, you lose, it's a chance you have to take with love. It's a hard life, to be true lovers together, to love and live forever, in each other's hearts.” This is Mercury's wistful ode both to the risk of putting yourself out there, and the hard work necessary to sustain a relationship over time.  

Speaking in an interview with DJ and comedian Kenny Everett, Mercury said: "I do try very hard to build up relationships, but somehow I drive people away…Love is Russian roulette for me. No one loves the real me inside. They're all in love with my fame, my stardom…I fall in love far too quickly and end up getting hurt all the time." 

As part of a commentary for Queen's Greatest Hits 2 DVD, guitarist Brian May described “It's a Hard Life” as: "To my mind this is one of the most beautiful songs that Freddie ever wrote. It’s straight from the heart, and he really opened up during the creation of it. I sat with him for hours and hours and hours just trying to pull it away and get the most out of it. It’s one of his loveliest songs.” 

"CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE"

The next Queen song on the list, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love," is another Mercury original, written for the band's 1980 album, The Game. This marked a double first – the first time Mercury played rhythm guitar onstage (which he did when performing the song live) and the band's first US Billboard Hot 100 number one single.

Lyrically, the song addresses Freddie's practical and emotional fears about relationships – “This thing called love, I just can’t handle it, this thing called love, I must get round to it, I ain't ready…” As Mercury himself said: "I can’t stop the wheel for a while and devote myself to a love affair because all sorts of business problems would pile up."

"SOMEBODY TO LOVE"

Lastly, we have “Somebody to Love.” This was written by Mercury for Queen's 1976 record, A Day at the Races. It's a soul-searching ballad that has become a firm favorite with fans. Speaking in a 1977 interview with Circus Magazine, drummer Roger Taylor explained: "’Somebody To Love” is Aretha Franklin-influenced. Freddie's very much into that. We tried to keep the track in a loose, gospel-type feel. I think it's the loosest track we've ever done." 

The song's lyrics address the conundrum Mercury faced – given all of his fears and reticence concerning love and relationships, can a life without love be meaningful? Despite all of Mercury's trepidation, you can't help but believe he means it when, in “Somebody to Love,” he sings: “I get down on my knees and I start to pray, 'til the tears run down from my eyes, Lord somebody, somebody, can anybody find me somebody to love?”

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