| steven 35638 21.04.2008 23:15 |
I have always found this composition to be quite interesting, if not controversial. The subject matter is out of this world. It's not uncommon for a song to feature a single parent having to cover the personas of both parents, but this song features a child who must please his parents by accepting the roles of both son and daughter. I am quite curious to read of your reaction to such a theme and/or interpret the composition in your own unique way. A quick reference to the lyrical content: I want you Tried to be a son and daughter rolled into one You said you'd equal any man for having your fun Now didn't you feel surprised to find The cap just didn't fit, the world expects a man To buckle down and to shovel shit, what'll you do for loving When it's only just begun? I want you to be a woman Tried to be a teacher and a fisher of men An equal people preacher, will you lead us all the same? Well I traveled all around the world, a brand new word for day Watching the time, mustn't linger behind, pardon me I have to get away What'll you think of heaven, if it's back from where you came? I want you to be a woman, I want you to be a woman yeah |
| i-Fred 21.04.2008 23:49 |
its about freddie being gay, written by Brian. this was written after freddie pashed Brian and made him suck on his wang... if it wasnt for the led zep sound it would of been sung to the beat of bring back leroy brown, but that was two albums later and they didnt want to sound gay to early. |
| Yara 21.04.2008 23:49 |
I have always understood this song as a defiance of God staged by a man who tried hard to please the divine being, but never afforded to become what it was expected from him. He even tried to be everything, both son and daughter, but it turned out that it was not what God was expecting from him...his female persona, which is implied by the harmony in the chorus, is very strong too and he wished God were a woman, that is, a mother, traditionally the more understanding, receptive and affectionate parent, I guess - the mother as a symbol of acceptance and unconditional love. I have always interpreted the song like this, but I was kind of...12, I guess, when I first listened to it and got thrilled by the beauty of the song. It's an interesting song for many other reasons besides the lyrical content. It begins with the chorus (so it begins with the desire he developed after all the experiences he describes, it begins with what would be the logical ending of the lyric) and the guitar and the drums never get in the way of the "personas": it's like the threat from or wrath of God, and then the answer by the mortal(s). The harmonized vocals answer to the guitar and the drums instead of being backed, supported or even framed by them. There are, in fact, "three" logical voices in the song: the instruments (god, first voice), the harmonized vocals - son and daughter - and then the son being followed or watched by god. That's the way I used to make sense of it. If I thought about it now and listened to it again I'd probably come to another conclusion, but that's how I have always portrayed the song to myself. |
| steven 35638 22.04.2008 00:11 |
That is a magnificent theme you have enlightened us with, Yara. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the intention of the composition; seeing as how the debut album already had 'Jesus', 'Great King Rat', and (if you have the Hollywood version) 'Mad the Swine', which all involve religious connotations. I'll be honest, however, at first I thought the song made no sense at all. The only theme I could really come up with was homosexuality. It used to frustrate me actually. I always thought I was missing something. |
| gnomo 22.04.2008 05:29 |
A lot to think about, from you both. My first idea would be a single child, very sensitive and intelligent, trying too hard to be all that his parents would wish, and feeling that, because of that, he keeps failing to be what the world would expect of him ...? Not necessarily about homosexuality, but stereotyped roles and social acceptance, on a more general level...? No, honestly - I still think I am missing a lot, whenever I listen to that song. It's like one of those jigsaw puzzles, where you can't make sense of the whole picture until you put the last piece into place. And knowing the pretty unusual way the author's mind works most of the time, I am sure the missing piece, if ever revealed, will be anything but obvious. I mean, with "All Dead" taking its initial inspiration from a cat, and "Bijou" from a budgie, who could ever guess where this one originally came from...? |
| ...assdude... 39830 22.04.2008 07:47 |
fuck you all read in to something way to much |
| Champipple 22.04.2008 09:20 |
^I can read a lot into your screen name! LOL! |
| steven 35638 22.04.2008 09:43 |
Thanks, Assdude. But in other news... I have come up with an alternative theme, which is less complicated. I'm sure you are all aware that there is almost no usage of the word "I" in the lyrics. Therefore, is it not possible that Freddie Mercury is singing about a woman who is trying to be more of a man? It sort of spits in the face of women's rights movements. For example: "Tried to be a son and daughter rolled into one You said you'd equal any man for having your fun Now didn't you feel surprised to find the cap just didn't fit. The world expects a man to buckle down and to shovel shit." To me, the singer, our dear Freddie, is talking to a woman who attempted to undertake the persona of a man in a male dominated society. This is all past tense, remind you, and with that in mind we can assume that the woman failed to take on the job of the man, since Freddie seems to be scolding her and debriefing her of her foolishness. Also: "Tried to be a teacher and a fisher of men An equal people preacher, will you lead us all the same?" This might be stretching it, but originally, in the 1700s and early 1800s, teachers were mostly males and it wasn't until the midish 1800s that women began to educate. They would call their schools, which were at home, 'dame schools'. So, anyway, perhaps this song is supposed to take place back then, or is in the point of view of a dominating male who hasn't changed with the times. Now, the rest of the song still confuses me, but I think I can make it fit this theme. I suppose the rest of the song talks about how the narrator has been all around the world and has seen how the woman should be (a wife and mother, no more, no less). He then leaves the lady by saying I "mustn't linger behind, pardon me I have to get away." This could then indicate that he has his own shit to shovel and he can't waste time. Finally, the narrator asks her what if heaven is back from where she came from, meaning what if heaven is more like hell (working for a living, no time at home, always stressful); having to buckle down and to shovel shit. She should instead enjoy the free life away from male work, and instead just raise the children and do housework and so forth. |
| Yara 22.04.2008 10:10 |
...ASSDUDE... wrote: fuck you all read in to something way to muchlol! Right! People have so many different ways of relating to music. By the way, I never thought I was getting at the "real meaning" of the song, whatever that is. It was just how I managed to make sense of something I listened to as a 12-13 year old girl with the background and experiences I had. Many people don't feel the need to find meaning in the lyrics at all, and they find meaning in the songs through other different ways. Many enjoy the mistery of the lyrics, or the fun of it; there are others who like the song just for the fun and excitement of it, without any need for further explanations. There's no right or wrong. Just different ways of relating to it, I guess. But as far as I'm concerned, you are absolutely right, I do feel I read too much in just about everything, not only music. lol |
| john bodega 22.04.2008 10:32 |
The song is clearly about thrush. |
| FriedChicken 22.04.2008 11:38 |
Didn't Brian explained the song on his soapbox a couple of years ago. If I remember correctly he said something to the like of 'The song is about the equality of men and women" |
| Winter Land Man 22.04.2008 12:19 |
I don't know what the damn meaning is, but it's a great song. Reminds me of Hendrix! |
| MercuryArts 22.04.2008 14:17 |
I always felt this song, the riff, was inspired by Sabboth's Iron Man. It has that same sort of drone to it. I never felt it reminded me of a Zeppelin sound. Also, I thought Bijou was about one of Freddie's cats? |
| pittrek 22.04.2008 15:00 |
Musically - Brian's another attempt to write music like is old buddy Tony Iommi, just like Hangman, Father To Son and a few years later The Prophet's Song Lyrically - I have no idea :) |
| Legy 22.04.2008 15:35 |
I always assumed the song was about some woman who demanded too much, thus the words "I want you to be a woman." |
| gnomo 23.04.2008 04:13 |
MercuryArts wrote: I thought Bijou was about one of Freddie's cats?No, that was a budgie BHM's mother kept on behalf of a friend - source: BHM himself... HTH |
| gnomo 23.04.2008 04:14 |
...ASSDUDE... wrote: fuck you all read in to something way to much... been spoiled by someone who writes way too much in to songs ... LOL |
| Leaky Luke 25.04.2008 17:00 |
I think the song is the closest thing to Black Sabbath they've got. |
| steven 35638 25.04.2008 20:49 |
^Quite a few songs from Queen & Queen II remind me of Black Sabbath. It has to do with those punchy guitar riffs from songs like Great King Rat and Father to Son, and in some cases, the vocals. Although there really is no competition between Freddie and Ozzy. |
| kdj2hot 29.04.2008 13:36 |
The lyrics are anti lesbian and I can't support that. LET THE DYKES RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And if you can't interpret lyrics like this "The cap just didn't fit, the world expects a man To buckle down and to shovel shit, what'll you do for loving When it's only just begun? I want you to be a woman" Then I'm attempted to say theres something wrong with you. It's pretty easy to interpret, "what'll do for loving when it's only just begun" if that goes over your head, you should probably listento Blues Clues and then after a few yrs you maybe able to move on to Hanna Montana. |
| Martin Packer 30.04.2008 08:14 |
I thought it was about issues with parents. But then 1) maybe that's taking the title too literally, and 2) maybe we've all got issues with parents that drives ME to think that way. |
| luthorn 30.04.2008 17:43 |
kdj2hot wrote: The lyrics are anti lesbian and I can't support that. LET THE DYKES RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And if you can't interpret lyrics like this "The cap just didn't fit, the world expects a man To buckle down and to shovel shit, what'll you do for loving When it's only just begun? I want you to be a woman" Then I'm attempted to say theres something wrong with you. It's pretty easy to interpret, "what'll do for loving when it's only just begun" if that goes over your head, you should probably listento Blues Clues and then after a few yrs you maybe able to move on to Hanna Montana.The song could not possibly be about DYKES, as such were not discovered at the time. The British Zoological Society was gifted a sample of the very first DYKE from China in 1983, were first cohort was discovered in cages near Huan-Xiong in South East China. Instead, the song is about domestication of women around the time cows were domestricated circa 15,000BC. hence the confusion of cows with women. |