| Silken 14.05.2013 14:51 |
Since always, I thought the lyrics were: "Anyway, the wind blows; doesn't really matter to me". But last week I read a transcription somewhere that said: "Any way the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me". And the meaning of the sentence changes. Which one is the right one? (I don't have the original record and the booklet with the 2011 remastered cd is not reliable). |
| Lord Gaga 14.05.2013 15:56 |
"Any way" is correct. It's a common expression (fitting in with the "easy come, easy go" line) and was a 1958 popular song, made famous the following year by Doris Day. |
| brENsKi 14.05.2013 16:23 |
i am not convinced of either way being the correct. consider it: any way - the correct way to orate this would be "whichever way" - which in the timings of the song would fit fine anyway - this is a dismissive context a sort of "so what, i know the wind blows regardless" and in your context would fit as well as "any way" it's just as easy to relate it to "whichever way it blows it's of no consequence to me" as it is to say "i know it blows, so what?" both work equally well...and without Freddie's handwritten lyrics we will never know |
| Queen fan 14.05.2013 20:26 |
i KNOW IT IS WRITTEN AS A CONSOLATION A LAST HOPE FOR HIS PREDICAMENT THE FINAL HOPE The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit link |
| tomchristie22 15.05.2013 03:20 |
I would have said any way, it just seems to make more sense with the phrasing and emphasis. Although all the lyric sleeves I have say anyway, so I don't know. |
| Bohardy 15.05.2013 12:28 |
I would definitely say 'any way'. Semantically it makes much more sense, and the phrasing also fits perfectly, since there's no pause after it and before 'the wind blows', which you'd ideally need if you were phrasing 'anyway, the wind blows'. |
| mooghead 15.05.2013 12:51 |
Its 'the direction of the wind is irrelevant to me' as in, everything is irrelevant as the song is about a man who has reached such desperation he has ended it all with a bullet. Am I the only one who sees this? Its about suicide. |
| brENsKi 15.05.2013 12:55 |
the first time it is sung - first verse it really could be taken as "any way" or "anyway" reason i say this...the inflection on all of the individual words in the sentence - they are all broken up from each other to make six individual separate notes (listen) the second time it's sung - end of song - to my ears it sounds like one word "anyway" |
| GratefulFan 15.05.2013 13:27 |
This is really quite cool. Thanks Silken. Like you, I had never remotely considered that it was anything but my original assumption, which is 'any way'. That still seems to me to be what fits thematically and logically. I checked the Complete Illustrated Lyrics book last night and in there it is 'anyway' as it has been in other printed references. Which might mean something or nothing. It's not hard to repeat the same mistake throughout the years on something like this. It intriguing to imagine Fred doing this on purpose though, knowing that like most songwriters he preferred open interpretations of his songs. To have 'any way' have the most coherence for me but the typed word being different certainly adds a bit of interesting 'huh!'. |
| GratefulFan 15.05.2013 13:47 |
Just for fun I searched Brian's site for both phrasings and unfortunately both appear in various places, but none that seem to be directly written by him. Wikipedia notes it as "any way the wind blows". So nothing remotely definitive, but interesting to discover a puzzle that I hand't known existed. |
| Queen fan 15.05.2013 16:10 |
to me it seems the begnning of the song is this the real life is this just a fantasy caught in a landslide no escape from reality open you eyes look upto the skies and see IS a philosophical exploration of the meaning to life the reposnse open your eyes look up the skies or heavens and see is like an answer to that question but he refuses it the chracter comes back to self as an excuse im just a pooe boy i have no time for such things and dont want to be bothered by that i am young and just want to live my life then the next section is about how serious life gets all the fun easy come easy go evaporates from his life when bad stuff starts to happen and life gets serious just killed a man etc then we have him all tied up in this shokcing drama and eventually he dies and is in the end betrayed so the ending part where we again have nothing really matters anyone can see and anyway the wind blows is in my opinion having a far differenet meaning than too the first time we heard it it is a reflection of how he used to think but now he has been through all this and the ending takes on a new meaning as i said i think it is about learning that the philosophical question abandoned by a the youth who is now a man confronted with the harsh realites of what his life and death came to and how horrfic they were , it is about re looking at his folly and the attitude to the important things in life and his returning to them at the end has a different meaning and the wind blows at the end is a kind of consolation a hope that i think does have a spritual context. nothing really matters now BECAUSE, THE WIND DOES BLOW! In fact Freddie made it quite clear when he sang the song live as to what the final words were meant to convey , YOU CANHEAR HIM NOW RIGHT AT THE END OF THE SONG 'ANYWAY THE WIND ......BLOWS!' |
| brENsKi 15.05.2013 16:24 |
it's a pity there's no handwritten lyrics to see anywhere? that'd seal it |
| cmsdrums 17.05.2013 08:07 |
It's definitely "any way" (as in any direction), as opposed to "anyway" (as in "however"). |
| Thistle 17.05.2013 21:56 |
Definitely "any way", just as moog puts it. Interesting take on it being about suicide, btw: never really thought of it that way, the man being killed being the storyteller himself. First time I've heard anyone say that, tbh. |
| mooghead 18.05.2013 02:51 |
To be honest it just came to me when I was giving my spin on any way/anyway but it makes perfect sense the more I think about it. |
| brENsKi 18.05.2013 10:49 |
mooghead wrote: Its 'the direction of the wind is irrelevant to me' as in, everything is irrelevant as the song is about a man who has reached such desperation he has ended it all with a bullet. Am I the only one who sees this? Its about suicide.even in YOUR context it could still be "anyway" as in - "it's all over now, and i know the wind will continue to blow, but so what, i couldn't care less" |
| Mr.QueenFan 18.05.2013 21:12 |
brENsKi wrote: i am not convinced of either way being the correct. consider it: anyway - this is a dismissive context a sort of "so what, i know the wind blows regardless" both work equally well...and without Freddie's handwritten lyrics we will never knowI think you're right! Since English is not my native language i remember at the time doing some research over this to find out the meaning, and my conclusion is the same as yours. I find it to be more poetic, in conjuction with the tension that Freddie created with his first lines. By now we all know that this song is about (believed to be) his fight with the fact that he was gay. But the meaning is not important here. It's clearly about an emotion strugle going on inside the character (can be Freddie or just a character) So my view is: If it was "Any way the wind blows" then the next line "doesn't really matter to me" was simply about the wind and direction of the wind, wich doesn't do much sense in this context, and it really doesn't guive it the punch that Freddie intended. It pratically dismisses all the lyrics before that and doesn't connect the song in either way. But by saying "Anyway" as Brenski stated in his post, it makes the line " Doesn't really matter to me" really strong, because now Freddie isn't talking about the wind but about all the verses before that. His questions about life - the song starts with a question - life and fantasy.- His self portrait and the fact that he feels traped in a reality wich he then proceeds to say "so what, the wind is still blowing so it doesn't really mater to me" in a dismissive way. Then he proceeds to go into an emotional journey of the highest order, and yeat again releases all the tension with the dismissive "Anyway the wind blows". Genius! Just my two cents. Now, i remember that the Freddie handwritten lyrics of Bo Rhap were in a box that he gave to Jim Huton?? i really can't remember but i'm pretty shure i read in one of his bios that the lyrics were in a box that he handled to someone. Maybe someone remembers this better than me. |
| tomchristie22 18.05.2013 23:17 |
Mr.QueenFan wrote:Interesting points, this thread has certainly made me look at it differently, whereas before I didn't really think that much into the lyrics to be honest, I mean, it was Bohemian Rhapsody, it was just what it was.brENsKi wrote: i am not convinced of either way being the correct. consider it: anyway - this is a dismissive context a sort of "so what, i know the wind blows regardless" both work equally well...and without Freddie's handwritten lyrics we will never knowI think you're right! Since English is not my native language i remember at the time doing some research over this to find out the meaning, and my conclusion is the same as yours. I find it to be more poetic, in conjuction with the tension that Freddie created with his first lines. By now we all know that this song is about (believed to be) his fight with the fact that he was gay. But the meaning is not important here. It's clearly about an emotion strugle going on inside the character (can be Freddie or just a character) So my view is: If it was "Any way the wind blows" then the next line "doesn't really matter to me" was simply about the wind and direction of the wind, wich doesn't do much sense in this context, and it really doesn't guive it the punch that Freddie intended. It pratically dismisses all the lyrics before that and doesn't connect the song in either way. But by saying "Anyway" as Brenski stated in his post, it makes the line " Doesn't really matter to me" really strong, because now Freddie isn't talking about the wind but about all the verses before that. His questions about life - the song starts with a question - life and fantasy.- His self portrait and the fact that he feels traped in a reality wich he then proceeds to say "so what, the wind is still blowing so it doesn't really mater to me" in a dismissive way. Then he proceeds to go into an emotional journey of the highest order, and yeat again releases all the tension with the dismissive "Anyway the wind blows". Genius! Just my two cents. Now, i remember that the Freddie handwritten lyrics of Bo Rhap were in a box that he gave to Jim Huton?? i really can't remember but i'm pretty shure i read in one of his bios that the lyrics were in a box that he handled to someone. Maybe someone remembers this better than me. Perhaps aside the point, but your English is fantastic for someone who's not a native speaker. Especially compared to the likes of Anton and Medusa, very refreshing. |
| mooghead 19.05.2013 13:31 |
brENsKi wrote:I stick by my interpretation, I perhaps could have articulated it better but I know what I meant. Ultimately I think both meanings are pretty much the same...mooghead wrote: Its 'the direction of the wind is irrelevant to me' as in, everything is irrelevant as the song is about a man who has reached such desperation he has ended it all with a bullet. Am I the only one who sees this? Its about suicide.even in YOUR context it could still be "anyway" as in - "it's all over now, and i know the wind will continue to blow, but so what, i couldn't care less" Maybe the lyric should have been 'I don't really give a fuck, doesn't really matter to me' Kenny Everett would maybe only have got away with playing it just once though.... |
| Brandon36 19.05.2013 13:35 |
I think it's hinting at 9/11, just saying. |
| Silken 21.05.2013 09:46 |
GratefulFan wrote: This is really quite cool. Thanks Silken.Thanks to you and to everyone who participated! It's interesting to see how all of us have different interpretations. |
| GratefulFan 22.05.2013 16:35 |
People for whom English is not a first language may not recognize the idiomatic nature of the phrase 'any way the wind blows'. It's almost automatic that a native English speaker would hear 'any way' in the context of the song. On reflection it's interesting but predictable that the interpretation of 'anyway' mostly comes from non native English speakers. But that's what makes it so interesting, and as I said earlier the idea that Fred choose this spelling on purpose to add some ambiguity is a neat thought. It's a topic in general that could easily have never been considered were it not for Silken's post, so again I'm really grateful for it. :) |
| foreveris0urtoday 10.02.2019 22:53 |
I think of it as both "any way" and "anyway." In different points of the song it sounds like either or and at some, both work and other parts only one works. If you look on different versions on Apple Music and you scroll to lyrics, some say any way while some say anyway which leads me to believe Freddie wanted everyones interpretation on the song to be different considering thats what he wanted. In an interview for the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, both Brian and Roger said that they don't even know why Freddie wrote it or what the song is even about and without the handwritten lyrics he gave to Jim, we'll never know... |
| spiralstatic 10.02.2019 23:06 |
Mr.QueenFan wrote: I think you're right! Since English is not my native language i remember at the time doing some research over this to find out the meaning, and my conclusion is the same as yours. I find it to be more poetic, in conjuction with the tension that Freddie created with his first lines. By now we all know that this song is about (believed to be) his fight with the fact that he was gay. But the meaning is not important here. It's clearly about an emotion strugle going on inside the character (can be Freddie or just a character) So my view is: If it was "Any way the wind blows" then the next line "doesn't really matter to me" was simply about the wind and direction of the wind, wich doesn't do much sense in this context, and it really doesn't guive it the punch that Freddie intended. It pratically dismisses all the lyrics before that and doesn't connect the song in either way. But by saying "Anyway" as Brenski stated in his post, it makes the line " Doesn't really matter to me" really strong, because now Freddie isn't talking about the wind but about all the verses before that. His questions about life - the song starts with a question - life and fantasy.- His self portrait and the fact that he feels traped in a reality wich he then proceeds to say "so what, the wind is still blowing so it doesn't really mater to me" in a dismissive way. Then he proceeds to go into an emotional journey of the highest order, and yeat again releases all the tension with the dismissive "Anyway the wind blows". Genius! Just my two cents. Now, i remember that the Freddie handwritten lyrics of Bo Rhap were in a box that he gave to Jim Huton?? i really can't remember but i'm pretty shure i read in one of his bios that the lyrics were in a box that he handled to someone. Maybe someone remembers this better than me.It's really interesting to read a well thought out interpretation from someone for whom English is not their first language and I thank you for sharing. :) However, "any way the wind blows" is an idiomatic expression, metaphorically meaning "what will be, will be." I mean, I guess, Freddie could have written "Nothing really matters Anyone can see Nothing really matters nothing really matters to me What will be, will be" I mean, it's an extra rhyme! How did he resist the temptation?!?! haha, I guess that's why he's a songwriter, not a silly potato like... ME! SEE! I did another rhyme! Wheeeeee! |
| Dr Magus 11.02.2019 08:59 |
Is Freddie singing 'anyone' or 'any one'. Also in Nevermore is he singing 'nevernmore' or 'never, more'. Apples and oranges and all that. |
| rez 25.03.2019 14:10 |
In the official lyrics video on youtube its 'Any way' after the intro and 'Anyway' at the end. |