I've Always been a bit confused: the lyrics in "39" -what is it about? Is it symbolic? A fantasy? An actual historic event? Maybe this is the right place to get some answers....? /per
It's a sci-fi story, about space/ time travel. A group of astronauts embark on a year long voyage (or what is a year in "their time") but come home to realise that several years have passed on Earth and their families have passed on.
This article should answer your question: link
It features a direct quote from Brian May, a reference to the original short story that inspired the lyrics (check the footnote, though), and a good analysis of the lyrics featuring a time dilation equation.
I've often thought that if the astronauts in 39 had the technology to build a spaceship and go off on a years journey they at the very least they would have understood the physics and realised that everyone would have aged back on earth. Duh.
^ it's all bollocks. I disagree completely with Einstein: a year is a year anywhere in the universe. Or multiverse if you're a Family Guy fan. How many astronauts have been away for a year, only to come back to their entire family being dead through old age?????
"the OP is ripping the proverbial. He/she knows the answers already, they're just fooling around." -o no, Walter White, i was in fact really wondering, for 20 years or so - thankyou for the answers :-)