| queen mercury 33542 23.08.2006 17:22 |
The song Bijou is a beautiful little masterpiece. But what is it about? I've read that Freddie had a cat he called Bijou, but I'm not sure if that's the case, or if Freddie wrote it or what the deal is. Can anyone help? Thanks. Queen Mercury |
| Carol! the Musical 23.08.2006 17:38 |
Here's what I got out of songfacts.com: This song was the result of a one-hour session between pianist Freddie Mercury and guitarist Brian May. Mercury wrote most of the song, being responsible for the title, the lyrics and the orchestral parts (done on keyboards). The guitar lines were written by both of them and influenced by Jeff Beck. Freddie and Brian decided to make the song "inside-out," in the sense that it was instrumental in the parts verses would normally be, and it would have vocals in the section where guitar solos generally go. This could have been influenced by Pink Floyd. Mercury's driver confirmed that Freddie listened a lot of their music while he was in the car, and some of their pieces ("In The Flesh," "Is There Anybody Out There?") include the same structure. Bijou was the name of Freddie's cat. Hope I helped, dah-ling! :D |
| beautifulsoup 23.08.2006 18:10 |
<font color=336600>ChinesedogTorture wrote: Bijou was the name of Freddie's cat.I missed that somewhere along the way. |
| Janet 23.08.2006 18:19 |
Freddie's cats were Oscar, Tiffany, Delilah, Goliath, Lily and Miko and Romeo, I believe. |
| deleted user 23.08.2006 18:43 |
bijou just means "jewel" in french. so it's just a pet name-but not for an actual pet:) |
| Carol! the Musical 23.08.2006 20:35 |
beautifulsoup wrote:Hey, I just copied and pasted what songfacts said.<font color=336600>ChinesedogTorture wrote: Bijou was the name of Freddie's cat.I missed that somewhere along the way. |
| Marcelo_argentina 24.08.2006 00:02 |
I would like to add that as far as i know the first part was a brian song, the singing part was a Freddie song and they decided to transforn those two separate songs into one... And as far as i know, yes, Freddie had a cat called Bijou, wich means "Jewels" in french but has nothing to do with the song I believe, I figure in this case that Freddie worte the lirycs for his love, I mean Jim huttom, but I can´t totally sure for obvious reasons. I hope I have helped...by the way Bijou is fucking amazing song....short and shocking just as the name "Queen"...bye my friends! |
| liam 24.08.2006 04:15 |
no freddie did it all. He developed the guitar and brian just played it on guitar. I read freddie even hummed parts that brian put to guitar. |
| gnomo 24.08.2006 04:21 |
macbethscrazywife wrote: bijou just means "jewel" in french. so it's just a pet name-but not for an actual pet:)Brian explained the song on his website several months back; he said "Bijou" was the name of a little parrot (a budgie) that his mother kept. There was another thread on the same subject on this board too. HTH |
| deleted user 24.08.2006 05:44 |
oh. cool. i just meant it wasn't one of fred's cats. but a budgie is definitely a pet! |
| Asterik 24.08.2006 11:47 |
There is a theory that the song is adressed to his illness "You and me, we are destined, you'll agree to spend the rest of our lives with each other". Note also the slight bitterness in his delivery of the line "My Bijou". I'm not sure myself but it's a beautiful song. |
| louvox 24.08.2006 12:27 |
It's a terrible song. No matter what it's about. One of their very worst |
| gnomo 24.08.2006 14:06 |
Asterik wrote: There is a theory that the song is adressed to his illness.Brian also said that the little budgie was his mother's only company after his father died, and that she refused to keep another pet after the budgie itself died years later, so the song could be explained literally this way. But of course a song has - must have - many layers of meaning and must remain open to many interpretations. |
| Oberon 24.08.2006 14:25 |
louvox wrote: It's a terrible song. No matter what it's about. One of their very worstI can't believe you don't rate this at all, but then i looked at your profile, and things became clear... |
| deleted user 24.08.2006 15:56 |
<font color=336600>ChinesedogTorture wrote: Here's what I got out of songfacts.com: This song was the result of a one-hour session between pianist Freddie Mercury and guitarist Brian May. Mercury wrote most of the song, being responsible for the title, the lyrics and the orchestral parts (done on keyboards). The guitar lines were written by both of them and influenced by Jeff Beck. Freddie and Brian decided to make the song "inside-out," in the sense that it was instrumental in the parts verses would normally be, and it would have vocals in the section where guitar solos generally go. This could have been influenced by Pink Floyd. Mercury's driver confirmed that Freddie listened a lot of their music while he was in the car, and some of their pieces ("In The Flesh," "Is There Anybody Out There?") include the same structure. Bijou was the name of Freddie's cat. Hope I helped, dah-ling! :DBijou is my other screenname :) Very Queen-ish but when you talk about Pink Floyd.. it's VERY much like Pink Floyd.. something about it makes me think of Floyd at least. It's a great song.. and a nice name for a cat too ;) |
| deleted user 24.08.2006 15:58 |
Marcelo_argentina wrote: I would like to add that as far as i know the first part was a brian song, the singing part was a Freddie song and they decided to transforn those two separate songs into one... And as far as i know, yes, Freddie had a cat called Bijou, wich means "Jewels" in french but has nothing to do with the song I believe, I figure in this case that Freddie worte the lirycs for his love, I mean Jim huttom, but I can´t totally sure for obvious reasons. I hope I have helped...by the way Bijou is fucking amazing song....short and shocking just as the name "Queen"...bye my friends!It sure is an amazing song!!! A little jewel itself! It's a BIJOU!! |
| _Bijou_ 24.08.2006 16:14 |
It's a beautiful song and always been one of my favourites. The echoing of the guitar is lovely and Freddie's delicate voice is heaven. |
| Asterik 24.08.2006 16:15 |
louvox wrote: It's a terrible song. No matter what it's about. One of their very worstOh come off it, it's a lovely tune. Beautifully orchestrated, crystal clear vocals and haunting, evocative guitar work. Queen back to their mock-classical selves and all the better for it. |
| queen mercury 33542 24.08.2006 16:19 |
Yes. That song is lovely and the little bird that Brian's mom had, makes since, since I've never seen a cat called bijou in a bio I read of him, but who could tell. The illness couldn't have been what it's about. That would be terrible. I would just cry! |
| louvox 24.08.2006 17:21 |
Oberon & Asterik To each their own. I stand by my opinion. Should have been left off the album. The lyrics are just stupid. I can't believe they did have another track better than that. Only Delialah is worst. |
| its_a_hard_life 26994 24.08.2006 21:38 |
Great guitar work on here. Lovely song. |
| Asterik 27.08.2006 16:43 |
louvox wrote: Oberon & Asterik To each their own. I stand by my opinion. Should have been left off the album. The lyrics are just stupid. I can't believe they did have another track better than that. Only Delialah is worst.I'd like you to try something better. |
| musicland munich 16.02.2017 00:16 |
Dear God I 've just found out where Freddie could have his inspiration from...and the results...they are NOT pretty ;) |
| dysan 16.02.2017 02:06 |
Was Jim Hutton a Bi-Jew? |
| The Real Wizard 17.02.2017 13:01 |
musicland munich wrote: Dear God I 've just found out where Freddie could have his inspiration from...and the results...they are NOT pretty ;)Well, don't leave us hanging ;) |
| waunakonor 18.02.2017 16:47 |
Asterik wrote:Oh come the fuck on. I love Bijou and think it's beautiful, but the "argument" is one of the dumbest of all time. Whether or not he can actually "do better" is completely irrelevant because you don't have to be able to do something to be critical of it. Do you like every single song you hear that you can't play yourself?louvox wrote: Oberon & Asterik To each their own. I stand by my opinion. Should have been left off the album. The lyrics are just stupid. I can't believe they did have another track better than that. Only Delialah is worst.I'd like you to try something better. louvox doesn't like Bijou, and while I wholeheartedly disagree, that's his opinion and I respect that. You don't need to try to belittle them for that. EDIT: I see this is a really old friend so that person will likely never see this. Oh well, my point still stands. Fucking stupid argument. |
| Thistle 18.02.2017 17:05 |
^ yip. I think the "could you do better?" approach is silly. Not all art critics can paint, but can appreciate the techniques (or lack of)...ditto with food critics, film critics etc. |
| Sebastian 18.02.2017 22:56 |
Should only elected politicians be able to criticise elected politicians? Should only dictators be qualified to criticise dictators? |
| matt z 21.02.2017 09:31 |
Sebastian wrote: Should only elected politicians be able to criticise elected politicians? Should only dictators be qualified to criticise dictators?I don't know. but that sounds like one hell of a panel discussion to be moderated by someone like say a Pat Sajak (*sorry, in all these years I've never thought about his name's proper spelling)[[EDIT: fixed]] Dictators on dictators. Itd be a horrible glorious mess |
| Benn Kempster 22.02.2017 10:22 |
"Bijou" is a little cracker; just bubbles away under the surface away from the grandiosity of "The Show Must Go On" and "Innuendo". Of equal worth, too, is that of-ignored GEM "Lost Opportunity". Brian was simply playing his little socks off on these two; how odd, then, that he is responsible for the appalling "The Hitman"......... |
| thomasquinn 32989 22.02.2017 12:37 |
matt z wrote:Could make for a hilarious mockumentary, that there. Actors impersonating famous dictators commenting on the rise (and fall?) of one in particular in the fashion of documentaries about bands/artists built up around interviews with other bands/artists. Let me know when it comes out ;-PSebastian wrote: Should only elected politicians be able to criticise elected politicians? Should only dictators be qualified to criticise dictators?I don't know. but that sounds like one hell of a panel discussion to be moderated by someone like say a Pat Sajak (*sorry, in all these years I've never thought about his name's proper spelling)[[EDIT: fixed]] Dictators on dictators. Itd be a horrible glorious mess |
| matt z 22.02.2017 21:05 |
thomasquinn 32989 wrote:hmm. I think you're just trying to get a writing credit! ;-)matt z wrote:Could make for a hilarious mockumentary, that there. Actors impersonating famous dictators commenting on the rise (and fall?) of one in particular in the fashion of documentaries about bands/artists built up around interviews with other bands/artists. Let me know when it comes out ;-PSebastian wrote: Should only elected politicians be able to criticise elected politicians? Should only dictators be qualified to criticise dictators?I don't know. but that sounds like one hell of a panel discussion to be moderated by someone like say a Pat Sajak (*sorry, in all these years I've never thought about his name's proper spelling)[[EDIT: fixed]] Dictators on dictators. Itd be a horrible glorious mess it may turn up somewhere. Working on a comic book, since I'm not a gifted conversation writer (and thusly may not be able to muster a short story/novel) back to OP: Bijou is disarming, meditative and beautiful. It's like their "Dear Friends" or "My Melancholy Blues" of the album. Think about it; from 1980-91 they didn't touch anything like that. |
| Costa86 23.02.2017 10:43 |
^Disarming, meditative and beautiful are the perfect words to describe this song. |
| IanR 01.03.2017 01:51 |
"Bijou Gay Porn carries rare classic gay sex movies, dvds and 8mm peepshow porn. We have been the one and only for vintage gay porn since 1969." |
| matt z 01.03.2017 11:57 |
IanR wrote: "Bijou Gay Porn carries rare classic gay sex movies, dvds and 8mm peepshow porn. We have been the one and only for vintage gay porn since 1969."wow. unfortunately just googled that. I was unaware of the connotation. I don't think it's the case, but if it were; to do so with such sincerity and beauty would've made for a laugh. I'm aware of that IGSM line. .."you're missing that one final screw" being taken several ways.... just like the line "being taken several ways" can be interpreted as such. but never Bijou.... haha. I sure hope not |
| thomasquinn 32989 01.03.2017 12:02 |
I would like to say "wow, you really put your foot in it", but I'm afraid to in case that's also taken as pornographic jargon. |
| IanR 01.03.2017 18:44 |
So Bijou is either about Freddie's porn stash or Brian's pet budgie?! You can't make this shit up, can you? |
| dysan 02.03.2017 03:10 |
Bearing in mind that Peter Straker probably wrote the lyrics to this one as well I should imagine it means every single possible connotation. |
| Vocal harmony 02.03.2017 08:30 |
Could it be Brian's Mother's budgie's porn stash. Makes sense to me! |
| dysan 04.03.2017 01:54 |
link Brian's curse?? |
| matt z 04.03.2017 18:28 |
^^ I don't get the Brian connection, but that's both sad and funny. .. sorry. .. but it just is |
| The Real Wizard 05.03.2017 02:22 |
dysan wrote: link"Half of a ton was the spooge that stuck the pages together." ^ best comment below the article. |
| dysan 05.03.2017 04:07 |
Haha |
| dysan 05.03.2017 04:09 |
@Matt - Link was in response to Vocal Harmony's comment 'Could it be Brian's Mother's budgie's porn stash' There but for the grace of god go I. |
| Invisible Woman 24.06.2017 11:08 |
I love this song,song is full of love and sadness, I'm sad when I listen.Maybe an inspiration for Freddie was Jim when Freddie made Bijou?That's just my opinion, I'm just a romantic woman.:) |
| 7Innuendo7 29.06.2017 21:17 |
I adore Bijou, my take is that it's Freddie thinking back on the "jewel" moments of his life as if he sits in a movie theater watching himself, Brian, Roger, John, together. |
| BETA215 29.06.2017 21:46 |
^ That's Was It All Worth It for me :) |
| Seed_Of_Rhy 30.06.2017 05:12 |
Lyrics of it looks like an impromptu but that's the case of right proporsion between sharp, laconic text and guitar passages weaving. Judging the lyrics it's most possibly has been written in last months of recording the album. Sort of Freddie's moments that Brian often talked about: "write me more, i'll sing anything so you''ll got material to work with when i'm gone". |
| Invisible Woman 30.06.2017 05:43 |
I think that Brian talked about the material they recorded after the release Innuendo,that he thought mostly at Mother Love.I don't think that he talked about Bijou and or any other song from Innuendo. |
| Chopin1995 30.06.2017 05:52 |
Bijou is one of the most beautiful and moving song in popular music I know. It reminds me of Chopin's Nocturnes and Impromptus |
| Seed_Of_Rhy 01.07.2017 07:27 |
Yeah, exactly! crossover between classical/baroque music and modern progressive |
| Seed_Of_Rhy 01.07.2017 07:36 |
There are not so many songs left in that type of writin'/recording, But my opinion is that Brian would hardly talk about of just Mother Love. He meant that Freddie had this craving to sing everything in his last year or so. More songs might be started in that period, then It seems that some of the demos are keep that trait. Robbery, for xmple and Self Made Man. Also Face It Alone lyrics's is ad-libbed and improvised... |
| ANAGRAMER 01.07.2017 15:31 |
Take a look at this video on YouTube: link Enough said |
| mike hunt 01.07.2017 16:59 |
They should have recorded a lot more music like this this and less pop. Brian and Freddie at their best. I think if Freddie lived longer they would have did more stuff like Innuendo and Bijou. Leaving the Hot Space sound Behind. |
| MamaQueen 07.02.2018 02:49 |
Well, if anybody wants to know, I dedicated this song to my cat Peaches (who died 2 years ago) and at the end of the song I sing, "my Peachou". It's just a beautiful song, I always liked it and the instrumental beginning part I would like to have it as my phone ringtone. But I don't think that is possible. |