QueenZone discussion #877644

<font color=Aqua>Retro<font color=1>Love wrote: I just brought Queen's II album, and let me tell you guys, its taking a while to really grow on me, even longer than Queen's debut album, mostly because its really hard for me to understand. I just brought Sheer Heart Attack, and its a lot easier for me to understand, seems more fun VS Queen II, which seems a lot deeper! The song that is the toughest for me to understand is probably the March of the Black Queen song. I've read the lyrics over and over again, and I still dont understand it. And I really am trying to understand why was the words 'Nigger-sugar' used in the song, why the use for the racial slur?? I know that its hard to interrupt songs, when you didnt write the lyrics, but can someone please help me to understand what Freddie was talking about?

FriedChicken<br><font size=1>The Almighty</font> wrote: nigger sugar is brown sugar. It's a normal word. The song is about a fat black woman who works in a bakery. She makes cakes and pie's for the costumers.

<font color=Aqua>Retro<font color=1>Love wrote: its taking a while to really grow on me, even longer than Queen's debut album, mostly because its really hard for me to understand.

FriedChicken<br><font size=1>The Almighty</font> wrote: nigger sugar is brown sugar. It's a normal word. The song is about a fat black woman who works in a bakery. She makes cakes and pie's for the costumers.

Phill the Thrill wrote:

<font color=Aqua>Retro<font color=1>Love wrote: its taking a while to really grow on me, even longer than Queen's debut album, mostly because its really hard for me to understand.

one thing i have never really done is felt the need to "understand" an album...unless we are talking about acctually undertand what they are saying, not what they mean. i just like to enjoy the album...granted it can take a while for an album to "grow" on me also, but i say just kick back and relax and let the music take you away. if the meaning isnt obvious, its probly not supposed ot be. i like to come up with my own meanings, and i think alot of artist, queen included dont always tell you the meaning of the song so it can mean somthing differant for everyone either way its a great album, and you made a very good desicion in buying it

FriedChicken<br><font size=1>The Almighty</font> wrote: It's not a joke. I'm serious! The lyrics say it all!! "Here comes the Black Queen poking in the pile" the black queen is ofcourse an african woman who is searching through her stock of ingredients. To find what she needs for her pie. "Little nigger sugar then a rub-a-dub-a-baby oil" nigger-sugar and oil. These are ingredients for her pies/cakes. "Now I've got a belly full" The costumers who buy her pie's have eaten it all. And now their bellies are full. "You can be my sugar baby You can be my honey chile" Sugar... honey... both ingredients. "Remember to deliver with the speed of light" Here the 'black queen' says to her delivery boy to bring the pie to the costumer as quick as possible. "My life is in your hands I'll fo and I'll fie I'll be what you make me I'll do what you like " The black queen also makes pie's people would like to have. You can give her all kinds of wishes. Carrotpie, Papayapie, Mangopie. Everything you want.. and she will make it. "The Black Queen tattoos all her pies She boils and she bakes" She puts a stamp on the pie which has the logo of her bakery. Boiling and baking ofcourse refers to making cakes and pies.

FriedChicken<br><font size=1>The Almighty</font> wrote: It's not a joke. I'm serious! The lyrics say it all!! "Here comes the Black Queen poking in the pile" the black queen is ofcourse an african woman who is searching through her stock of ingredients. To find what she needs for her pie. "Little nigger sugar then a rub-a-dub-a-baby oil" nigger-sugar and oil. These are ingredients for her pies/cakes. "Now I've got a belly full" The costumers who buy her pie's have eaten it all. And now their bellies are full. "You can be my sugar baby You can be my honey chile" Sugar... honey... both ingredients. "Remember to deliver with the speed of light" Here the 'black queen' says to her delivery boy to bring the pie to the costumer as quick as possible. "My life is in your hands I'll fo and I'll fie I'll be what you make me I'll do what you like " The black queen also makes pie's people would like to have. You can give her all kinds of wishes. Carrotpie, Papayapie, Mangopie. Everything you want.. and she will make it. "The Black Queen tattoos all her pies She boils and she bakes" She puts a stamp on the pie which has the logo of her bakery. Boiling and baking ofcourse refers to making cakes and pies.

<font color=336600>ChinesedogTorture wrote: Why do you feel the need to "understand"? Just listen to the music... :D If you DO figure out what you think the song may be about, though, that's nice! But if you don't, no sweat. It's still the same. And the "nigger sugar".. I always thought he was merely referring to brown sugar. I myself think it sounds poetic and suits the feel of the song. I'm sure Freddie would never include a racial slur in any of his songs.

FriedChicken<br><font size=1>The Almighty</font> wrote: It's not a joke. I'm serious! The lyrics say it all!! "Here comes the Black Queen poking in the pile" the black queen is ofcourse an african woman who is searching through her stock of ingredients. To find what she needs for her pie. "Little nigger sugar then a rub-a-dub-a-baby oil" nigger-sugar and oil. These are ingredients for her pies/cakes. "Now I've got a belly full" The costumers who buy her pie's have eaten it all. And now their bellies are full. "You can be my sugar baby You can be my honey chile" Sugar... honey... both ingredients. "Remember to deliver with the speed of light" Here the 'black queen' says to her delivery boy to bring the pie to the costumer as quick as possible. "My life is in your hands I'll fo and I'll fie I'll be what you make me I'll do what you like " The black queen also makes pie's people would like to have. You can give her all kinds of wishes. Carrotpie, Papayapie, Mangopie. Everything you want.. and she will make it. "The Black Queen tattoos all her pies She boils and she bakes" She puts a stamp on the pie which has the logo of her bakery. Boiling and baking ofcourse refers to making cakes and pies.

FriedChicken<br><font size=1>The Almighty</font> wrote: I think songs like these don't even have a meaning.

Rien wrote: My thoughts about March of the Black Queen Do you mean it Do you mean it Do you mean it (The black hooker tells the man she loves him) Why don't you mean it (the man desperately wants her to love him for real) Why do I follow you and where do you go (the man keeps coming to this black hooker) You've never seen nothing like it no never in your life Like going up to heaven and then coming back alive Let me tell you all about it – (the woman takes the man to sexual heights he had never reached before) And the world will so allow it Ooh give a little time to choose Water babies singing in a lily-pool delight Blue powder monkies praying in the dead of night Here comes the Black Queen, poking in the pile Fie-fo the Black Queen, marching single file Take this, take that, bring them down to size (March to the Black Queen) Put them in the cellar with the naughty boys A little nigger sugar then a rub-a-dub-a baby oil Black on, black on every finger nail and toe We've only begun - begun Make this, make that, keep making all that noise (March to the Black Queen) (could be all kinds of ingredients of a female mistress and her slave client. Take this Take that: she gives her client a firm treat with her whip in her basement, providing the cocaine and oil etc. Keep making all that noise: he screams) Now I've got a belly-full (the man has ejaculated inside (or over) the woman) You can be my sugar-baby, you can be my honey chile, yes (he believes she’s the one for him) A voice from behind me reminds me (the man thinks about his own wife – his conscience) Spread out your wings you are an angel Remember to deliver with the speed of light A little bit of love and joy Everything you do (will bear a will...) bears a will and a why and a wherefore A little bit of love and joy (the man has his reasons to cheat on his wife, he’s looking for a kind of love he believes he cannot find at home anymore) In each and every soul lies a man And very soon he'll deceive and discover But even till the end of his life, he'll bring a little love (all men are cheaters, he’ll get aware of this, but everytime he still gets home where he still has some love for his wife to “fullfill” her needs.) I reign with my left hand, I rule with my right I'm Lord of all Darkness I'm Queen of the Night I've got the power - Now do the March of the Black Queen My life is in your hands, I'll fo and I'll fie I'll be what you make me - I'll do what you like I'll be a bad boy - I'll be your bad boy - I'll do the March of the Black Queen (the black woman rules over the man, she can make him do whatever she wants) Walking true to style She's vulgar 'buse and vile Fie-fo the Black Queen - tattoos all her pies She boils and she bakes and she never dots her "I's" (a classy hooker who get’s real nasty) She’s our leader Forget you singalongs and your lullabies (she wants the man to forget his children (for whom he sang lullabies)) Surrender to the City of the Fireflies (surrender to (that specific part of) the black woman’s body) Dance with the Devil in beat with the band (the man does what he came for, in the same rhythm as the woman’s body is moving) To hell with all of you hand-in-hand (the black woman doesn’t give a damn she’s having sex with a married man) (hand-in-hand: man and wife) But now it's time to be gone - la la la - for¬ever Forever...lalala lalala (the hour has passed… time for her to get a new customer) But of course, it could also describe a woman who works in a bakery, that too makes sense :-)

FriedChicken<br><font size=1>The Almighty</font> wrote: Nice try Rien, but you couldn't have been any more wrong :P

FriedChicken<br><font size=1>The Almighty</font> wrote: Thanks for your letter Niek, it brought back a lot of beautiful memories !! March of the black Queen is indeed about a woman who works in a bakery - In fact Freddie wrote this song about a woman called Elsa who had a bakery in Kensington when we were starting out with Queen .... Before rehearsals Freddie often bought a cake there to surprise us. Freddie would always talk about her great cakes and when he arrived late for rehearsals Roger always joked "He's probably marching to his black Queen". So that's the story about that one !! B :P

Nummer2 wrote: I always thought it was a dialogue between Freddie or the band and their audience. There's seduction (of the masses as well as the performer), there are show elements – pyrotechnics, music and costumes, and there's the feeling of power over a submissive audience. The song was written at the beginning of their carreer, when everything was overwhelming, when success came faster than could be handled. Maybe the impression of all that led Freddie to writing those cryptic, but nonetheless intoxicating lyrics.

Donna13 wrote:

Nummer2 wrote: I always thought it was a dialogue between Freddie or the band and their audience. There's seduction (of the masses as well as the performer), there are show elements – pyrotechnics, music and costumes, and there's the feeling of power over a submissive audience. The song was written at the beginning of their carreer, when everything was overwhelming, when success came faster than could be handled. Maybe the impression of all that led Freddie to writing those cryptic, but nonetheless intoxicating lyrics.

Yes! These are good points. I always thought that Freddie was half-jokingly referring to himself as the "Black Queen" or one of her victims (the black fingernail polish, black stage outfits, black eye makeup, "Egyptian art" haircut - very dramatic overall effect). Other than that, he was having fun with some ideas from children's fairy tales and songs and combining that with the theme of evil incarnate winning out over good (in this song at least). He was also, I think, trying to establish the ways that he was different from Brian in the songwriting area. His "black" contrasted really well with Brian's "white".

Nummer2 wrote: nigger sugar, baby oil: heroine and gay sex (???) Could be, but that doesn't sound Freddie-like, does it?

kagezan1313 wrote: The whole point of the QII album was black and white, good and evil, and Freddie was portraying both the black and white Queens - black nail varnish on one hand, etc. There was an interesting interpretation earlier in the year that said it may have been about a rough patch with Mary, but I think it's more of a predecessor of BoRhap than people know, and not just musically. I think MOTBQ is Freddie analysing his new Mercurial persona from many different points of view. Either that, or it's about that black Kensington baker woman - that's plausable too. As for the racial slur, it was 1974 - people still called brown sugar 'nigger sugar', and Brazil nuts 'nigger toes'. Way back before the advent of the PC movement.

Okay, this really was about a black baker who worked in Kensington??? And what is the PC movement? Great comment, very proper and straight to the point darling!

<font color =lifeonmars?> BowieQueen wrote: ^Well why did you come to a thread indicating the need to know of the meaning of the song 'March of the Black Queen'? Stop trying to make other people feel bad on account of your own insecurities!;D

kagezan1313 wrote:

Okay, this really was about a black baker who worked in Kensington??? And what is the PC movement? Great comment, very proper and straight to the point darling!

Thanks - no, under British law, people of African descent could not handle baked goods in any area of London until 1982, so the idea of a black baker woman in Kensington in 1974 is right out. The PC, or Politically Correct movement, was the widespread advent of trying to please everyone all the time, especially in regards to not offending anyone during reference: ie) retards are now "mentally handicapped", secretaries are "administrative assistants" and whores are "recreational engineers" - the list goes on and on. Oh Mother Mercury...

jeroen wrote: Brown Sugar = heroine Ask Mick and Keith!

<font color =lifeonmars?> BowieQueen wrote: ^Well why did you come to a thread indicating the need to know of the meaning of the song 'March of the Black Queen'? Stop trying to make other people feel bad on account of your own insecurities!;D

Want To Live Forever wrote:

jeroen wrote: Brown Sugar = heroine Ask Mick and Keith!

LOL! .

<font color=orange><b>queen4ever2 wrote: don't worry Freddie wasn't racist like some of you guys.

Want To Live Forever wrote:

jeroen wrote: Brown Sugar = heroine Ask Mick and Keith!

LOL! .

RETROLOVE wrote: Okay, so Freddie is 'the black Queen?' That actually makes a lot of of since...I still just dont get the nigger sugar baby oil part, thats weird to me.. I really thought that Freddie was talking about a black female dominatrix (if my spelling is right?)...lol

JoB wrote: Nonsense from an acid trip dream while having Queen 2 on in the background.

JoB wrote: Perhaps, but at this moment in time Freddie was in a position of having to give up his birth citizenship and become a British citizen in order to remain in the country and be issued a British passport.