Meaning of Love of My Life by Queen & The Story Behind

Thanks to the creators of the feature film Bohemian Rhapsody, the story of the relationship between Freddie Mercury and his wife Mary Austin is known to every movie fan.

Many criticize the drama, arguing that the version of the scriptwriters has a lot of discrepancies with the real biography of the musician. However, it is unlikely that anyone will dispute the fact that he had tender feelings for his wife and, until the end of his days, sought to maintain a relationship with her.

The touching ballad “Love of my life” is dedicated to her, which will be discussed later.

The story of creation and the meaning of the song Love of My Life

Freddie Mercury composed the music and lyrics, and also sang the vocals himself.

What is Love of My Life about? The main idea of ​​the work does not require clarification. The author makes it clear that the beloved will forever remain in his heart, despite the fact that their life paths have diverged.

Recording and release

The song is featured on the album A Night at the Opera by Queen. On November 21, 1975, Love of My Life was released as a single.

In the studio version, Freddie sings to piano accompaniment. The composition also features electric guitar, bass guitar and harp.

Brian May was once asked if he had to specifically learn to play the harp in order to sing the part on Love of My Life. He replied:

“Learning” would be too strong a word. I played it chord by chord. In fact, it took more time to set up this thing than to play it. It was a nightmare, because every time someone opened the door, the temperature changed and everything went wrong. I would never want to play the harp on stage. I just figured out how it works – pedals and stuff – and then I did it little by little.

On the Record 1982

For live performances, Brian May created a different arrangement, in which the main instrument was a 12-string guitar.

In an interview with Rudi Dolezal, Freddie explained why the album version of the song is different from the live version:

I can’t stand these attempts to recreate albums on stage. Sometimes we make changes on purpose. For example, take a look at Love of My Life. On the record I play piano, but on stage it’s just Brian playing guitar and I sing because it works better on stage.

1984

Another excerpt from the Mercury interview:

Love of My Life is adapted for stage guitar, but it was written on piano. I completely forgot the original, and if you asked me to play it now, I wouldn’t be able to. Sometimes I have to go back to music notation, but I still can’t read it that well.

Melody Maker 1981

In 1979, Queen released this version of Love of My Life as a single from the Live Killers live album. The track topped the charts in Argentina and Brazil.

The composition became an obligatory number of the group’s live performances. The audience usually picked up the song, and Freddie often fell silent, allowing the audience to sing for him.

Watch the Love of My Life music video from Queen’s concert at Wembley Stadium in 1986.

After Mercury’s death, the ballad was often sung by Brian May.

Video of Love of My Life by Queen

The video for the song “Love of My Life” by the group “Queen” was directed by Dennis De Wellens. The video is a cut of concert performances.

Cover versions

The composition was performed by several well-known bands. First, let’s listen to Love of My Life in the Extreme version.

This is how the rock band Scorpions played Love of My Life.

Interesting Facts

  • Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon sang Love of My Love for his wife Rona while in space.

Love of My Life Lyrics by Queen

Love of my life you’ve hurt me
You’ve broken my heart and now you leave me
Love of my life can’t you see
Bring it back, bring it back
Don’t take it away from me, because you don’t know
What does it mean to me

Love of my life don’t leave me
You’ve taken my love and now desert me
Love of my life can’t you see
Bring it back, bring it back
Don’t take it away from me
Because you don’t know
What does it mean to me

Who will remember
When this is blown over
And everything’s all by the way
When I grow older
I will be there at your side to remind you
How I still love you (I still love you)

Oh, hurry back
Please bring it back home to me
Because you don’t know what it means to me
Love of my life
Love of my life

Author: FREDDIE MERCURY
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics of Love of My Life by Queen Alternate

Love of my life, you hurt me
You broke my heart and now you’re leaving me.
Love of my life, don’t you understand?
Return, return
Don’t take it from me cause don’t you know
How important is this to me?

Love of my life, don’t leave me.
You took my love and now you’re leaving me.
Love of my life, don’t you understand?
Return, return
Don’t take it from me
‘Cause don’t you know
How important is this to me?

Who will remember
When it’s a blown over
And everything will go on as usual?
When I get older
I’ll be by your side, reminding you
That I still love you (I still love you)

Oh come back, come back quickly
Please come home to me
Because don’t you know how important this is to me?
Love of my life

Love of my life.

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