Freddie Mercury.Photo:Fin Costello/Redferns
Fin Costello/Redferns
Freddie Mercury’s old songbooks have revealed the original name for one of the world’s most famous rock anthems.
Written in black and blue ink and pencil on stationery from the long-closed U.K. airline British Midland Airways, Mercury’s lyrics for the 1975 rock classic span 15 pages and reveal he later crossed out the word “Mongolian” and replaced it with the famous “Bohemian Rhapsody” instead.
On another page, a possible opening for the second verse is revealed. Mercury’s notes read, “Mama, There’s a war began, I’ve got to leave tonight.” The final version of the song ultimately lost the military reference and used the now-famous lyrics: “Mama, I just killed a man.”
Freddie Mercury’s handwritten working lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody.© Queen Music Ltd - Sony Music Publishing UK Ltd
© Queen Music Ltd - Sony Music Publishing UK Ltd
Though the drafts don’t reveal why Mercury changed the title of the hit song, “Bohemian Rhapsody” has been sold or streamed more than 10 million times in the U.S. and streamed more than 4 billion times globally on Spotify and YouTube.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.The song manuscripts, which also include drafts for Queen classics including “Don’t Stop Me Now,” “Somebody to Love,” and “We Are the Champions,” come from a personal collection stored in the London home Mercury purchased in 1980, called Garden Lodge.
Freddie Mercury’s draft lyrics for Somebody to Love.© Queen Music Ltd - Sony Music Publishing UK Ltd
The lyrics also formpart of a collection of more than 1,500 Mercury items,including clothing and artwork, titled “Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own” which will be auctioned in London in September.
“It was important to me to do this in a way that I felt Freddie would have loved, and there was nothing he loved more than an auction,” added Austin. “Freddie was an incredible and intelligent collector who showed us that there is beauty and fun and conversation to be found in everything.”
“I hope this will be an opportunity to share all the many facets of Freddie, both public and private, and for the world to understand more about, and celebrate, his unique and beautiful spirit,” she continued.
Austin will share a percentage of the proceeds from the sales to HIV/AIDS charities theMercury Phoenix Trustand theElton John Aids Foundation.
source: people.com
