{"id":83153,"date":"2018-11-13T15:14:20","date_gmt":"2018-11-13T22:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=83153"},"modified":"2018-11-13T15:14:20","modified_gmt":"2018-11-13T22:14:20","slug":"bohemian-rhapsody","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2018\/11\/13\/bohemian-rhapsody\/","title":{"rendered":"Bohemian Rhapsody"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

Freddie Mercury ‘s\u00a0 musical hit Bohemian Rhapsody carried a numerous metaphors and symbolism that transformed the band into a global phenomenon. Bohemian Rhapsody\u201d song was written by Freddy Mercury which had no chorus but consisted of\u00a0 \u00a0six sections: introduction, ballad, guitar solo, opera, rock and outro. Bohemian Rhapsody could be considered as an enigmatic philosophical song that was not decoded completely. Up-to-date Bohemian Rhapsody remains a puzzle.\u00a0 This song has fatalistic lyrics. Some argue that Bohemian Rhapsody echoes Mercury\u2019s personal traumas reveling the complexity of his inner mind. This song represents a self-explanatory portion of Freddy. Perhaps Bohemian Rhapsody could be the musical version of Albert Camus\u2019s novel The Stranger.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Albert Camus\u2019s novel The Stranger involves a complex character named Meursault. For Camus, life has no rational meaning or order. As Albert Camus stated, the nakedness of man faced with the absurd was highlighted in his novel. Meursault\u2019s philosophy of absurdism, atheism, determinism, nihilism, and stoicism are well marked in Bohemian Rhapsody. Bohemian Rhapsody divulges a life and attitude, which possess no rational order.<\/p>\n

Bohemian Rhapsody begins with the powerful vocals of Freddy, which describes the clashes between his inner fantasies and realities. He was born in Zanzibar to an Indian Parsi Family and raised in England. He was exposed to three different cultures and in each culture; his biopersona (biological component of his personality) was suppressed creating a colossal guilt in him.\u00a0 The society that he lived expected him to live an artificial life less then his expectations. Mercury felt trapped and found no escape.<\/p>\n

Is this the real life
\nIs this just fantasy
\nCaught in a landslide
\nNo escape from reality
\nOpen your eyes
\nLook up to the skies and see
\nI\u2019m just a poor boy, I need no sympathy
\nBecause I\u2019m easy come, easy go,
\nLittle high, little low
\nAnyway the wind blows, doesn\u2019t really matter to me \u2013 to me<\/p>\n

In the second part Freddy talks about a murder which could be treated as a metaphor. Metaphor and allegory were powerful literary and conceptual tools which often used by him to create melody, rhythm and philosophy. Like Meursault he reaches self-knowledge by committing a murder.<\/p>\n

Mama, just killed a man,
\nPut a gun against his head,
\nPulled my trigger, now he\u2019s dead,
\nMama, life had just begun,
\nBut now I\u2019ve gone and thrown it all away
\nMama, ooo,
\nDidn\u2019t mean to make you cry
\nIf I\u2019m not back again this time tomorrow
\nCarry on, carry on, as if nothing really matters<\/p>\n

In the third section, Freddy talks about his destitution and hidden death wish contrary to his insensible desire to live. In Bohemian Rhapsody Camus\u2019s philosophy of the absurd is written in every line.<\/p>\n

The imaginary character of Albert Camus\u2019s novel The Stranger \u2013 Meursault was a social deviant. He was an absurd man. The struggle to find meaning where none exists is what Camus calls, the absurd.\u00a0 The absurd man will not commit suicide and he wants to live, without renouncing any of his incongruous hopes. The doomed character recounts in Bohemian Rhapsody reminds a nihilistic man that was narrated in Camus\u2019s novel The Stranger.<\/p>\n

Too late, my time has come,
\nSends shivers down my spine
\nBody\u2019s aching all the time,
\nGoodbye everybody \u2013 I\u2019ve got to go \u2013
\nGotta leave you all behind and face the truth
\nMama, ooo \u2013
\nI don\u2019t want to die,
\nI sometimes wish I\u2019d never been born at all \u2013<\/p>\n

The Opera Section begins with a powerful\u00a0 vocal presentation. Freddy Mercury uses the name of a fictional character \u2013 Scaramouch that was created by Rafael Sabatini.<\/p>\n

I see a little silhouetto of a man,
\nScaramouch, scaramouch will you do the Fandango
\nThunderbolt and Lightning \u2013 very very frightening me-
\nGallileo, Gallileo,
\nGallileo, gallileo,
\nGallileo Figaro \u2013 Magnifico \u2013
\nI\u2019m just a poor boy nobody loves me
\nHe\u2019s just a poor boy froma poor family
\nSpare him his life from this monstrosity
\nEasy come, easy go \u2013 will you let me go<\/p>\n

In the subsequent part, the singer utters a name Bismillah which means the God. It is a poetic phrase translated as in the name of the God, most gracious and most compassionate.<\/p>\n

Bismillah! No, \u2013 we will not let you go \u2013 let him go \u2013
\nBismillah! We will not let you go \u2013 Let him go
\nBismillah! We will not let you go \u2013 Let him go
\nWill not let you go \u2013 Let me go
\nWill not let you go \u2013 Let me go
\nNo, no, no, no, no, no, no-
\nMama mia, mama mia, mama mia let me go \u2013
\nBeelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me.<\/p>\n

The final part of the song is the rock section. In this branch Freddy\u2019s emotional struggle and apathy is emphasized. However, he is ready to accept the consequences.<\/p>\n

So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye
\nSo you think you can love me and leave me to die
\nOh Baby \u2013 Can\u2019t do this to me Baby
\nJust gotta get out- just gotta get right outta here \u2013
\nNothing really matters
\nAnyone can see
\nNothing really matters, nothing really matters \u2013 to me<\/p>\n

In Bohemian Rhapsody the meaninglessness of all endeavors are emphasized in the final line.\u00a0 According to the theory of Absurdism that was introduced by the French Algerian philosopher Albert Camus there is a fundamental disharmony that arises out of the co-presence of man and the universe. Man has a desire for order, meaning, and purpose in life, but the universe is indifferent and meaningless; the Absurd arises out of this conflict. Meursault was always aware of the meaninglessness of all endeavors in his life so as the nihilistic man of the Bohemian Rhapsody.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge Freddie Mercury ‘s\u00a0 musical hit Bohemian Rhapsody carried a numerous metaphors and symbolism that transformed the band into a global phenomenon. Bohemian Rhapsody\u201d song was written by Freddy Mercury which had no chorus but consisted of\u00a0 \u00a0six sections: introduction, ballad, guitar solo, opera, rock and outro. Bohemian Rhapsody could be considered […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-ruwan-m-jayatunge-m-d"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83153\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}