'39
| '39 | |
|---|---|
| Queen | |
| publication | 1975 |
| length | 3:30 |
| Genre (s) | Country / Folk , Progressive Rock |
| Author (s) | Brian May |
| Label | EMI , Parlophone , Elektra |
| album | A Night at the Opera |
'39 is a song by British rock band Queen that appeared on their 1975 album A Night at the Opera and as the B-side of the single You're My Best Friend .
The song was written by Queens guitarist Brian May as a solo piece for the guitar, which is why it is very guitar and bass heavy. It sounds like a country or folk song , only the chorus is more like progressive rock , which makes the song sound altogether rather untypical for Queen.
text
May came up with the idea for the text because he had studied astrophysics before Queen. The text is about a spaceman who travels through space at almost the speed of light . When he and his crew return, his wife has long been dead because the space travelers have only aged a year due to relativity , but 100 years have passed on Earth (see time dilation of moving particles ).
Live performance
'39 was often performed live by Queen, which is why it is also included on the live album Live Killers , for example .
Brian May plays the song on live performances after Freddie Mercury's death as a tribute mostly in combination with Love of My Life .
occupation
- Brian May : acoustic and electric guitar , ( background ) vocals
- Freddie Mercury : backing vocals
- Roger Taylor : bass drum , backing vocals, tambourine
- John Deacon : double bass
literature
- Peter Steinmüller: When Queen rocked the theory of relativity , in: VDI nachrichten 51/52 2018, p. 26 (here)
Web links
- Queen - You're My Best Friend at Discogs (English)
- '39 on Queen's YouTube channel
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Bruce Eder: '39 - Review. Allmusic , accessed March 29, 2016 .
- ↑ a b '39 - song information. songfacts.com, accessed March 29, 2016 .
- ↑ Queen - a night at the opera at Discogs (English)