Sunday Sounds: June 7, 2020, “I Want To Break Free”
Samantha Colleran, June 2020
A brief note before the post: With everything occurring around the world over the past week or two, it didn’t feel right to continue posting like normal as if there weren’t more important or pressing matters that needed attention. I didn’t want my posts to interfere with the important movement taking place. Things may seem as though they’re starting to go back to normal, but that doesn’t mean we should stop using our voices and platforms to fight for what’s right. Have tough conversations with the people around you, learn about the world, and amplify the voices of those who are advocating for change. Sending extra love to anyone who needs it, may the coming days be kinder to you.
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It’s the first Sunday Sounds of June so I figured I would kick it off with one of my all time favorite Queen songs, “I Want To Break Free”. This song was written by bassist John Deacon for the album The Works released in 1984. One interesting thing about the structure of the song is that it doesn’t have a set chorus, rather there are three verses and a bridge that are sung throughout the song. There are three versions of this song that exist in the Queen discography; the album version which has the shortest run time, the single version with a longer synthesizer introduction, and the extended version which clocks in at over seven minutes.
The song is most notable for its music video, which sparked controversy in the USA. The idea for the video came from Roger Taylor; the group dressed up as women based off of characters from a British soap opera called Coronation Street. Other countries understood the reference and laughed it off, but the US didn’t find humor in it. Queen’s guitarist Brian May recalls when the band did press in the Midwest region of America, “I remember being on the promo tour in the Midwest of America and peoples’ faces turning ashen and they would say, ‘No, we can’t play this. We can’t possibly play this. You know, it looks homosexual’.” The music video was banned from MTV, the second Queen video to be banned after “Body Language” from Hot Space. Needless to say, the song and video left the relationship between Queen and America extremely strained, the band losing popularity in the country.
The song itself is easily recognized by the synthesizer, which is ironic considering that for many years the band made it a point to print on all of their albums “no synthesizers”. Deacon’s lyrics have been adopted by many people, from the people of South America relating the lyrics to “the evils of dictatorships”, and the LGBTQ+ community viewing it as an anthem of love and wanting to break away from society’s negative connotations about same sex romances. The song is one of those anthems that can be applied to anyone at any time. It’s a personal favorite of mine, and it’s one of those songs that makes you really think and feel when you listen to it. Have a listen below, and try to find some humor in the band dressed up in silly costumes!
I remember watching Coronation Street when I was in England as a kid. I am so glad that Queen is still connecting with people and having sort of a resurgence probably because of the movie. Could you imagine if Freddie were alive today. Even he might be flabbergasted by some of the stuff they show on MTV now! Lol.