Queen Lyric Draft, Scheduled for Auction This September
Traces of Revisions Intact...Estimated Price Around 1.9 Billion KRW
The British rock band Queen's masterpiece "Bohemian Rhapsody" was initially considered to be titled "Mongolian Rhapsody," drawing significant interest.
The American daily newspaper The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 31st of last month (local time) that the original draft lyrics of Bohemian Rhapsody, written by Queen's leader and vocalist Freddie Mercury, have been revealed.
Mary Austin, Mercury's girlfriend to whom he bequeathed his estate, will submit this draft to a Sotheby's auction held in London, UK, this coming September. The draft containing the lyrics of Bohemian Rhapsody spans a total of 15 pages.
The belongings of Freddie Mercury, the vocalist and leader of Queen, will be auctioned at Sotheby's in London this September. [Image source=AP Yonhap News]
Meanwhile, it was also revealed that the title of Bohemian Rhapsody was initially "Mongolian Rhapsody." Looking at the page where the draft was written, Mercury had written the title "Mongolian Rhapsody" at the top of one page.
However, he marked an X over the word "Mongolian" and wrote "Bohemian" instead. It appears that the song title was changed from Mongolian Rhapsody to Bohemian Rhapsody.
Gabriel Hinton, a document expert at Sotheby's, told the media, "Both Bohemian and Mongolian are words that share the same rhyme."
Mark Blake, a Queen expert, added that Queen, like other rock bands, often gave playful working titles during the songwriting process.
It is also presumed that the lyrics were revised multiple times. It was confirmed that the first line of Bohemian Rhapsody, "Mama, just killed a man," was originally "Mama, There's a war began."
Sotheby's estimates the auction price of this draft to be $1.5 million (approximately 1.99 billion KRW).
Meanwhile, the auction in September is expected to feature over 1,500 items, including the crown and cape Mercury wore during performances, several handwritten lyrics of various songs, and other memorabilia.
Austin, who inherited Mercury's estate, said in a BBC interview, "I have enjoyed the joy and privilege of living surrounded by the wonderful things Freddie loved," but also stated, "Time has passed, and it is time to make a difficult decision to close a very special chapter in my life."
She added, "It was important to handle things in a way that I think Freddie would have liked," and "There was nothing he liked more than an auction."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
