The Queen Lyric Freddie Mercury Used To Start the Band on Their Unique Path

History proved that Queen represented one of the most versatile acts of their era. But there was a time when they were a bit more one-dimensional. Bands just didn’t take the kind of bold swings for which this legendary British band would become known. “Killer Queen”, released in 1974, proved to be the catalyst that helped them make that leap. Despite concern from even within the band that it might not be the right move, the song, boosted by Freddie Mercury’s sly lyrics and spirited vocals, scored them a massive hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

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Creating “Killer”

Sheer Heart Attack proved a major turning point for Queen. The 1974 album, their third, didn’t come smoothly. Queen bounced around to several different studios to get the intricate sound they wanted. Sessions were also somewhat disjointed as Brian May suffered from an illness.

Whether this played into the album’s diversity is hard to say. But it’s clear that the band came up with a much wider range of material than they’d ever tried before. And “Killer Queen” served as the epitome of this new outlook. Mercury imagined the subject of the song as a call-girl, albeit one who puts on classy airs.

Brian May worried about the nature of the song, that it might be a bit too soft and would somehow damage the band’s reputation. But he nonetheless contributed a fantastic guitar solo that helped raise the melodic stakes of an already tuneful song. “Killer Queen” just missed the top of the British charts and hit no. 12 in the US, their first American hit.

Examining the Lyrics of “Killer Queen”

“Killer Queen” highlights Freddie Mercury’s deft wordplay. Even reading them off the page, they sound inherently tuneful. “She keeps her Moet et Chandon in her pretty cabinet / ’Let them eat cake,’ she says, just like Marie Antoinette.” Mercury leads with the character’s elegance, hiding her somewhat tawdry life in the margins of the song.

For much of the story, she resembles nothing more than a worldly debutante. “Caviar and cigarettes / Well versed in etiquette / Extraordinarily nice.” But as the song progresses, we start to get hints that she’s living a bit of a double life. “To avoid complications, she never kept the same address.”

You can practically hear Mercury’s eyebrow raising as he sings some of the lines. “Then again incidentally / If you’re that way inclined,” he sings in conspiratorial fashion to the listener. Then it’s back to her classy ways again: “Perfume came naturally from Paris / For cars she couldn’t care less / Fastidious and precise.”

In the closing verse, the narrator gives us a glimpse of her seductive ways: “Drop of a hat she’s as willing as / Playful as a pussy cat.” But Mercury makes clear that she’s not your typical date: “Recommended at the price.”

And he warns you not to get in too deep: “She’s a killer queen / Gunpowder, gelatine / Dynamite with a laser beam.”

With “Killer Queen,” Queen established that they were going to change up their approach. This first diversion from the norm might have surprised some people who knew their previous work. But the surprises would only get grander and bolder. After all, this song’s flourishes were just the tip of the iceberg, compared to a little song called “Bohemian Rhapsody” that arrived just a year later.

Photo by Paul Natkin/WireImage