If you are a creative soul, or know a creative soul, then you know that pursuing this way of life is not a vocational mission. Instead, it is a calling, by what, who knows, but to be a creator of some kind means that one carries a weight that transcends the desire for stability and certainty. Now, this is certainly a romanticized cliché, but it’s a cliché because it’s true.
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When one has this calling, this mission, a version of life without it seems intolerable, incomprehensible, and impossible. If an individual can’t do what they were born to do or loses the ability to do so, then what is there to do? Of course, many things, as we are adaptive creatures, but Freddie Mercury once answered this question differently, due to circumstances changing his perspective.
On November 24, 1991, Freddie Mercury passed away at 45 years old after a four-year battle with AIDS. Mercury didn’t reveal he was battling the illness until the day before his death. Regardless, Mercury, being an individual so dedicated to his art, continued to record with Queen until May of that same year. The album he worked on with the band was Made in Heaven, which Queen released four years after Mercury died in 1995.
What we outlined above is not a fact. However, there is some inexplicable truth to people passing away after they part ways with either a loved one or a loved act. According to Brian May’s spouse, Anita Dobson, Freddie Mercury accepted his tragic fate when he could no longer do one of the many things he loved: sing.
The Tragic Romance of Freddie Mercury’s Passing
Mercury’s battle, of course, led to major physical hardships and impacted his singing. Recalling his fragile state, May stated, “He was finding it hard to walk, even finding it hard to sit. He said, ‘Bring the vodka,’ he pours himself a shot, knocks it down and then he props himself up, knocks another vodka back and then he went for it. Those notes came out of him and I don’t know where they came from,” via Freddie Mercury – The Final Act.
In that same documentary, Dobson recalled Mercury saying, “Darling, when I can’t sing anymore I’ll just die, I’ll drop dead.” “When he’d sung all he could sing he withdrew and he got ready to die,” she added.
Every death has its grievances, even if it ends on a morbid type of high note. Aside from the evident tragedy, Dobson’s recollection draws an interesting conclusion, a conclusion of a soul who so much loved what he did that if he couldn’t do it anymore, then he knew his time had come.
Photo by Tom Wargacki/WireImage
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