FREDDIE MERCURY’S HANDWRITTEN lyrics for Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” reveal that the song was nearly titled “Mongolian Rhapsody,” according to a lyric sheet bound for auction this month.
Sotheby’s previously announced their impending auction of 1,500 personal items belonging to the Queen singer, and on Thursday, the auction house revealed more of what’s hitting the block, including Mercury’s sprawling 15 pages of lyrics — written on stationary for a defunct airline — for what would eventually become “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
As the handwritten lyrics reveal, the song was originally titled “Mongolian Rhapsody” before Mercury crossed it out and replaced it with the similarly syllabic “Bohemian.”
The working lyrics also feature a handful of unused verses — “Mama/There’s a war began/I’ve got to leave tonight,” one page has jotted down — as well as dozens of alternative words that could have been sung in lieu of “Galileo!,” “Scaramouch!” and “Fandango”: “Momento,” “Belladonna,” “Matador,” to name just a few. (Similarly, the Mercury colloquialism “silhouetto” is also written on this page.)
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2023/freddie-mercury-a-world-of-his-own-the-evening-sale
