Y12 AS Pop Notes - Who Wants To Live Forever - Queen

Who Wants To Live Forever Analysis

Structure

Intro – verse 1 – chorus – verse 2 – chorus – guitar solo – new section – chorus – extended coda.

Note that:

 the song begins and ends with the same 3 bars

Brian sings in the 1^st verse and is answered by Freddie

Verse 2 has a fuller orchestration and drums

The chorus after the new section is triumphant rather than tentative

Motivic Links

The first 3 notes of the scale are used – rising if hesitant in the chorus, falling in the guitar solo, rising but minor in the new section. All these examples are linked with similar harmony: chords I to VI. The opening and closing bars reverse this pattern: VI to I.

Keys

Intro	E minor	I
Verse 1	A minor	IV
Chorus	C major	VI
Verse 2	A minor	IV
Chorus	C major	VI
Guitar solo	E minor	I
New section	E minor	I
Chorus	G major	III
Coda	E minor	I

C major is the relative major of A minor, G major the relative major of E minor so the whole key structure looks like a big minor key plagal cadence: I – IV – I, which could be seen as amen (= so be it). The structure of keys is more complicated than a normal pop song and adds depth to the simplicity of the melody and feeling behind the song.

Harmony

Note the effective use of pedal notes and the changes from major to minor, as in the chorus where the move from I to VI is like an interrupted cadence. This, combined with several unresolved suspended chords, adds to the idea that there are questions but no answers.

Melody

There is a typical, memorable anthem style chorus.

The verse employs classical (regular and symmetrical) phrasing.

The verse melody also has a wide vocal range, both expressive of the words and showing off Freddie’s singing ability.

In general, hope is illustrated by rising phrases and death by falling ones (twice with a blues inflection).

The chorus rises in hope but is tentative because of the underlying interrupted cadences in the harmony.

Rhythm and Metre

Metre is 4/4 throughout. Dotted rhythms are used, which at a slow tempo seem solemn, almost like a funeral march. They also add to the hesitant feeling.

Texture and Instrumentation

This is an unusual song in that it is heavily orchestrated, with members of the band having not as much to do as they might have done in older songs: the inventive ways of making their music sound orchestral has been replaced by hired session musicians and a studio arrangement. The synthesiser is used at the beginning and end of the song, again this is different as previous albums proudly claimed “no synths”. The change of voice from Brian May in verse one to Freddie Mercury in verse two is effective. This change is accompanied by heavier orchestration and drums. The guitar plays a telling solo in the middle section and then in the triumphant choruses which follow it echoes the vocal line in typical Queen style.

Context

The song is from the 1986 album A Kind Of Magic. It was written for the film Higlander but became imbued with poignancy when Freddie Mercury died 5 years later. The opening lyrics refer to "Somewhere" from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein: "There's a place for us, somewhere a place for us", which also suggests that time on Earth may be nearly over