Unreleased lyrics from “Bohemian Rhapsody” found

Freddie Mercury continues to amaze. His words will be collected in a book, “A life in lyrics“, which will also include unreleased and alternative versions of Queen songs. Among these, also trashed verses of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and drafts of “Don’t stop me now”. The material, taken from Mercury’s personal notes, was shared by Mary Austinex-girlfriend and close friend of the singer.

Mercury died in 1991, leaving his house and possessions in Austin, along with his entire creative archive that spans from the beginnings of Queen to the end of his solo career. “In early 2023, while cataloging the contents of Garden Lodge, this wonderful home that Freddie had left me, I began to leaf through the papers that my family and I had collected together, where they had remained undisturbed and invisible for over 30 years,” says Austin, who found drafts of Mercury lyrics on scattered sheets of paper and up simple notebooks which “completely betrayed the wonders they contained”.

Austin believes that the Mercury’s handwritten notes offer “a window into his brilliant and creative mind”, and that in her “they have awakened many memories of decades past, of conversations, occasions and emotions. I hope that by sharing his manuscripts now, contextualized with new insights and a sprinkling of vignettes from our lives together, I will be able to shed light on the extraordinary creative force of my dear friend, to the delight of all those who he continues to delight and inspire, even after all these years,” concludes Austin.

“A life in lyrics” should be released next year, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Mercury’s birth. Last month, another book about Freddie caused a lot of discussion. In “Love, Freddie”, Lesley-Ann Jones claims the Queen star had a secret daughter, unknown even to her closest friends.