Freddie Mercury‘s ex-partner and friend, Mary Austin, decided to share the Queen frontman’s personal collection with the world, only for the right price, obviously. The collection includes stage costumes and 15 pages of notes, one of which unravels the original title for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and possible lyrics for the song.
As you can see below on the note page, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody‘ could have been ‘Mongolian Rhapsody‘; the word ‘Mongolian’ is crossed out and replaced with Bohemian afterward.
Did you know ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ was originally titled ‘Mongolian Rhapsody’?
Written entirely by Freddie Mercury, a never-before-seen early draft reveals untold insights into one of the greatest pop songs of the 20th century.
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— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) May 31, 2023
One of many revelations from the drafts is on the lyrics of Bohemian Rhapsody. Apparently, Mercury’s first intentions for the verse,
“Mama/ Just killed a man/ Put a gun against his head/ Pulled my trigger; now he’s dead.“
Actually was:
“Mama/ There’s a war began/ I’ve got to leave tonight/ I’ve got to stand and fight.”
The auction will take place at Sotheby’s auction house in London; fans and collectors are expected to be able to bid for the pieces in a live auction on September 6. Austin explained the importance of the collection to BBC:
“The collection takes you deeper within the individual and the man I knew.”
You can reach the details of the collection by clicking here.
