W. Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose Jr.; born February … Read Full Bio ↴W. Axl Rose
W. Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose Jr.; born February 6, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has also been the band's sole constant member since their inception in 1985. He has also toured with Australian rock band AC/DC, deputising for Brian Johnson after Johnson's hearing loss in 2016. Rose has been named one of the greatest singers of all time by various media outlets, including Rolling Stone and NME.
Born and raised in Lafayette, Indiana, Rose moved in the early 1980s to Los Angeles, where he became active in the local hard rock scene and joined several bands, including Rapidfire, Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns. In 1985, he co-founded Guns N' Roses, with whom he had great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their first album, Appetite for Destruction (1987), has sold in excess of 30 million copies worldwide, and is the best-selling debut album of all time in the U.S. with 18 million units sold. Its full-length follow-ups, the twin albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II (1991), were also widely successful; they respectively debuted at No. 2 and No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and have sold a combined 35 million copies worldwide.
After 1994, following the conclusion of their two-and-a-half-year Use Your Illusion Tour, Rose disappeared from public life for several years, while the band disintegrated due to personal and musical differences. As its sole remaining original member, he was able to continue working under the Guns N' Roses banner because he had legally obtained the band name. In 2001, he resurfaced with a new line-up of Guns N' Roses at Rock in Rio 3, and subsequently played periodic concert tours to promote the long-delayed Chinese Democracy (2008), which undersold the music industry's commercial expectations despite positive reviews upon its release. In 2012, Rose was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Guns N' Roses, though he declined to attend the event and requested exclusion from the Hall. In 2016, the same year as he toured with AC/DC, Rose partially reunited the "classic" lineup of Guns N' Roses and has since toured the world as part of the Not in This Lifetime... Tour.
Bohemian Rhapsody
Axl Rose Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy
Because I'm easy come, easy go
Anyway the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me, to me
Mama, just killed a man
Put a gun against his head
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead
Mama, life had just begun
But now I've gone and thrown it all away
Mama, ooo
Didn't mean to make you cry
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow
Carry on, carry on, as if nothing really matters
Too late, my time has come
Sends shivers down my spine
Body's aching all the time
Goodbye everybody I've got to go
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth
Mama, ooo (anyway the wind blows)
I don't want to die
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all
I see a little silhouetto of a man
Scaramouch, scaramouch will you do the fandango
Thunderbolt and lightning very very frightening me
Gallileo, Gallileo,
Gallileo, Gallileo,
Gallileo Figaro - magnifico
But I'm just a poor boy and nobody loves me
He's just a poor boy from a poor family
Spare him his life from this monstrosity
Easy come easy go will you let me go
Bismillah! No we will not let you go - let him go
Bismillah! We will not let you go - let him go
Bismillah! We will not let you go let me go
Will not let you go let me go (never)
Never let you go let me go
Never let me go ooo
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
Oh mama mia, mama mia, mama mia let me go
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me
For me
For me
So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye
So you think you can love me and leave me to die
Oh baby can't do this to me baby
Just gotta get out just gotta get right outta here
Ooh yeah, ooh yeah
Nothing really matters
Anyone can see
Nothing really matters nothing really matters to me
Anyway the wind blows
The opening lyrics of Bohemian Rhapsody by Axl Rose starts with the question, “Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?”. The song is about a man who has messed up his life and regrets his choices. He is caught in a landslide, a metaphor for the consequences of his actions, and cannot escape from his reality. The next lines, “Open your eyes, Look up to the skies and see,” are a plea for the man to take responsibility and face the consequences with his eyes open.
As the song continues, we hear that the singer has killed a man and thrown his life away. His mother is upset but he is resigned to his fate. The next line is “too late, my time has come,” indicating that he knows he must pay the price for his actions. He is scared and wishes he had never been born.
The song then changes tone to a playful one, with the mention of “Scaramouch” and “Galileo.” Despite the change in tone, the lyrics still carry a sense of desperation. The singer is a “poor boy,” and he is begging for his life. He pleads with his captors to spare him, but they keep repeating, “Bismillah! No we will not let you go - let him go.”
The song starts changing from somber to rebellious as the singer becomes angry at his captors, telling them they cannot stone him and leave him to die. In the end, he resigns himself to fate, realizing there is nothing he can do to change the situation.
Overall, Bohemian Rhapsody is a song about regret and the consequences of one’s actions. It takes the listener on an emotional journey, from desperation to rebellion to resignation.
Line by Line Meaning
Is this the real life?
The singer is questioning whether the things happening around him are actually real.
Is this just fantasy?
The singer is questioning whether what he is experiencing is just an imagination or a dream.
Caught in a landslide, No escape from reality
The singer is in a difficult situation that he cannot get out of, and is acknowledging the harsh facts of life.
Open your eyes, Look up to the skies and see
The singer is urging the listener to open their mind and observe the world's beauty.
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy
The singer is stating that he is a man with a humble financial background, and doesn't need anybody's pity.
Because I'm easy come, easy go, A little high, little low
The singer has had his ups and downs in life, and doesn't take things too seriously.
Anyway the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me, to me
The singer is indicating that he is not bothered by the way the situation turns out, and is nonchalant about it.
Mama, just killed a man, Put a gun against his head
The singer's mother heard that he killed a man, and he is confessing to her that he committed murder.
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead
The singer is indicating that he shot and killed the man he pulled the gun on.
Mama, life had just begun, But now I've gone and thrown it all away
The singer is stating that his life was going well, but he ruined it by killing the man.
Mama, ooo, Didn't mean to make you cry
The singer is apologizing to his mother for making her upset and distressed.
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow, Carry on, carry on, as if nothing really matters
The singer is implying that if he doesn't come back, his mother should continue living without him.
Too late, my time has come, Sends shivers down my spine
The singer is indicating that he has reached a point of no return and is feeling uneasy about it.
Body's aching all the time, Goodbye everybody I've got to go
The singer is feeling physically and emotionally drained, and is saying farewell to his loved ones.
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth
The singer is leaving his friends and family to deal with the cold, hard truth of his situation.
I see a little silhouetto of a man, Scaramouch, scaramouch will you do the fandango
The singer sees a shadowy figure of a man, and is asking him if he knows how to dance the fandango.
Thunderbolt and lightning very very frightening me, Gallileo, Gallileo, Gallileo, Gallileo, Gallileo Figaro - magnifico
The singer is scared of the thunder and lightning, and is chanting the names of famous historical figures like Galileo and Figaro to comfort himself.
But I'm just a poor boy and nobody loves me
The singer is feeling sorry for himself and is saying that he is unloved because of his poor financial background.
He's just a poor boy from a poor family, Spare him his life from this monstrosity
The singer is telling his victim's family that he is just like them, and is asking them to forgive him for his crime.
Easy come easy go will you let me go, Bismillah! No we will not let you go - let him go
The singer is realizing the consequences of his actions, and is pleading with his captors for mercy.
Will not let you go let me go (never), Never let you go let me go
The singer is continuing to beg for his freedom, but his captors refuse to let him go.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, Oh mama mia, mama mia, mama mia let me go
The singer is in a state of desperation, and is begging his captors to let him go using his mother as leverage.
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, For me, For me
The singer is realizing that he is going to hell for his crime, and is saying that the devil has already reserved a spot for him.
So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye
The singer is being metaphorically stoned and spit on by the people who don't approve of his actions.
So you think you can love me and leave me to die
The singer is realizing that even the people who loved him and cared for him are now turning their backs on him.
Oh baby can't do this to me baby, Just gotta get out just gotta get right outta here
The singer is crying out to his loved ones to help him get out of his tough situation.
Ooh yeah, ooh yeah, Nothing really matters, Anyone can see, Nothing really matters nothing really matters to me
The singer is realizing that in the grand scheme of things, nothing matters, and he is accepting his fate.
Anyway the wind blows
The singer is going with the flow, and accepting whatever fate throws his way.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Freddie Mercury
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@JuicyIsFruity
Axl's entrance was absolutely legendary.
@arco3694
Yeah, just came hurtling out like a kilt-wearing Beyblade 🤣
@RaitoReaper
*cringe as fuck
@joelposner535
The greatest entrance in the history of Rock & Roll, absolutely mesmerizing. But sadly Rose had trouble being in sync with the pace of the song. Even so, it was a great moment worth celebrating.
@MissingBoco5
Absolute facts!
@bobbyphila623
Greatest entry in history
@johannaarancibia8020
2024 aún existimos los que apreciamos esta música....solo queda en nosotros que esto jamás se olvide!!!
@Adrianpage1211
Always.
@googleuser2571
Just take a minute to remember just how amazing Axl Rose’s voice was in his prime. Absolutely, perfectly in key.
@jenk0119
Exactly what I was thinking when he started singing.