The ogre-like screams in the middle are Mercury's, and the high harmonies at the end of the chorus hook are sung by Roger Taylor. As the title suggests, it tells the story of a battle between ogres, and features a Brian May guitar solo and sound effects to simulate the sound of a battle. The beginning of the song is the end of the song played backwards including the final gong which when played backwards at the start of the song creates the building wave sound.
The song is one of Queen's heaviest works. The guitar riff, along with Roger Taylor's drumming, give it a very "thrash" sound. It was a longtime live favorite, although on stage Queen played it slower than in the studio. They stopped playing the song somewhere around 1977-1978, playing it on almost every concert up until then.
A different version of "Ogre Battle" exists, recorded in December 1973 for the BBC Radio 1 "Sound of the 70s" programme. This version starts right away with its riff (without any long intro), doesn't have any effects that the version on "Queen II" has and sounds much less polished. The BBC version of "Ogre Battle" did originally have a long intro featuring a grand guitar build up; it was not used for this release, allegedly because the original tape was damaged.
Ogre Battle
Queen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fa fa fa fa faa
Now once upon a time - an old man told me a fable
When the piper is gone - and the soup is cold on your table
And if the black crow flies to find a new destination
That is the sign
Come tonight
Come to the ogre sight
He gives a great big cry and he can swallow up the ocean
With a mighty tongue he catches flies - the palm of a hand incredible size
One great big eye - has a focus in your direction
Now the battle is on
Yeah yeah yeah
Come tonight
Come to the ogre sight
Come to the ogre-battle-fight
Fa fa fa fa faa
Hoooa
The ogre-men are still inside
The two-way mirror mountain
You gotta keep down right out of sight
You can't see in, but they can see out
"Ooh keep a look out"
The ogre-men are coming out
From the two-way mirror mountain
They're running up behind and they're coming all about
Can't go east 'cause you gotta go south
Aaargh
Aaaaaaaarghh
Ogre-men are going home
The great big fight is over
Bugle blow, let trumpet cry
Ogre battle lives for ever more - oh oh oh
You can come along
You can come along
Come to ogre battle
Fa fa fa fa faa
The lyrics to Queen's Ogre Battle are filled with fantastical imagery and allusions to a fable. The song tells the story of an old man who tells the singer about the power of the ogre, who can swallow up the ocean and with a mighty tongue, catch flies. The ogre is presented as an unstoppable force that can only be challenged at the ogre-battle-fight.
The song uses vivid language to describe the world of the ogre-men. They live in a two-way mirror mountain and can see out but no one can see in. The imagery is both fantastical and ominous, creating a sense of danger and suspense. When the ogre-men finally emerge from the mountain, the battle begins, with bugles blowing and trumpets crying.
Overall, Ogre Battle is a tale of epic proportions. It combines elements of fantasy and folklore with rock n' roll energy. The lyrics are imaginative and the music is dynamic, making it a classic song in Queen's discography.
Line by Line Meaning
Fa fa fa fa fa
N/A
Fa fa fa fa faa
N/A
Now once upon a time - an old man told me a fable
A long time ago, an elderly man narrated me a story
When the piper is gone - and the soup is cold on your table
When you are alone with a cold meal
And if the black crow flies to find a new destination
If a black crow leaves in search of a new place
That is the sign
It signals something
Come tonight
Come tonight
Come to the ogre sight
Come and see the ogre
Come to the ogre-battle-fight
Come and fight in the ogre battle
He gives a great big cry and he can swallow up the ocean
He shouts so loudly that he could consume the entire ocean
With a mighty tongue he catches flies - the palm of a hand incredible size
He uses his large tongue to catch flies, with a palm the size of an incredible giant hand
One great big eye - has a focus in your direction
He has one big eye and it focuses in your direction
Now the battle is on
Now the battle begins
Yeah yeah yeah
N/A
The ogre-men are still inside
The ogre-men are still inside
The two-way mirror mountain
The two-way mirror mountain
You gotta keep down right out of sight
You must keep yourself out of sight
You can't see in, but they can see out
You can't see inside, but they can see outside
"Ooh keep a look out"
Keep a lookout
The ogre-men are coming out
The ogre-men are coming out
From the two-way mirror mountain
From the two-way mirror mountain
They're running up behind and they're coming all about
They are running behind and surrounding
Can't go east 'cause you gotta go south
You cannot go east because you must go south
Aaargh
Expression of pain or anger
Aaaaaaaarghh
Expression of pain or anger
Ogre-men are going home
The ogre-men are heading back
The great big fight is over
The great fight is now over
Bugle blow, let trumpet cry
Let the bugle and trumpet herald the announcement
Ogre battle lives for ever more - oh oh oh
The ogre battle will live forever
You can come along
You can come along
Come to ogre battle
Come and join the ogre battle
Fa fa fa fa faa
N/A
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: FREDDIE MERCURY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@bluebell3720
one of Freddies,he normal wrote on piano,some songs write parts on guitar but this was one of few he wrote completly on guitar
otherwise he would write on piano and Brian would transcribe onto guitar(but composed most of his solos)
Freddie composed the entire song on guitar inc heavy metal style riff
Brian only mentioned the riff in one interview
but on others he did say he wrote all of it on guitar
on the commentary he did with Roger for crazy little thing called love he said Freddie did all of it on guitar
in an interview he said when Freddie did compose on guitar it was normally in odd keys that he wouldn't have used as your hand didnt naturally fall that way
' forced me to find ways of doing things create unusual sounds'
''Bo rap champions killer Queen all weird keys' (Freddies songs)
@_yerf
Ogres are like onions
They have layers
@juliamrogaa2435
Shrek!!
@dogol284
In this case: multitracking
@cristianm.5689
And overdubs
@dogol284
and ambient instrument sounds
@robertoduarte1207
and long luscious hair
@Chigger
Shrek: "Can't we settle this over a pint?"
Guards: Angrily move to kill Shrek
Shrek: Breaks tap with tankard
"Ogre Battle" plays
@jjStinger72
I'm pretty sure that's Joan Jett or the Runaways... I'm gonna have to go google now. ... Yep Joan Jett https://youtu.be/5RAQXg0IdfI
@horatiojoquaniumbarbiturat3014
Lane Robertson honestly it fits way better than I thought it would
@milestrotter6844
🤣