The music video was directed by Russel Mulcahy and was shot on the Silvercup rooftop stage used for the film, featuring a sword fight between Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) and Freddie Mercury intercut with scenes from the movie. During the video, guitarist Brian May appears without his trademark 'Red Special' guitar, but instead with a white Jackson Randy Rhoads guitar.
The video was actually played quite a bit on music video stations (in the US) when this single came out, despite not charting. Up until its eventual release on Greatest Flix III (VHS, 1999) and Greatest Video Hits 2 (DVD, 2003), it was rarely seen by fans outside North America, elevating its possession to that of a collector's item.
Musically, it is complex, with many different sections in different tempos and with different instrument ensembles. The overall sound is mostly hard, driving electric guitars, with sections of chorale singing. The song has some characteristics of a power metal song, such as fantastic lyrics, powerful vocals and fast guitar, although it has an asymmetric song structure with no clear verses and choruses, and frequently switch tempos, therefore bearing some similarities to progressive rock or progressive metal.
The lyrics are from the perspective of the immortals, about the state of being immortal, the superiority it gives them to normal humans, and the test that they must face because of this. The lyrics can also be interpreted as regarding Queen themselves: "People talk about you, people say you've had your day / I'm a man that will go far, find the moon and reach for the stars." The song Who Wants to Live Forever is the foil of this song.
Princes of the Universe
Queen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We're the princes of the universe
Here we belong, fighting to survive
In a world with the darkest powers
Heh
And here we are, we're the princes of the universe
Here we belong, fighting for survival
We've come to be the rulers of you all
I am immortal, I have inside me blood of kings, yeah, yeah
I have no rival, no man can be my equal
Take me to the future of you all
Born to be kings, princes of the universe
Fighting and free
Got your world in my hand
I'm here for your love and I'll make my stand
We were born to be princes of the universe
No man could understand
My power is in my own hand
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, people talk about you
People say you've had your day
I'm a man that will go far
Fly the moon and reach for the stars
With my sword and head held high
Got to pass the test first time, yeah
I know that people talk about me, I hear it every day
But I can prove them wrong 'cause I'm right first time
Yeah, yeah
Alright, let's go, let's go, ha ha
Yeah, watch this man fly, wooh
Bring on the girls, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon
Here we are (here we are)
Born to be kings, we're the princes of the universe
Here we belong
Born to be kings, princes of the universe
Fighting and free, got your world in my hand
I'm here for your love and I'll make my stand
We were born to be princes of the universe (universe, universe, universe)
"Princes of the Universe" is a song by the British rock band Queen, and was written by Freddie Mercury specifically for the movie "Highlander." In the song, the lyrics speak about being born to be kings, and how the singers (who are representing the immortals in the movie) have come to rule the world. They are princes of the universe, fighting and free, with the world in their hands.
The lyrics express their power and their ability to fly to the moon and reach for the stars, and how they are able to prove people wrong because they are right the first time. It is a declaration of their superiority and strength, ready to take on any challenge that comes their way, and emerge victorious.
Overall, "Princes of the Universe" is a powerful anthem that speaks to the idea of overcoming obstacles and rising above the rest. It encourages listeners to take control of their lives and to fight for their own success, no matter what the world may throw their way.
Line by Line Meaning
Here we are, born to be kings
We were destined to be leaders
We're the princes of the universe
We hold a high position and have great power
Here we belong, fighting to survive
We were raised to fight to stay alive
In a world with the darkest powers
In a world with the strongest, most evil entities
And here we are, we're the princes of the universe
We are the ultimate leaders
We've come to be the rulers of you all
We are here to rule over everyone
I am immortal, I have inside me blood of kings, yeah, yeah
I cannot die and my family are great leaders
I have no rival, no man can be my equal
No one is better than me
Take me to the future of you all
Take me forward in time to lead everyone
Born to be kings, princes of the universe
We were intended to be great rulers with a lot of power
Fighting and free
We fight to stay alive and are not bound by anyone
Got your world in my hand
We have control over everything
I'm here for your love and I'll make my stand
I am here to be loved and respected, and I will defend my position
No man could understand
No one can comprehend my immense power
My power is in my own hand
I control my own power
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, people talk about you
People gossip about me
People say you've had your day
People say that I'm past my prime
I'm a man that will go far
I am a man who will achieve greatly
Fly the moon and reach for the stars
I will reach for the ultimate goal and achieve it
With my sword and head held high
I am strong and confident
Got to pass the test first time, yeah
I have to succeed on the first try
I know that people talk about me, I hear it every day
I hear the constant gossip about me
But I can prove them wrong 'cause I'm right first time
I can prove them wrong because I am always right on the first try
Alright, let's go, let's go, ha ha
Let's move forward and take control with enthusiasm
Yeah, watch this man fly, wooh
Watch me achieve greatness
Bring on the girls, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon
Bring on the women so I can impress them
We were born to be princes of the universe
We were born to be great and powerful leaders
Fighting and free, got your world in my hand
We fight for our freedom and control everything
I'm here for your love and I'll make my stand
I am here to be respected and loved and will defend my position
We were born to be princes of the universe (universe, universe, universe)
We were always destined to rule over everything
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: FREDDIE MERCURY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@goldencitoroblox7632
Lyrics:
Here we are, born to be kings
We're the princes of the universe
Here we belong, fighting to survive
In a world with the darkest powers
Heh
And here we are, we're the princes of the universe
Here we belong, fighting for survival
We've come to be the rulers of you all
I am immortal, I have inside me blood of kings, yeah, yeah
I have no rival, no man can be my equal
Take me to the future of you all
Born to be kings, princes of the universe
Fighting and free
Got your world in my hand
I'm here for your love and I'll make my stand
We were born to be princes of the universe
No man could understand
My power is in my own hand
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, people talk about you
People say you've had your day
I'm a man that will go far
Fly the moon and reach for the stars
With my sword and head held high
Got to pass the test first time, yeah
I know that people talk about me, I hear it every day
But I can prove them wrong 'cause I'm right first time
Yeah, yeah
Alright, let's go, let's go, ha ha
Yeah, watch this man fly, wooh
Bring on the girls, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon
Here we are (here we are)
Born to be kings, we're the princes of the universe
Here we belong
Born to be kings, princes of the universe
Fighting and free, got your world in my hand
I'm here for your love and I'll make my stand
We were born to be princes of the universe universe, universe, universe
@LaRusso
I don't know how they got Queen to do this whole soundtrack but it was one of the greatest decisions in movie history
@Amaru220
supposedly freddie really love the movie (or at least the concept) and wanted to make the soundtrack just for the movie. That's what i have heard
@taffykins2745
I know, they did some of the best movie themes. They will live forever in doing that. So powerful! Totally love them!
@Shino8678
Not sure how the movie got queen for the soundtrack, but I do know how queen got the star of the film to appear in the music video with them. Apparently Christopher Lambert was really good friends with Freddie Mercury, so when Freddy asked him to appear in the music video he said yes
@vinzcastro9304
@Shino8678 freddie*
@taffykins2745
@Vinz Castro probably auto correct. Happens to me all the time. Grrrr...
@jushthehermit
"I am immortal.
I have inside me blood of kings.
I have no rival.
No man can be my equal."
Freddy spitting facts and flexing.
@christophertmunro4503
FREDDIE MERCURY IS IMMORTAL!!!! A THOUSAND YEARS CAN PASS FREDDIE WILL NEVER HAVE AN EQUAL!!!!!!!!
@emilmrchchristensen127
Bicon
@AngelOfDeath420
Sounds like Jesus