By January of 2005, Roger Taylor admitted to German television that they would be touring Europe in the spring and summer of that year, under the name of "Queen + Paul Rodgers". The full line up included original "Queen" members May (guitar, vocals) and Taylor (drums, vocals) as well as former "The Pretenders" and "Brian May Band" member Jamie Moses (guitar, vocals), former "Blue Oyster Cult" bassist Danny Miranda (bass, vocals), Queen's 1986 tour keyboard player Spike Edney (keyboards, vocals) and Paul Rodgers (vocals, occasional guitar). Over the course of 2005, the band played in over a dozen European countries as well as the Aruba Festival, 4 dates in Japan, 2 shows in the U.S.A., and 1 show in South Africa The band embarked upon a large scale tour of Northern America during Spring 2006, hitting 22 venues in the U.S.A. and 2 in Canada.
Some controversy was caused within the "Queen" fan base over the use of the name. There was concern over the fact that Queen's legendary front man, Freddie Mercury, was seemingly being replaced. However, each band member has said this is not the case: Rodgers could never replace Freddie Mercury but brought his own talents to the band. Furthermore, the fact that retired former "Queen" bassist John Deacon was also missing caused some discontent. Yet despite this, by and large "Queen" fans were won over by the band's blues-tinted renditions of "Queen" classics. Additionally, Paul Rodgers' fans were happy with the inclusion of several Free and Bad Company anthems on the set list, providing super-powered versions of tunes such as "All Right Now" and "Can't Get Enough".
After the end of the Return of the Champions Tour, the band set out to and completed their first and heretofore only album The Cosmos Rocks which debuted to warm reviews by fans in September 2008. Consequently the band toured again in late 2008 throughout Europe, Asia, and South America to promote the album. The Rock the Cosmos Tour in all was seen by nearly 1 million people in almost two dozen nations. The tour was highlighted by its first performance, recorded for DVD and CD, where the band played before over 350,000 fans in Freedom Square, Kharkiv, Ukraine. Said show was in fact put together at the last moment to benefit HIV/AIDS awareness.
On 14th May 2009, Paul Rodgers announced that his collaboration with the surviving active members of "Queen" was at and end, and that the "Queen + Paul Rodgers" project was being placed on indefinite hiatus. While, the band members did not rule out working together again, each sought to pursue solo projects, or in the case of Paul Rodgers, a reunion with Bad Company. The band has not gotten back together since, but Rodgers has stated that he's open to the idea of doing more, specially for charity.
Seagull
Queen + Paul Rodgers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Into the misty morning sun
Nobody asked you where you are going
Nobody knows where you're from
Here is a man asking the question
Is this really the end of the world
Seagull you must have known for a long time
Now you fly through the sky
Never asking why, and you fly
All around till somebody shoots you down
Da-da-da-down, mmm, mmm
Now you seagull you fly, seagull you fly away
And you'll fly away today
And you'll fly away tomorrow
And you'll fly away, leave me to my sorrow
The song Seagull by Queen + Paul Rodgers is a poignant meditation on the fleetingness of life and the way the world is full of mysteries that we can't fully understand. The opening lines, "Seagull, you fly across the horizon/Into the misty morning sun/Nobody asked you where you are going/Nobody knows where you're from," introduce the titular bird as a metaphor for the uncertainty and lack of control we all experience in our lives. The seagull, soaring through the sky, seems to have an innate sense of direction and purpose, but humans are left wondering where it's headed and where it's been.
The lyrics then shift to a man contemplating the end of the world and wondering what shape things will take in the future. The implication is that the seagull has a greater understanding of the world and its trajectory than we do, having seen the changes that time brings. The final lines, "And you'll fly away, leave me to my sorrow," suggest that the singer recognizes his own mortality and the fact that one day he too will pass on, while the seagull will continue to fly onward, forever beyond the reach of human understanding.
Overall, Seagull is a haunting and elegiac song that speaks to the universal experiences of loss, wonder, and the inexorable passage of time.
Line by Line Meaning
Seagull, you fly across the horizon
The singer addresses a seagull that is flying across the horizon
Into the misty morning sun
The seagull is flying towards the morning sun obscured by mist
Nobody asked you where you are going
No one inquires about the seagull's destination
Nobody knows where you're from
The seagull's origin is unknown to anyone
Here is a man asking the question
The singer describes himself as a man who questions the end of the world
Is this really the end of the world
The man is pondering whether the end of the world is approaching
Seagull you must have known for a long time
The seagull is assumed to have foreknowledge of future events
The shape of things to come
The bird is aware of upcoming developments
Now you fly through the sky
The seagull continues flying through the sky
Never asking why, and you fly
The bird does not seek to comprehend why it flies
All around till somebody shoots you down
The seagull keeps flying until someone kills it
Da-da-da-down, mmm, mmm
This is a non-lyrical part of the song
Now you seagull you fly, seagull you fly away
The singer addresses the seagull and tells it to fly away
And you'll fly away today
The bird will depart on this day
And you'll fly away tomorrow
The seagull will remain elusive, flying another day
And you'll fly away, leave me to my sorrow
The bird's departure will leave the singer in grief
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MICK RALPHS, PAUL RODGERS, PAUL BERNARD RODGERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind