Bowie had originally come to the studios in order to sing backing vocals on another Queen song, "Cool Cat". For whatever reason, Bowie was not satisfied with his contribution, and his vocals were removed from the track.
Queen had been working on an earlier version of the song under the title "Feel Like" but were not yet satisfied with the result. The final version that became "Under Pressure" evolved from a jam session the band had with Bowie at his studio in Montreux, Switzerland, therefore it was credited as co-written by the five musicians. According to Queen bassist John Deacon (as quoted in a French magazine in 1984), however, the song's primary musical songwriter was Freddie Mercury — though all contributed to the arrangement. The earlier, embryonic version of the song without Bowie , "Feel Like" , is widely available in bootleg form.
There has been some confusion about who created the song's famous bass line. John Deacon said (in Japanese magazine Musiclife in 1982, and in the previously mentioned French magazine) that David Bowie had created it. In more recent interviews, Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor have credited the bass riff to Deacon; Bowie also said on his website that the bass line was already written before he became involved. The September 2005 edition of online music magazine Stylus singled out the bass line as the best in popular music history.
Roger Taylor was frequently rumored to be the song's chief writer. However, it appears that he served more as an intermediary for Mercury and Bowie (two of rock music's biggest stars at the time), being friends with both men. Taylor was involved in the production of the track and did some preliminary mixes with Bowie in New York, but Bowie was dissatisfied with these results and wanted to re-record everything (as claimed by May on a November 1982 interview for IM&RW magazine). In the end, the final mix was done with the involvement of Mercury and recording engineer Mack, "under pressure" from Bowie and Taylor (according to Brian May in the same 1982 interview).
Although very much a joint project, only Queen incorporated the song into their live shows at the time. Bowie chose not to perform the song before an audience until the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, when he and Annie Lennox sang it as a duet (backed by the surviving Queen members). However, since Mercury's death and the Outside tour in 1995, Bowie has performed the song at virtually every one of his live shows, with bassist Gail Ann Dorsey taking Mercury's vocal part.
The song also appeared in setlists from A Reality Tour mounted by Bowie in 2004, when he frequently would dedicate it to Freddie Mercury. Queen + Paul Rodgers have recently performed the song as well. While Bowie was never present for a live performance of the song with Mercury, Roger Taylor instead filled for back-up vocals usually in unison with Mercury as Mercury would take over most of Bowie's parts.
Under Pressure
Queen feat. David Bowie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Um bum ba de
Um bu bu bum da de
Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you no man ask for
Under pressure that brings a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets
Um ba ba be
De day da
Ee day da that's okay
It's the terror of knowing
What the world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming Let me out
Pray tomorrow gets me higher
Pressure on people people on streets
Day day de mm hm
Da da da ba ba
Okay
Chippin' around kick my brains around the floor
These are the days it never rains but it pours
Ee do ba be
Ee da ba ba ba
Um bo bo
Be lap
People on streets ee da de da de
People on streets ee da de da de da de da
It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming let me out
Pray tomorrow gets me higher higher high
Pressure on people people on streets
Turned away from it all like a blind man
Sat on a fence but it don't work
Keep coming up with love but it's so slashed and torn
Why, why, why?
Love love love love love
Insanity laughs under pressure we're breaking
Can't we give ourselves one more chance
Why can't we give love that one more chance
Why can't we give love give love give love give love
Give love give love give love give love give love
'Cause love's such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the (people on streets) edge of the night
And loves (people on streets) dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is ourselves
Under pressure
Under pressure
Pressure
The lyrics of Queen and David Bowie's "Under Pressure" speak about the pressure that people feel in their lives, whether from society or internally. The first verse discusses the weight of this pressure, how it pushes down on individuals and can lead to personal turmoil and the breakdown of relationships and society as a whole. The second verse speaks about the terror of knowing the harsh realities of the world and watching as friends struggle to cope. The chorus brings everything together, highlighting the pressure on people and the pressure they face when confronted with the difficulties of life. The final lines of the song offer hope and a call to action to change the way we care about ourselves and others.
The theme of pressure in the song is amplified by the vocal performances of Freddie Mercury and David Bowie, whose harmonizing and call-and-response style create a sense of tension and unease. The song's instrumentation, particularly the driving rhythm and persistent bassline, add to the sense of pressure and urgency.
Line by Line Meaning
Mm ba ba de
Vocals humming
Um bum ba de
Vocals humming
Um bu bu bum da de
Vocals humming
Pressure pushing down on me
The feeling of being under immense pressure
Pressing down on you no man ask for
The pressure also affects others who did not ask for it
Under pressure that brings a building down
The pressure can be so intense that it can cause buildings to collapse
Splits a family in two
The pressure can cause families to break up and go their separate ways
Puts people on streets
The pressure can lead to people becoming homeless
Um ba ba be
Vocals humming
Um ba ba be
Vocals humming
De day da
Vocals humming
Ee day da that's okay
An acceptance that things will be okay even in tough times
It's the terror of knowing
The feeling of being scared when faced with the reality of life
What the world is about
The harsh realities of the world
Watching some good friends
Seeing people you care about being affected by the pressure
Screaming Let me out
The desire to escape or be free from the pressure
Pray tomorrow gets me higher
Hope for a better tomorrow
Pressure on people people on streets
The pressure can affect everyone, even those on the streets
Day day de mm hm
Vocals humming
Da da da ba ba
Vocals humming
Okay
Accepting the situation
Chippin' around kick my brains around the floor
Being restless and unsettled due to the pressure
These are the days it never rains but it pours
When things go wrong, they go really wrong
Ee do ba be
Vocals humming
Ee da ba ba ba
Vocals humming
Um bo bo
Vocals humming
Be lap
Vocals humming
People on streets ee da de da de
The pressure can affect everyone, even those on the streets
People on streets ee da de da de da de da
The pressure can affect everyone, even those on the streets
It's the terror of knowing
The feeling of being scared when faced with the reality of life
What this world is about
The harsh realities of the world
Watching some good friends
Seeing people you care about being affected by the pressure
Screaming let me out
The desire to escape or be free from the pressure
Pray tomorrow gets me higher higher high
Hope for a better tomorrow
Pressure on people people on streets
The pressure can affect everyone, even those on the streets
Turned away from it all like a blind man
Choosing to ignore the pressure even though it's affecting you
Sat on a fence but it don't work
Trying to stay neutral but it doesn't work
Keep coming up with love but it's so slashed and torn
Trying to fix the pressure with love, but it's not enough
Why, why, why?
Searching for answers
Love love love love love
The power of love
Insanity laughs under pressure we're breaking
The pressure can drive people crazy, causing them to break down
Can't we give ourselves one more chance
Hope for a second chance to make things right
Why can't we give love that one more chance
Why can't we try to fix things with love
Why can't we give love give love give love give love
Why can't we try to fix things with love
Give love give love give love give love give love
Trying to promote the power of love
'Cause love's such an old fashioned word
Love is a concept that's been around for a long time
And love dares you to care for
Love challenges us to show compassion to others
The people on the (people on streets) edge of the night
The less fortunate, those on the edge of society
And loves (people on streets) dares you to change our way of
Love challenges us to change the world for the better
Caring about ourselves
Prioritizing others and the world around us
This is our last dance
Life is short and we only have one chance
This is ourselves
This is who we are, with all our flaws
Under pressure
Living life under the pressure of the world
Under pressure
Living life under the pressure of the world
Pressure
The immense pressure of life and the world around us
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, TINTORETTO MUSIC
Written by: DAVID BOWIE, JOHN DEACON, BRIAN HAROLD MAY, FREDDIE MERCURY, ROGER TAYLOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind