Before Queen, Taylor founded Smile with Brian May. Smile released one album in Japan which is now available throughout the world as Ghost of a Smile. Smile wrote a few of the songs which would later appear on Queen's self-titled debut album, and one - Doin' Alright was featured on the Smile album.
Taylor also fronted another band, The Cross from 1987 to 1991. The first album, Shove it (1988) was a solo album by Taylor in all but name - he wrote all the songs and played most of the instruments himself. This was an experiment that didn't really work for Taylor and in the other two albums by The Cross he allowed the other members of the band to contribute more, resulting in more traditionally styled rock albums.
Out of the four original members of Queen Taylor and guitarist Brian May continued to play as Queen + Paul Rodgers between 2004 and 2008. Of the other original members singer Freddie Mercury tragically died in 1991 and bassist John Deacon retired from music business in the mid-1990's.
In 2009, after the partnership between him, Brian and Paul ended, Roger worked on some new solo material from which his single The Unblinking Eye (Everything is Broken) was digitally released at 23th November at Queenonline.com. At the moment it is unclear how the future of Queen will look like, though Roger has announced that he will do a short tour in the spring of 2010.
Old Friends
Roger Taylor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We used to share a drink - and let the demons out.
We let the good times rock, you made the bad times roll
We used to laugh a lot, you had a lot of soul.
Old friends in better times.
And when the going got hard,
We put our backs to the wall,
You used to strut your stuff.
With a head held high, and a heart so big,
One fist at the sky and shake a leg.
Old friends in better times
(Even though, even though we miss you now
Look forward don't look back
We'll get by somehow)
And so I raise my glass in a last goodbye!
Sleep in peace old friend, for me you'll never die.
The best thing I can say, after all this time, is
You were a real friend, of mine.
Old friends in better times.
The song Old Friends by Roger Taylor is an emotional ode to a departed friend. The lyrics speak of the good and bad times shared with this friend, and the camaraderie and joy that came along with their company. The opening lines "When the sun got big, and the night came down, We used to share a drink - and let the demons out" depict the moments of letting go of one's inhibitions and enjoying the company of a good friend. The following lines "We let the good times rock, you made the bad times roll, We used to laugh a lot, you had a lot of soul" reminisce the moments of laughter and soulful conversations shared with this friend.
The next few lines describe how the friend stood by the singer during tough times with their backs against the wall. The lines "With a head held high, and a heart so big, One fist at the sky and shake a leg" bring out the image of a strong and supportive friend who always knew how to lift up their spirits. The final goodbye is emotional and heartfelt as the singer raises a glass to the departed friend and says "Sleep in peace old friend, for me you'll never die. The best thing I can say, after all this time, is You were a real friend, of mine." The song is a tribute to the deep bonds of friendship that last beyond time and space.
Line by Line Meaning
When the sun got big, and the night came down,
Back in the day, when the sun was setting and the night was falling,
We used to share a drink - and let the demons out.
We used to drink together and talk through our troubles.
We let the good times rock, you made the bad times roll
We enjoyed the good times and when bad times came, you helped us get through them.
We used to laugh a lot, you had a lot of soul.
We used to have fun and laugh a lot, and you always had a great spirit.
Old friends in better times.
We were old friends who had a great time together in the past.
And when the going got hard,
When things got tough,
When times were tough.
During difficult times.
We put our backs to the wall,
We stood our ground and faced the challenge.
You used to strut your stuff.
You used to show your confidence and strength.
With a head held high, and a heart so big,
You had a strong character and a big heart.
One fist at the sky and shake a leg.
You showed your passion and enthusiasm by raising your fist and dancing.
Old friends in better times.
We were old friends who got through tough times together.
(Even though, even though we miss you now
(Even though we miss you very much now,
Look forward don't look back
Let's focus on the future, not the past.
We'll get by somehow)
We'll find a way to cope with your absence.)
And so I raise my glass in a last goodbye!
I say my final farewell by raising my glass.
Sleep in peace old friend, for me you'll never die.
Rest in peace, my old friend, you'll live on in my memory.
The best thing I can say, after all this time, is
The most important thing I want to say, even after all these years, is,
You were a real friend, of mine.
You were a true friend of mine.
Old friends in better times.
We were old friends who had some great moments together.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ROGER TAYLOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Anij 822
Setlist :
01. A Kind Of Magic
02. Touch The Sky
03. Everybody Hurts Sometimes
04. Ride The Wild Wind
05. Tenement Funster
06. Loneliness
07. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
08. You Had To Be There
09. I Want To Break Free
10. Soul (Jason Falloon on vocals)
11. Dear Mr Murdoch
12. Foreign Sands
13. Happiness
14. The Key
15. The Show Must Go On
16. Revelations
17. These Are The Days Of Our Lives
18. We Will Rock You
19. Radio Ga Ga
20. Old Friends
21. Nazis 1994
22. I'm In Love With My Car (incomplete)
Anij 822
No wonder.
A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (cover of Bob Dylan)
Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, where have you been, my darling young one?
I’ve stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I’ve walked and I’ve crawled on six crooked highways
I’ve stepped in the middle of seven sad forests
I’ve been out in front of a dozen dead oceans
I’ve been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what did you see, my darling young one?
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin’
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin’
I saw a white ladder all covered with water
I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?
And what did you hear, my darling young one?
I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin’
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world
Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin’
Heard ten thousand whisperin’ and nobody listenin’
Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin’
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Oh, who did you meet, my blue-eyed son?
Who did you meet, my darling young one?
I met a young child beside a dead pony
I met a white man who walked a black dog
I met a young woman whose body was burning
I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow
I met one man who was wounded in love
I met another man who was wounded with hatred
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Oh, what’ll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what’ll you do now, my darling young one?
I’m a-goin’ back out ’fore the rain starts a-fallin’
I’ll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest
Where the people are many and their hands are all empty
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison
Where the executioner’s face is always well hidden
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
Where black is the color, where none is the number
And I’ll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it
Then I’ll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin’
But I’ll know my song well before I start singin’
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Forgoodnessake3G
Was there and it was absolutley brilliant and stands to this day as one of the best shows I've ever seen. Being a promoter I've seen a few hundred. Really surprised Roger didn't add this as THE live show in his The Lot box set. the master tapes must be there. Hope its released officially soon.
Larissa Nascimento
It would be cool for Roger to post these full shows and some rarities on his channel! We want more shows at the time of The Cross and solo career !!
Marie Johnson
Roger is truly a surprise every time he performs vocally. I'm pleasantly surprised at how well he did A Kind of Magic, it's not an easy song to sing.
Unfortunately for Rog solo, he really needs Brian on guitar - especially on Show Must Go On - only Brian can play the licks in that song that sounds like Red weeping at Freddie's loss.
Anij 822
Setlist :
01. A Kind Of Magic
02. Touch The Sky
03. Everybody Hurts Sometimes
04. Ride The Wild Wind
05. Tenement Funster
06. Loneliness
07. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
08. You Had To Be There
09. I Want To Break Free
10. Soul (Jason Falloon on vocals)
11. Dear Mr Murdoch
12. Foreign Sands
13. Happiness
14. The Key
15. The Show Must Go On
16. Revelations
17. These Are The Days Of Our Lives
18. We Will Rock You
19. Radio Ga Ga
20. Old Friends
21. Nazis 1994
22. I'm In Love With My Car (incomplete)
Jota Mercury
The music Old Friends is dedicated for Freddie.
Larissa Nascimento
I hope one day that Roger can do a live project. It is very good to see a great active artist like him who shows how complete he is! he sings, plays, produces and arranges, in addition to composing.
Or that he can compile his live performances at the time of The Cross and solo career.May the project encompass all your compositions on Queen, solo career and The Cross! He deserves more recognition in the phases after Queen.
EL OTRO LADO DE LA REALIDAD JR
Songs like touch the sky should have been made as a Queen song and performed live with Brian
TheOfficialCMAN
Wow his shows were great. I couldn't imagine how Fred would have done a solo concert but I know that would have been great too!
PTS 1974
I attended the Newcastle show at the now demolished "Riverside" venue....
An amazing show, still leaves great memories to this day....
Audrey Douchet
I was there!!Thank you for this video 😀I remember we were a lot of girls in the audience!(you can hear it !!!)