The Prophets Song - Queenpedia.com - Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon, Discography, Bibliography, Charts

From Queenpedia.com

Jump to: navigation, search

Credits

Written by: Brian May
Produced by: Queen and Roy Thomas Baker
Musicians:

Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals

Brian May - acoustic and electric guitars, toy koto, backing vocals

John Deacon - bass guitar

Roger Taylor - drums, backing vocals

Length: 8:17

Discography

Albums:

A Night At The Opera, 1975

Singles:

None

Queen Talks

"I had a dream about what seemed like revenge on people, and I couldn't really work out in the dream what it was that people had done wrong. It was something like a flood. Things had gone much too far and as a kind of reparation, the whole thing had to start again. In the dream, people were walking on the streets trying to touch each others hands, desperate to try to make some sign that they were caring about other people. I felt that the trouble must be – and this is one of my obsessions, anyway – that people don't make enough contact with each other. A feeling that runs through a lot of the songs I write is, that if there is a direction to mankind, it ought to be a coming together, and at the moment, it doesn’t seem to be happening very well. I worry about it a lot. I worry about not doing anything about it. Things seem to be getting worse."

"But I wasn't trying to preach in the song at all. I was just trying to put across the questions which are in my mind, rather than the answers, which I don't believe I have. The only answer I can see is to be aware of things like that and to sort of try to put yourself to rights. There is an overseer in the song, though, whose cry to the multitudes is to 'listen to the warning of the seer'. In the song is this guy who also appeared in the dream. I don't really know whether he was a prophet or an impostor, but anyway, he's standing up there and saying, 'Look, you've got to mend your ways.' I still don't know whether he's the man who thinks he's sent from God or whether he isn't. The song asks questions rather than gives answers."

Brian May - 1975

"'The Prophets Song' had been around for quite a long time, and I finished the lyrics off when we were making the album. I don't know exactly what inspired the words – I had a dream about some of it which I put into the song."

Brian May - 1975

"Brian has an outrageous mammoth epic track which is one of our heaviest numbers to date. He's got his guitar extravaganza on it. You see, Brian has acquired a new guitar specially built so he can almost make it speak. It will talk on this track."

Freddie Mercury - 1975, interview with Kenny Everett

"That's a Brian May track really. It's one of the nicest songs on the album. It really took a long while to record that one. A lot of work has gone into that track, and he practically went insane trying to get it together. We do that completely different on stage... It's one of the things that we wanted to do, y'know; the same as I wanted to do the operatic side of things in Bohemian Rhapsody. Brian wanted to try a completely different angle on that track. It's something that he had in mind for a long while and I think it's been very successful."

Freddie Mercury - 21/05/1976, Record Mirror

Additional Information

Originally titled 'People Of The Earth' and divided into four parts, as seen and explained by Roy Thomas Baker on the DVD The Making Of A Night At The Opera.
Evidently, the idea of releasing the song as the lead single from the album was thrown around until Bohemian Rhapsody was decided upon.

Chords & Tabs

chords

Lyrics

Oh oh people of the earth
Listen to the warning the seer he said
Beware the storm that gathers here
Listen to the wise man

I dreamed I saw on a moonlit stair
Spreading his hand to the multitude there
A man who cried for a love gone stale
And ice cold hearts of charity bare
I watched as fear took the old man's gaze
Hopes of the young in troubled graves
'I see no day' I heard him say
So grey is the face of every mortal

Oh oh people of the earth!
'Listen to the warning' the prophet he said
For soon the cold of night will fall
Summoned by your own hand

Ah ah children of the land
Quicken to the new life take my hand
Fly and find the new green bough
Return like the white dove

He told of death as a bone white haze
Taking the lost and the unloved babes
Late too late all the wretches run
These kings of beasts now counting their days
From mother's love is the son estranged
Married his own his precious gain
The earth will shake in two will break
And death all round will be your dowry

Oh oh people of the earth
Listen to the warning the seer he said
For those who hear and mark my words
Listen to the good plan

Oh oh oh oh and two by two my human zoo
They'll be running for to come
Running for to come out of the rain

Oh flee for your lives who heed me not
Let all your treasures make you fear for your life
Deceive you not the fires of hell will take you
Should death await you

Ah people can you hear me?
And now I know and now I know
And now I know and now I know
That you can hear me
And now I know and now I know
And now I know now I know
Now I know now I know
Now I know now I know
Now I know
The earth will shake in two will break
Death all around around around around
Around around around around
Now I know now I know
Now I know now I know
Now I know now I know
Now I know now I know
Now I know now I know
Now I know
Wo wo wo wo wo wo wo wo wo
Listen to the wise listen to the wise listen to the wise
Listen to the wise listen to the wise man
La la
La la la la la la
La la la la la la
La la la la la la
La la la la la la
La la la la la la
La la la la la la
La la
La la
La la
Come here I hear you
Come here I hear you
Come here I hear you
Ah ah ah ah ah
Listen to the man listen to the man listen to the man listen to the mad man

God gave you grace to purge this place
And peace all around may be your fortune
Oh oh children of the land
Love is still the answer take my hand
The vision fades a voice I hear
Listen to the madman!
But still I fear and still I dare not
Laugh at the madman!