Sunday, January 27, 2008

Under Pressure

One of my favorite songs is UNDER PRESSURE, by Queen and David Bowie. It might even be in my top five favorite songs of all time, if you listen to the structure of the music, it's constructed very much like a screenplay, falling into three acts.

Having said that, I have no idea what the boys are singing for about three quarters of the song. After listening to it on my ipod today a few times in a row while writing, I decided it was time for an Internet search to finally unscramble the lyrics.

So, as a public service, here you go:

Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you no man ask for
Under pressure - that burns a building
down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets
It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming let me out
Pray tomorrow - gets me higher
Pressure on people - people on streets
She been around
Kicked my brains round the floor
These are the days it rains but it never pours
People on streets
People on streets
It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming let me out
Pray tomorrow - high higher
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 - Ooooh
Insanity laughs under pressure we're
cracking
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
Love's such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves

This is our last dance
This is our last dance
This is ourselves
Under pressure
Under pressure
Pressure

Which just goes to show that, even though I now know what's words Freddie and Bowie are singing, I still have no idea what they mean.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

GREAT song! Yeah, those lyrics are a bit random. Flash soon mate!

Anonymous said...

Also in my top 5. I've just always taken it as poetry -- understood the basic message of the song -- because, really, do Queen lyrics ever make that much sense?

ANMPH said...

I agree, great song. Fantastic band.

MrNinja said...

Great song, too bad it's a rip off of 'Ice,Ice, Baby'

Brad Brown said...

Well no argument there Mr Champagne. Queen is a great band. I think they toured not too long ago with the lead singer of Bad Comapany (his name escapes me at the moment). Unfortunatley I don't think his vocal range really suited the music. Not really a rocker per say, I think George Michael would have made a decent replacement for Freddy. Besides what's he doing these days? Never mind that last question.

Back to the original intent of todays blog...I think those type of lyrics are rampant in Queen's music. As partial proof I present the end of the rockin' theme-song from Iron Eagle "One Vision" :

Gimme one night,
Gimme one hope,
Just gimme,
One man one man,
One bar one night,
One day hey hey,
Just gimme gimme gimme
Fried chicken

Mmm...fried chicken!

P.S. This week is Hamster week isn't it?

-BB