Jesus

Simply, it's about Jesus. I've read it was one of the first (if not THE first) song written specifically for the band. Freddie wasn't Christian, he was Zoroastrian (sp?) so why he wrote a song about Jesus is a mystery, but I doubt that it was a profound religious statement.

Regardles of what peopple think was on Freddie's mind at the time...this is a very good song.

I'm the first smiles This song, I think comes right before Seven Seas Of Ryhe (instrumental) on their first album. I listened to it once and foaund it quite biographic, really. I'm not sure who wrote it, but I play it often now.

Queen's first two or three albums painted a somewhat mystical picture of the world. The lyrics and the music seem to take us into a place that's almost like some kind of semi-Shakespearean version of Middle Earth. Everything is dramatic and the songs are embellished with all sorts of interesting characters like; fairies, ogres and of course the mystical, nameless, wise old man.

I think it's unclear whether Freddie was an atheist, an agnostic or a Zoroastrian - particularly at that point in his life. What is almost certain however is that Freddie was not a Christian. Never the less, I think Jesus is an extremely interesting character for Freddie and is, at the very least, worthy of some thought and musical attention.

Even the mighty Richard Dawkins (arguably the most famous “out” atheist in the world) has said that the teachings of Jesus are radical enough and ethical enough to be worthy of special treatment. On the net, for example, you'll find pictures of Dawkins wearing t-shirts that say “Atheists for Jesus”. Jesus, whether you are a religious person or not, is considered by people like Dawkins and (I think) Freddie to be a somewhat exceptional character as far as religion and spirituality goes. Jesus, it seems, cannot be dismissed so easily as some of the lead characters from other mainstream religions.

So, in this song Freddie is not saying that he is a follower of Jesus. He's not saying that Jesus was good or bad or was the son of God or old (as a previous commentator suggested). He is merely bringing Jesus into the spotlight and giving him the classic Queen treatment. In a way it's a tribute to Jesus. At the very least Freddie would have regarded Jesus as a radical peace loving hippy whose philosophy was centuries ahead of his time. There are certainly not any hints of any insults towards Jesus in the song.

However, the song doesn't seem to make any concrete declarations either way about how Freddie really feels about Jesus. There is merely a scattering of observations made by the narrator in which Jesus performs some good deeds. Even the old man doesn't say a word - “he just stared about him.”

And so this brings us onto the central message of the song. In the song the narrator (and indeed the old man) are merely observing Jesus. They're not making any declarations either way about whether Jesus was the son of God. So, I think you can think of the narrator/singer as being a curious, silent and perhaps undecided observer. If we were to put some kind of label on this perspective then I think agnostic would be the best word to choose. It is significant that the narrator of the song is able to remove himself from the rest of the frantic masses who are so enthusiastically all going down to see Jesus.

I think Freddie/the voice/the narrator was not entirely sure how he felt about Jesus. But he was certainly curious and he was not about to be swayed by whatever the masses were doing. So, if there is any message for the listener here then I think the message would be for you to be a non conforming free thinker. You alone have the power and the right to embrace, reject or even create your own religion. But whatever you do decide to do then you ought to be able to step back and make a decision on how you're going to live your life based on your own deductive reasoning. You don't have to be like the desperate masses all fleeing to Jesus so repetitively. You are free to think for yourself and you should use this power. That is the meaning behind this song and like all of Queen's music the song has strong existentialist undertones.

I'm the first smiles This song, I think comes right before Seven Seas Of Ryhe (instrumental) on their first album. I listened to it once and foaund it quite biographic, really. I'm not sure who wrote it, but I play it often now.

I think this song is basicly to tell the story of the Lord Jesus of Nazareth who's tale was told in the new testament of the bible

the thjing to look at here more than what its written about, whihc is pretty staright forward, is the fact that it was written at all. Why modives were in Freddie that he was writing this kind of material? It ties into the time period of his life, his feelings, his exploration... LOTS of stuff about him, a boy only, at this point really.

Miss Anie is right, I've never found out why he had written it at that time, why HE had written it at all. It's so not like him, ok it's on Queen I, so he wasn't all about "Let me entertain you all, dears", he gave more of himself probably, and was trying to find his own style. Actually in Queen I, they ALL had to find their own style, who has started to come to life in Queen II, to be totally found in ANATO. In between Sheer heart attack was some sort of rehearsal, a little evolution. You can see it as the choirs in Killer Queen have changed since "Fairy feller's masterstroke" or "March of the black Queen", it's softer, more opera like, before of course Bo Rhap, that lead to all the "somebody to love", "we are the champions" and such (concerning the choirs style and multi tracking etc)

Yes, I kind of wonder why he wrote it, but another important question is why he wrote it the way it is. Being a Christian, I noticed that there were things in it that weren't accurate to the Bible, like saying Jesus was old. Was there a reason for it, or was Freddie just incorrect? And why did he put Jesus's birth last? Was there a reason, or did that randomly seem to sound best?

It's about Jesus