{"id":152373,"date":"2026-03-04T14:03:35","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T14:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/152373\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T14:03:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T14:03:35","slug":"which-queen-songs-did-brian-may-write","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/152373\/","title":{"rendered":"Which Queen songs did Brian May write?"},"content":{"rendered":"

4 March 2026, 13:42 | Updated: 4 March 2026, 13:44<\/p>\n

\"Which<\/p>\n

Which of Queen’s most famous songs did guitarist Brian May write?<\/p>\n

Picture:
\nMichel Linssen\/Redferns\/Getty Images<\/p>\n


\n \"Facebook
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Freddie Mercury was the mastermind behind Bohemian Rhapsody and countless other Queen hits – but which of their classic songs did guitarist Brian May pen?<\/p>\n

Hammer To Fall<\/p>\n

\u201cGive it to me one more time!\u201d Brian May proves he can rock as hard as any heavy metal guitar hero with this anthem from the career-boosting 1984 album The Works. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Queen – Hammer To Fall (Official Video)<\/p>\n

Tie Your Mother Down<\/p>\n

A parodic song about a lad getting worked up about a young girl, this track from 1976\u2019s A Day At The Races hasn\u2019t dated well, but that\u2019s an amazing riff at the start. Despite the questionable lyrics, Queen + Adan Lambert still perform this track live.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Queen – Tie Your Mother Down (Official Video)<\/p>\n

Flash<\/p>\n

\u201cAh-aaahh!\u201d One of the most famous movie theme tunes ever? The 1980 adaptation of the classic newspaper comic strip was super-camp, but Queen took their job as soundtrackers seriously. May wrote the sparse theme tune, which builds tension and has a glorious middle eight, sung by Mercury: \u201cJust a man, with a man\u2019s courage\u2026\u201d Take that, Superman.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Queen – Flash (Official Video)<\/p>\n

Keep Yourself Alive<\/p>\n

Brian May had the distinction of penning the very first Queen single, released in July 1973. It didn\u2019t chart, but the song led off Queen\u2019s first, self-titled debut album. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Queen – Keep Yourself Alive (Live at the Hammersmith Odeon 1975)<\/p>\n

We Will Rock You<\/p>\n

Together with Freddie Mercury\u2019s We Are The Champions, this is the ultimate audience participation double-header – the stomping verses are merely a prelude for another expertly-delivered Brian May solo. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Queen – We Will Rock You (Official Video)<\/p>\n

Save Me<\/p>\n

Supreme power ballad with a heart-breaking sentiment, given a fantastically ethereal guitar solo by May. Taken from the album The Game.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Queen – Save Me (Official Video)<\/p>\n

Good Company<\/p>\n

Among Bohemian Rhapsody and You\u2019re My Best Friend, the 1975 album A Night At The Opera includes this virtuoso performance in which Brian May recreates the sound of an entire jazz band! <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Queen – Good Company (Official Lyric Video)<\/p>\n

Now I\u2019m Here<\/p>\n

One of Freddie Mercury\u2019s favourite songs to perform on stage, this Sheer Heart Attack song was released as a single in early 1975 and was based on the band\u2019s experiences touring with Mott The Hoople in the US.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Queen – Now I’m Here (Official Video)<\/p>\n

Fat Bottomed Girls<\/p>\n

Along with Tie Your Mother Down, this is one of the more \u201c1970s\u201d style lyrics in the Brian May back catalogue, but the song received a new lease of life when it was featured in an episode of Glee. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Queen – Fat Bottomed Girls (Official Video)<\/p>\n

I Want It All<\/p>\n

Queen made a huge comeback in 1989 and their album The Miracel, with this storming rock tune, written by Brian May following his divorce with his first wife Christine. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Queen – I Want It All (Official Video)<\/p>\n

Las Palabras de Amor (The Words of Love)<\/p>\n

One of the few Queen ballads to be released as a single, this charming song is delivered impeccably by a newly-moustachioed Freddie Mercury.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Queen – Las Palabras De Amor (Top Of The Pops, 1982)<\/p>\n

The Show Must Go On<\/p>\n

\u201cInside my heart is breaking \/ My make-up may be flaking \/ But my smile still stays on.\u201d The final Queen single to be released during Freddie Mercury\u2019s lifetime, this is a heart-breaking song about the singer\u2019s determination to keep working despite being seriously ill. On 24 November 1991, Mercury died from pneumonia, caused by AIDS. He was 45.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Queen – The Show Must Go On (Official Video)<\/p>\n

Who Wants To Live Forever<\/p>\n

Epic orchestral ballad taken from the soundtrack to the Highlander movie – the song refers to the immortal hero of the film, while his mortal wife ages and dies. Since the tragic early death of Freddie Mercury, the lyrics have taken on a new poignancy. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Queen – Who Wants To Live Forever (Official Video)<\/p>\n

Scandal<\/p>\n

Another song written by May following his divorce, this attack on tabloid newspapers came about following his experiences with the paparazzi over his relationship with soap star Anita Dobson.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Queen – Scandal (Official Video)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"4 March 2026, 13:42 | Updated: 4 March 2026, 13:44 Which of Queen’s most famous songs did guitarist…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-152373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}