QUEEN | Great King Rat | Official Lyric Video | First Time Reaction 

One of their very early songs. John Deacon mentioned this during an interview that this is one song that he learned to audition for Queen

The whole Queen II album is built around that magical world, it tells a story about Ogres, the white queen who turns into the black queen, the seven seas of rhye and things like that. There were a few other songs before and later wich could fit into that world. You only get the full experience if you listen to the full album. You might have already reacted to a few songs from Queen II, but it gets a whole new meaning if you listen to them together.

So many of Freddie's songs sound like being inspired by classical literature, but, surprisingly, he didn't read books! Or if he did it was before the 70s, when he was a kid. Freddie himself said he never reads and all his friends said they never saw him with a book, not even once. Freddie's writing process was a mystery for everyone.

You mean "der Rattenfänger von Hameln" The rat catcher from Hameln. A German legend. Hameln had a plague of rats, the pied piper led the rats with his flute into a river where they drowned (well, rats can actually swim). When the citizens did not give him the agreed payment, he led the children away with his flute.

One my favorite songs of Queen you should try the live version at Rainbow, even better than the studio with an amazing solo

John was really coming through with his bass. He fell right in with the flow. It did sound like Freddie was rapping, in a way! That was a fast paced song! I am glad you chose the lyric version. Thanks, once again, for showing the artistry of these geniuses. From the title, I thought about their "thief" manager. King Rat! 👏👏👏👏 BTW, the gif was funny! 👍

This is an early song, related to 7 seas of rye and My Fairy King...love the raw sound, the kind of insane lyrics, the drums hitting hard, and the rhythm. An absolute masterpiece. Great one, as usual, Hap 🤗💯👑

I played that Queen cassette tape until it bled back in the day, All the tracks are stand outs but "Doing Alright" and "My Fairy King" are immaculate

Rogers falsetto in the background being used like and instrument then blended with Freddies falsetto, amazing and Rogers drumming like a galloping horse, so much going on.

To quote the Bo Rhap movie (save the comments, I know it's not gospel), " True poetry is for the listener." They all wanted their songs to speak to the individual listener in a very personal way. That's one reason why the tried to keep their videos as generic as possible, as not to place a certain meaning or feeling in to the listeners mind and take away the personal impact of the song.

LOL Great king rat actually makes me think of a sleazy mob boss or something. Thanks for reading that bit about the nursery rhyme. I would never have thought of that. It makes perfect sense when you think about it. Freddie's mysterious taste and knowledge is ever-present in his poetry. For a man who hardly ever held a book, he sure knew his classic literature references! Funny you should mention Disney, there is an underrated movie from 1992 called "The great mouse detective" which was basically Sherlock Holmes for mice and the villain was Professor Ratigan "the world's greatest criminal mind" voiced by the late great Vincent Price. However, Freddie was also a big fan of ballet, so there is also the rat king from the nutcracker ballet as well. Thats all I can think of in manner of stories with rats as villains. Nothing is concrete in his lyrics though as others have already said. In regard to his religious struggles, a little reminder his family was Zoroastrian, and he also went to a school lead by evangelical nuns, so he also might have been (as my parents describe themselves) a "traumatized christian".

Oh, I've been waiting for this one! (Yes, commenting before watching ... )

Queen II is time and time again the album I come to as my favourite of all the studio offerings, just a masterpiece.

This song just proves more and more what a Great Drummer Roger is, I cant believe people calling him simple and easy to replicate. This is a Great typical Queen type of song thanks for bringing me back to this. Your reactions always make me Happy. 11:43 Yes these Drums sound very 70's and you could always recognize that these Drums are from the 70's, the reason is because of the Quality these Drums have on the record, I heard at the time with their current Music Label Roger had the problem that their way of putting the Drums in had a little to low power in the Bass Drums and stuff than what he wanted, I mean yes it could've sounded better and especially it would be interesting how it would sound if they did it today with todays technology and production, but still even the low power Bass Drums are part of history because that's what made the early days of Queen and no matter that these Drums could've sounded better, the whole Album sounded amazing. Atleast you could hear the Power of Roger's Drums in the Live shows because that wasn't a Music Label thing but a raw live thing so thats Great. I would still like to recommend you the band Rainbow, Guitarist Richie Blackmore from Deep Purple, Cozy Powell on Drums, and the Best Vocalist of all Metal Ronnie James Dio. You will definitely stumble upon Dio sooner or Later so it would be great to start of with Rainbow's Song Stargazer, it's Symphonic Rock and you can definitely hear what an incredible Voice Dio has. Dio learned Singing by himself just like Freddie though Dio had advantages at learning since he played Trumpet as a kid. Anyways here the link to a great Visual next to the song Stargazer ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rVXy1OhaERY.html The Video is like a compilation of their live shows and stuff so its pretty cool to see, what I especially like about Rainbow is how majestic they are, Very similar to Queen. Their Live stages had a Rainbow you gotta look out for their stage in that Video, the Rainbow gives some cool light stuff. I'll just shut up, One day you will see it and you'll understand by yourself. Great Reaction.

One of my favorites Thank you

I bought this album in winter 1973. This song always reminds me of winter still 😃 Of course back then the only way to listen to the album was at home 🏡

The whole album is about a fantasy world called Rhye, that Freddie created with his sister. The middle part of the song is the great king rat talking, IMO. Great instrumentation and great song, though anything Queen does is amazing, IMO.

i always feel strange when i remember that Freddie has written a song about some old dude who died of syphilis at 44.. great reaction as always!

Awesome reaction 👍🏼💯 My first time listening to this song and I absolutely loved it ! I liked your interpretation a lot cause it helped me to enjoy this song more and those drum hits !! 🥁 Great great great !! ❤️❤️❤️

This is one of my favs from them. I think you might like My Fairy King too. Thank you for covering this song. Not a lot of people do the 'less' popular ones. Thank you for your time and effort as well. Stay safe out there everyone.

Hey man love the reactions. There’s a version of this with him live at the rainbow. I’d say that performance is one of Queens best and one of the best in music history. I’m biased since I love queen but I would love a reaction to the live version.

La grande fantastica mente geniale di Freddie creava musica dove altri vedevano solo letteratura. E ha continuato con la fantasia a volare fino a Lily on the valley che ha chiuso il cerchio . Ma si può interpretare la sua musica in mille modi diversi . Grazie Hap 👏👏 per questa bella recensione 💖😘🌹

This would be the 3rd song that most of us would have heard from a new band called Queen. This song is FULLY LOADED isn’t it? So early on, they found their sound. Crazy instrumentation and strong charismatic vocals, they’d take with them thru the years!

THE BRILLIANCE, AND IMAGINATION OF FREDDIES LYRICS TO THE MUSICALITY OF IT ALL MADE THIS A ONE OF A KIND MASTERPIECE..LOVED THE AWESOME ANALYSIS, HAP!! AND THE BOOK REFERAL IS A GREAT TOUCH!!💜🎶👑

Great reaction!! You guessed from the title that it was from Rhye!! Freddie was certainly someone who was born with the ability to imagine and fantasize at a high level. Those are some of my favorite songs. I sometimes have to listen a few times before the meaning comes to me.

Ok my opinion, Freddie in the early days was struggling with his sexuality and his religion, many of his song deal with darkness and light. The Black Queen is not about a pie maker, in Freddie's struggle, he views his attraction to men as dark, at one point in the song he is reminded to spread his wings he is an angel. Freddie's religion viewed homosexuality as demon possession. After the Bohemian Rhapsody track, his struggling was over, he made his full decision about his sexuality, he told Mary and moved into a new life. Some who knew him said Freddie was never completely comfortable about his sexuality, but he was raised to believe God, and I feel Freddie never stopped believing in God, I may be completely wrong, but that's what I see.

Yes you finally are doing one song off of their first album QUEEN from 1973. FREDDIE use to refer to an dirty old man he use to know. I think he is tslking about that manager that screwed them out of money. I get cross another song off of the list that you havent heard. Does QUEEN ever makes sense ?? Thank you HAP. Take care. Have a good evening. Your girl, QUEEN BEE.

Love, love, love your reactions. It makes my day when i see you have a new Queen reaction. One of my favorite songs is misfire. Waiting patiently for you to do it. Also love when Freddie does Big Spender. Stay safe.

Awesome reaction! Nice that you have reacted to this one. The live version at the Rainbow 1974 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nNDOazfRg08.html is better. I would say this is the first song in Freddie's fantasy world. The song is somewhat backwards, it starts with telling you how the Great King Rat died, and then it looks at the issues before his death. You have to think of a Game Of Thrones or War Of The Roses type of situation. Everyone is sitting around and waiting for the King to die, his power is slipping out of hands. He is surrounded by family who are rivals. The reference to don't listen to what mama says is meant as a warning to not listen to the family. In those days your family could have been your biggest rival. Everyone is working out how to gain power, from his death. It is like vultures sitting around your death bed. They are spreading the propaganda that the king was a very bad and evil person. The narrator is actually telling you that it is all lies, that you have to look a bit deeper. There is the comparison to Jesus being crucified while they only realized the next day what they had really done. The song is really about spreading propaganda. Which is an interesting topic for a song. This is the first song in the fantasy series, the next song is My Fairy King. In My Fairy King the kingdom is attacked and the kingdom falls, because of the pride and vanity of the Fairy King. You realize that Fairy King took over the position through scheming but he was not actually a good ruler. The Great King Rat was perhaps a dirty old man on the outside, but he was actually a good ruler. That is my interpretation of the story, there might be people who disagree. The song does have great drumming, but Queen's first album did not have the drumming sound they were after, and unfortunately you can see or hear it the best on The Great King Rat. Queen didn't like the drums on this album. That is why the live version is great, there the drums have that booming driving rhythm you would want on a song such as this. A very interesting aspect about the song, if you take out the 70's drum sound, or if you listen to the live version, is how modern this song sounds. It really sounds like a rock song that could have been done somewhere in the 2000's. It really sounded far ahead of it's time.

One of the tracks you're really gonna admire from the moment you're a real fan! Great reaction again! Thanks! 🥂

Freddie attended in school evening classes with classic literature readings and listening to operas! So he had knowledge of this in the youth...

King Rat was in the Nut Cracker story. It's basically a story a master villain whom ls evil which I think you can find in a lot of folklore stories. Its nuts but makes for a great heavy rock song.

When being asked what kind of people/fans listen to their music, Freddie said that, he thinks they are sophisticated audience..The complexity of lyrics and music, especially in their early work, does require imagination, intelligence and open mind..So, Hap, appreciating this song with intelligent yet emotional approach does put you into sophisticated category as intended...

Freddie’s Oedipal complex was showing … 😜

Great reaction Hap, it helped me appreciate this one since I’m relatively new to Queen only about 3 years

That was jaw dropping! Mysterious regarding the inspiration and meaning, and so technical and unique.

Happy birthday Great King Rat

Dont think it was a hit but it featured heavily in early queen concerts and as usual was amazing live

One of my favorites songs ever, Greetings from Argentina 😁

Great reaction, as always, thank you! I don’t think you’ve reacted to Sweet Lady or Good Company yet? Deep cuts for sure - interesting as Brian has said that he likes Sweet Lady as it is a “waltz”, and in Good Company, Brian uses his guitar to make all of the Dixie Land Band sounds - very awesome!

On the left the guitar on the right the drums, it feels like a man in the middle of the band

it's great song at the end of the song roger drums so great too i love it to hear...

@HAP3SPEAKZ HAP, I came upon some startling facts about Freddie's religious beliefs when I decided to read up on his Zoroastrian upbringing (to try to find some proof ) which was the religion of Persia since the 6th century BC... imagine ! I believe that he DID believe in a God based on his lyrics in so many of his songs he wrote. And there I unearthed some possible answers, let me explain.... I'm sure many of you have also noticed Freddie constantly wore a sash with several knots tied around his waist with his onstage outfits. In his religion whose MOST SIGNIFICANT teaching is to live your life embracing "GOOD THOUGHTS, GOOD WORDS, GOOD DEEDS". Come to find out that at the young age of 8 to 10, Zoroastrian boys go thru a ceremony called their "Navjote", like a Communion or Confirmation in other religions. The child is given a sacred white shirt with a decorative sash worn around his waist with 3 knots that stand for "GOOD THOUGHTS, GOOD WORDS, GOOD DEEDS" .... & then they begin practicing the KUSTI ritual which is to recite prayers pledging his intent to live by GT, GW, G DEEDS . For years I've wondered about those ever present sashes ! To me, since his faith forbade homosexuality, I now firmly believe it was so oh, so private Farrouk/Freddie could have his belief in God be with him despite his sexuality, which must have given him great pleasure & meaning. After all, that motto of "GT, GW, GDs" truly exemplified how people said he was... kind, generous, charitable, just what his parents taught him. It warms my heart & I really think this proves his belief in the way he was raised. Perhaps even more proof is found in my research where it states in the Z faith, (brace yourself for this!)... another physical symbol of living daily "GT, GW, GDs" is A MAN STANDING WITH HIS ARM RAISED UP & FORWARD, Freddie's iconic stance & in his famous Bronze statue on Lake Geneva , which in his Z faith shows his dedication to the pledge he took in his Navjote ceremony ! Also, Freddie declared his favorite clothing color was yellow, he had his famous Wembley jacket,, track suits,, lots of yellow always.. In the Zoroastrian religion , yellow was the color worn on ceremonies & holidays,, many pictures available to Google & see.. SO, I rest my case, I'm a believer that these were perhaps subliminal messages to his parents. Oh one more thing.... you know how when most Queen concerts ended onstage, Peter Hince (Freddie's roadie/assistant onstage) wrote in his great book QUEEN UNSEEN, had to hand Freddie bunches of flowers to throw out to the audiences & Peter had to pull off every thorn beforehand? After any Parsi boy's Navjote ceremony, the child was given a tray of flowers to give out to the attendees ! Just so typical of Freddie's astute intellect to work all of those Parsi rituals so privately into his life. Just another reason to respect & adore him.

Early Queen ❤️

Don't listen to your mama or you will be the rival. All mama's want good and teach good. If you listen to her then you are the rival of The Rat who always wants to corrupt. Not particulary difficult lyrics. Good vs evil. Black vs white. Hence the albums white side and black side. All Queen music explores the greys and touches on both sides to make it's point. That point is up to you.

i like 70s Queen songs

I don’t know why, but when I hear this song I always think of Al Capone 😅

Pls reacted to big country by in the big country.Field of fires....

I tell you what that mean by some people Freddie came out with his sexuality LOL By them all songs what Freddie wrote are about his sexuality ,Like really Freddie had not anything on his mind just his sexuality by them,LOOOOOL Personaly I dont think even Bohemian Rhapsody is his came outbut people are so obsessed it is already ridiculous Even songs what Freddie never wrote are about his sexuality by them I believe that B.Rhapsody have the same meaning like I am Valrus from Beatles

Pls reacted to ABBA Bang A- boomrang.

First

Not a hit Haps just one of their tracks from their first album.