This song is from an album that was also a movie soundtrack. The album was written for the first Highlander movie. This song is the backdrop for a love scene involving an immortal.
I played this at my dad's funeral, he was a huge Queen fan and introduced me to them. At the end of the funeral I played Another One Bites The Dust, my dad would have found it hilarious.
Awesome. My two funeral songs for myself will be this one and Dust in the Wind by Kansas, which I first heard watching Highlander the series in a very similar way that this song was Incorporated into both the movie and the TV series.
Brain May (guitarists) was singing first. This was written for the movie "Highlander" 1986. He's an immortal & tired of outliving everyone & every woman he loves.
May also wrote the song, or at least most of it - Michael Kamen's Highlander score is definitely responsible for the orchestra playing in the background.
"He's an immortal & tired of outliving everyone & every woman he loves." To be fair that only happens the once - he finally understood what the stupid haggis was telling him when this is playing in the film.
How can you say Brian's voice is just a voice? The guy has huge hits and a wonderful solo career. No one is Freddie Mercury, but voices united together can be greater.
It's been said more than once that Brian May (and Roger Taylor!) could have fronted any band in the world except for the one that he was in. Queen could have never done all those gorgeous, dense harmonies live if Brian and Roger hadn't been fantastic singers too! (Though I'll bet that by now, Roger's lost some of his dog-whistle falsetto range!)
Ha! Brad hit the nail on the head. This is from the scene in "Highlander" when his first love was dying, and he held her in his arms as she passed away. "I love you my bonny Heather." One of the most powerful scenes in the movie.
I cannot listen to this song without tears. There's no reason; nothing bad in my life. Just this song brings me to tears every single time. It's like when I hear Pavarotti sing "Nessun Dorna." Tears just spring up from the depths, completely unbidden by conscious thought.
Queen was so impressed with the plot for Highlander that they ended up doing most, if not all, the soundtrack for the movie. This was the theme and is a heart wrenching banger. Then, so was the movie.
The scene where the kurgen is driving the car through New York with the squeeze in the passenger seat singing 'New York, New York' - movie legend. Queen did a masterful job on this soundtrack. ruclips.net/video/tuS2JDtwPXY/видео.html
This song was in Highlander both the movie and the series. When this song played, some serious tear-jerking death scene had just happened. The movie was about immortals and how they went thru pain every time their mortal love died.
The movie was NOT about immortals pain they went through every time their mortal love dies. I think it is time for someone to rewatch the movie. (It was about obtaining the ULTIMATE PRIZE, the knowledge of EVERYTHING! And the way to obtain it was to kill ALL other Immortals on Earth.) This song was played during a montage of his (the main characters) first love and how he lived through her whole life with her and didn't age a day yet she grew old and died IN HIS ARMS!
This is my absolute favorite Queen song. Brian starts the song off beautifully before Freddie takes over. Seeing it along with the scenes from the movie Highlander which this was written for makes it even more impactful and emotional as it shows the story of an immortal man in love with and married to a mortal woman, watching her grow old and die while he stays young and strong the entire time. This is going to be my funeral song when I die. Such a powerful, beautiful song.
Brian and Roger both have amazing voices. Freddy did not do it all by himself. Roger handled the truly high end while playing the drums and Brian had almost the same range as Freddie. Freddie was the front man, the show and the creative driver. As a whole they were Queen. Don't disregard the vocals of the other members.
It blows my mind that more people don’t talk about this song. A lot of reactors on RUclips just cover the top one or two songs from bands, but there are almost always better songs in their discography! Thank you for reacting to gems like this!
Its about an immortal man lamenting the fact that everyone he loves will eventually die...leaving him alone. A beautiful song, but a bit hard to completely wrap your head around unless you understand the context given to it by the film it was written for.
Yes and it was such a sad moment. You can feel the heartache and how awful to know you will keep losing people. Queen were such a great choice for this soundtrack and Freddie put so much emotion into that song. It was the song that many played over and over when learning of Freddie's death.
first person singing was guitarist brian may who is also the writer of this song as others have said the song is from the highlander movie which queen did the soundtrack for
Sorry but Lex misinterpreted the songs meaning. It's really about immortal love and as others mentioned before it was written for the movie "Highlander". By the way don't underestimate Brian May. He wrote half of Queen's songs and his voice is smooth and fits perfectly for the song's beginning.
Yeah Brian's voice is quite beautiful. You need his vocal qualities to harmonize with Freddies more erratic and over the top performances. That stability is what allows Freddies voice to run all over and still find home. The whole band is quite gifted vocally.
Brian's voice is good on some songs such as '39, but he should just have let Freddie sing this song. It is more classical and it fits Freddie's voice far better. Freddie's voice really adds extra dimension to the song.
Queen wrote the soundtrack for the movie Highlander & this song has a particular very moving significance during the film. Brian May starts the song before Freddie comes in. Just incredible
The fact that Freddy could not only record this but perform it live on stage while knowing he was dying of AIDS just shows the soul of the man. I get that same feeling from this as I do watching David Bowie's last video watching him dance while he's suffering immeasurably from cancer. Professional artists of the highest order.
The first guys voice was the voice of the writer of this song Dr. Brian May (he of the big hair and homemade guitar), his voice can be found singing lead on quite a few Queen songs (but almost never on live performances pre 1992). It is very important when listening to Queen music to not assume Freddie wrote it, all four band members wrote songs Freddie wrote the most, about 70 but when you consider there are about 180 in total that is not that many, their most recognizable one "We Will Rock You" was written by Brian May, their best selling single "Another One Bites The Dust" was written by John Deacon, and the song used for Freddie's farewell video "These Are The Days Of Our Lives" was written by Roger Taylor, Post 1986(I think although it might be a bit later) who wrote which Queen song is not as clear as they were all officially credited to Queen.
In this episode of Brad & Lex, chords and vocals and more chords and vocals create interest for the two as the twenty second intro draws them in. Brad's signature "side to side sway" isn't required, nor is it performed while his couch companion sprinkles in a few gentle "bops" here and there.
This is the first time that I highly, highly recommend you do a movie reaction as well. This song is part of the soundtrack for the movie 'Highlander'. I consider it one of the best movies made, thanks in part to this amazing soundtrack that was made almost exclusively by Queen. No, it does NOT center around the music of Queen, it is an amazing fantasy story. Watch it, don't see any other spoilers. But trust me, afterwards you'll understand when somebody says: "There can be only one!"
From the movie Highlander...beautiful and so hard listening to this coming from Freddy. In the movie the main character, who is immortal, must watch his love age and then eventually die.
Yeah - when this came out in 86 he had to know things were turning bad 😭, why do the good ones die young? Michael Kamen too who wrote the score for the film (and almost certainly the orchestral backing for this song) - he died in his early 50s with a sound recognisable to millions of children all over the world (HERE WE GOOOO!!!! from the Disney DVD advert, taken from Kamen's Robin Hood score).
'A kind of Magic', the album that this song is from is probably my favourite album of theirs. Most of the album, along with this song was the soundtrack to the 80s classic fantasy movie 'Highlander'.
While I also love "a kind of magic" I can't help but chuckle at the line in "don't lose your head" that goes, don't drink and drive at night, don't get paralyzed. I mean it's okay to drink and drive during the daytime? Lol. But I do remember that it wasn't penalized as much back then. M.a.d.d was really the driving force in getting harsher punishments for drunk driving.
This is Brian May's song by the way. He's the one who wrote it. And it was written for the soundtrack of a movie about a guy who was literally immortal. While watching his wife grow old and die while he goes on. Same theme as One Year of Love, which was written for the same movie.
Thankyou darlings. Always a pleasure to see your Queen reactions. You can’t put Queen in a box, that’s what I love about them. This is an absolutely fabulous work of art. I suggest Innuendo, a little darker but really a great masterpiece. Queen 4ever!
"You'd think it's about him being immortal". Nailed it! This is one song that really needs to be taken within the context of the movie for which it was written. Outside of that, it's totally different.
The song was written for the film Highlander and is about someone who is immortal and cannot die and how he is tired and depressed of having those he falls in love with get old and then die whilst he must carry on Century after Century after Century never getting old and never being able to die.
Another great Queen song/moment: Tommy, one of the original members of Cobra Kai in Karate Kid who said the infamous line "put him in a body bag" came back to play his character once again 35 years later for the 🐍 Cobra Kai series. Sadly Tommy died in the end of that season 2 episode. The emotional Queen song "The Show Must Go On" was played. The intense scene ended with him being placed in a body bag which ironically preceded the surprising real-life death of the actor Rob Garrison shortly after. No one involved with the show knew he was ill. He did not disclose the information & oddly the scene was more personal than anyone knew. Rob was happy he got to reprise his role & go out on such a high his wife said.
That ”voice” is the legendary Brian May! All members of Queen were multi-instrumentalists and vocalists as well as each member writing number one hits and all are inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame!
Brian May also earned a PhD degree in astrophysics from Imperial College London in 2007, and was Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University from 2008 to 2013. He was a "science team collaborator" with NASA's New Horizons Pluto mission. He is also a co-founder of the awareness campaign Asteroid Day.
@@owenfromkc3468 yes! He’s a very intelligent man! Also has his own animal rescue fund for saving badgers and other wildlife called Save Me! Very accomplished and very humble
The highlander is the movie this comes from. The last line of the song, which sadly you guys didn't hear is "who has forever anyway". Nobody in this world. This song actually makes me cry every time I hear it.
1) Brilliant of Lex to note the resonance w/ West Side Story; and Brad to note "Most Queen songs are different from most Queen songs; 2) Brad is like the center of the circle, still and quiet, and Lex roams wide, but the two are connected... As John Donne wrote centuries ago “If they be so two, they are two so As stiff twin compasses are two, Thy soul the fixed foot, makes no show To move, but doth, if th' other do. And though it in the centre sit, Yet when the other far doth roam, It leans, and hearkens after it, And [straightens up], as that comes home. Such wilt thou be to me, who must Like the other foot, obliquely run; Thy firmness makes my circle just [true, right] And makes me end, where I begun.” I think it was Brian May singing at first-- the guitarist and a songwriter- he wrote this; the dud also picked up a PhD in Astrophysics along the way.
Having grown up listening to the music I played on the weekends when cleaning house, my sons both loved the band Queen. This is one of the songs I had played at my oldest boy's funeral. I also had "Don't Try So Hard" and "My Bijou" played as well. You should react to them as well -- both beautiful, melancholy songs. Oh, and the song was written by Brian May (not Freddie) and I think it was Brian who started off singing the lead. So, we can't attribute what the song's about to be Freddie's issues with his sexuality -- but I DO think Freddie knew he was terminal at the time it was recorded. So I wonder if Brian wrote this song about Freddie and his life coming to an end while he was still relatively young.
One of my favorite songs from one of my favorite movies. You nailed it exactly Brad when you said "immortal'. Watch the movie, you'll enjoy it and it will put the song in context for you. "The Highlander' 1986
I think it's time for you guys to learn the names of the other band members of these popular bands. Like this "other guy" singing in the song who also wrote the song, Brian May, is one of the greatest guitarists to ever live! Put some respect on the name!! I mean, don't get me wrong, Freddie is one of my life heroes, but the other guys who aren't always front and center deserve some love too. That goes with any band! Thanks!
I know what your saying we all respect and know the names we grew up on it or I did I am 54 but you can't expect people that are just discovering a few songs of a band to know ALLthe names of the artists in a band just my opinion
That West Side Story connection is BRILLIANT. I reckon no one has ever made that connection before. And it's almost certainly true: Brian May and Freddie Mercury are/were very aware of Bernstein when they were young, as was my own father (who was only a few years older than Brian May). WSS was massive when it first came across to London theatres (before the movie), as my father often told me - with passion! It was part of his cultural landscape, and surely May's and Mercury's too.
I remember this from the movie, Highlander that Queen was commissioned to write songs for. This was such a powerful song for the immortal character who had to watch those he loved grow old and die while he had to stay.
Brian's inspiration for this was several things. He saw a scene from Highlander where his wife died. What was going on with Freddie. His dad was dying. His marriage was falling apart and we got this beautiful song.
It was only inspired by the movie - Brian wrote it after seeing the rushes for the relevant scenes. Freddie had not been diagnosed yet (the diagnosis wasn’t until 87). It’s true that Brian’s marriage was struggling, but *this* song wasn’t inspired by that. I’m not exactly sure when Brian’s father got his lung cancer diagnosis, but again this song was only about the scene in the movie where Connor MacLeod watches his beloved mortal wife Heather age and die while he remains young and unaging. Brian wrote it in the back of his car right after watching the first cut of Heather’s death scene.
@@rowanmayfair9249 I watched that whole show. Almost everyone was pretty rough to listen to. His performance was incredible. When you can make Brian May smile while singing in place of Freddie Mercury, you've done something special.
@@crankfastle8138 Amen. HE was something special himself. Wish Brad and Lex would give GM's older work a chance. Wham! is an acquired taste, lol. His voice was gold. Liquid gold. I had trouble watching most of tribute as well. Turned off the tv several times then had to rewatch years later on YT just to see what I may have missed!
you have to study the group of queens just by listening to their albums. there is a lot of good stuff out there. plus the songs in the album create the general mood of the album, its essence.
"Princes of the Universe" is also a great song from the Highlander, I think you should check out some early Queen. "Stone Cold Crazy" live at the Rainbow and "Spread your wings" official video are amazing! Now I'm here live at Wembley is a kick ass song that let's them all show off their talents. You two are really cute together.
This song was written by Queen Guitarist Brian May. It was written specifically for the first Highlander movie. Which came out in 1986. West Side Story came out in 1961. So you can draw from thar what you like. In the movie highlander. Connor McCloud (Christopher Lambert)finds out he is immortal. He semi rejects this idea. Then despite advice from his mentor Ramirez (played by Sir Sean Connery) stays with his first love and wife. The song plays as Connor stays with her as she grows old and finally dies of old age. Well he remains young as the day he met her. That is the meaning behind the song.
You guys really do need to see Highlander ( but only the 1st movie, DON’T bother with ANY of the others). This song amongst many, was made specifically for that movie, and for a very specific and emotional scene in that movie. Do a reaction to it (I.E. the whole full length movie) if you want, I’m sure the viewers won’t mind that either. This movie has an epic soundtrack that’s entirely Queen. And the 1st movie is actually a great movie in its own right.
Anything Queen Does is beautiful and very UNIQUE!!! Freddie IDOLIZED Elvis Presley!!!!!! and Freddie said --- I don't want to just be a rock star -- I wan to be a LEGEND! * HE WAS THAT *
Lex, personally I think Brian May has a voice like an angel in this and actually sings purer notes than Freddy does, not "just a voice". Freddy's voice is more unique sounding and has much wider range but I prefer Brian's intro here than later recordings where Freddy does the intro. And shock horror, Brad was spot on with interpretation on this one 😀
Yeah Brian's voice is quite beautiful. You need his vocal qualities to harmonize with Freddies more erratic and over the top performances. That stability is what allows Freddies voice to run all over and still find home. The whole band is quite gifted vocally.
Brian has a fine voice for some song, but this song would have been far better if Freddie had just sang it. The song has a classical feeling which fits Freddie's far more powerful voice better. Freddie had pure voice, he added grit to his voice on purpose. This is also partly why the live version tends to better.
The song was actually written by guitar player Brian May, that was why he sang the first verse. You really need to hear the live version, it blows this one away. I know it is kind of counterintuitive but Queen is better live than in the studio.
West Side Story came out about 25 years before this did. This was originally written for the Highlander movie, adn used also for the TV series. The main character is immortal and outlives everyone he loves.
All four members of Queen were very creative and wrote songs that became number one hits. If one of them came up with an idea, they talked about it and tried to make it work. The music was for the audience and that also everyone had something to listen to. They were not totally into a specific style or genre of music.
It was written as part of the soundtrack for the movie Highlander - the hero learns he is immortal, and then falls in love and watches his wife grow old and die while he remains ageless. They only have a brief moment together from his perspective and then she's dead. But it works just as well as an ordinary love song, because that's what life is like.
A kind of magic album is my favourite for Queen. Princes of the universe is worth checking out - was the sound track the highlander series with Adrian Paul which I preferred to the Highlander films.
Queen, the entire band, are such talented musicians. Everyone hears Queen and thinks Freddie, who is an amazing singer/songwriter, but every member was so talented.
This song is from the soundtrack for the first Highlander movie, the movie is about a literal immortal. There are other immortals in the story and their goal is to be the last surviving immortal, the catchphrase from the movie is "There can be only One"
That line "touch my woe with your finger tips" gives me chills It really sums up how being loved by someone feels sometimes that the most sincere contact seems to be with the most horrible flaws of yourself only to find that vulnerability is what love is all about.
In order to understand what this song is about you need to watch The Highlander. About an immortal who has one true love in his life and this song plays while he lives her life with her til the end of hers. It is so touching. The entire film is Queens soundtrack so you will be very impressed with it.
The lead guitarist, Brian May, wrote this song teaming up with Michael Kamen. The band After Forever also covered this song with Floor Jansen singing lead. There is guy who combined Floor's voice with Freddie's for this song. On the one you listened to Brian May sang with Freddie.
I have been a fan of the movie Highlander for many years. The song encompasses the journey of the immortals in the film. It's also more specifically, relates to the lead role 'Connor M'cloud', & how he loves his first wife & stays with her until old age claimed her. The song had very deep meaning in Connors journey what the immortals had to face with people they loved & living so long, to try win the prize, which would free them from immortality, as "there can be only one"!
Well, The name of the Band - Queen, Get it ? Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987. He continued to record with Queen, and posthumously featured on their final album, Made in Heaven (1995). He announced his diagnosis the day before his death, from complications from the disease, in 1991 at the age of 45. In 1992, a concert in tribute to him was held at Wembley Stadium, in benefit of AIDS awareness. His career with Queen was dramatised in the 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
Wow, Lex. Nice reference to West Side Story, I know both songs since I was a kid but never noticed that. That's why I love this channel. Hugs from Brazil!
Well, looks like I'm going to start binge watching Highlander again!:) One of my favorite series (movie too)...... I'm glad they used Connor MacLeod in the series!
As other people have said, this is from the sound-track of the film Highlander. Connor MacLeod is born, immortal, in 16th Century Scotland. This is played as his first love and wife Heather dies. She has grown old while he stays the same. It is one of the saddest pieces in a film ever. It is not a love scene as such, it is about a man learning the pain of being immortal. One Vision, the finale of the film is another fantastic track.
thank you! I love the comment that "most Queen songs are different from most Queen songs.." Yep, Brian started (he wrote the song)- but when Fred takes over it's obvious -- thanks!
This song is about a Man who cannot die , and he marries a girl - he loves her more than life itself - and while he is cursed to stay forever young , she grows old and ultimately dies in his arms , leaving him to be forever heart broken , eternally mourning for the love of his life 💔 😢
The first time I heard this song was a few months ago. It seems to magnify the wonder of Queen's music and especially Freddie's voice. I love how the reviewers seem entranced by the experience. Cool.
He's referring to the story of the film and TV series, Highlander. It's about a group of immortal people who have to hide from society and deal with constant threat of attack from another immortal as their end fate is for there to be only one left to attain life's ultimate prize.
The first time I heard this song was in the movie Highlander. It was the soundtrack as the immortal Connor McCleod spends years with his mortal wife. It was a very touching montage. The first person singing was Brian May, who wrote and composed this song. He also has the voice of an angel.
@5:40, in the Highlander movies the immortal characters are usually adults when they find out they can't die. So they don't grow old, get sick and can heal from anything. They have to spend their long lives watching anyone they get close to just grow old and wither away. By the time many make the discovery they could already be married or trying to have a family. On top of being immortal they can't sire or bear children. So many of life's choices and experiences have already "been decided for them". So that is why they say "there is no place or time for them" to just be people. In the first Highlander movie, the main character Conner MacCleod is told by his teacher to break up with his wife Heather go for these reasons. His teacher felt Heather could then find someone that who could grow old with her and raise a family. Instead Conner stayed with his wife throughout the decades of her normal life. She grew old and while he remained young. As she lay dying she said she regretted not being able to give him children. He couldn't tell her that their lack of children had nothing to do with her.
"There's no time for us...There's no chance for us" The transient nature of life and a seemingly harsh fate that controls everything. There is a sense of doom and hopelessness, even despair at the beginning of this song. The harshness of living forever - immortality is not to be prized, but is a burden. Therefore: make the most of what time you do have, and do not wish for more. "But touch my tears..." However, love makes any life worth living, and is worth the hurt and the pain - even if you know you will lose that love. This is when the song blossoms - but even when singing of this joy of love, there is an underlying sadness and grieving. Perhaps there is a hint that you cannot have one love in your life if that is taken away from you - "who dares to love forever/When that love must die" could mean both who dares to love the same person forever or, who would dare to love again? Also, being with the one you love can feel like forever - in a good way - in that the moment seems to stretch into eternity...
Brian May was friends with the director of The Highlander and watched the original cut of the film with no sound track. After watching the film, he asked if they could do the entire score, the director agreed. Queen had previously done the soundtrack of the the Flash Gordon film also.
Wow the fact that you guys did my favorite Queen is crazy. This song gives such power and hits harder then most of there songs for me and it’s one of the more mellow songs. The drums joe thry build and the guitar solo just absolutely flawless. I believe Freddy wrote this a round the time he was keeping his aids a secret, so maybe it might have to deal with that mindset. Anyways Queen never fails to deliver and neither do you guys!!!
This was a song for the Highlander movie. It was a movie whose main character was immortal. It played while they showed a sequence where his wife aged and died while he did not. It's a must watch.
This song is from an album that was also a movie soundtrack. The album was written for the first Highlander movie. This song is the backdrop for a love scene involving an immortal.
the GREATEST love scene ever shot
That wasn't "a love scene". It was their whole time together and it had to end... Much, so much more than one "love scene". :)
His bunny Heather
@@meliplay Bonnie
They also did the intro song to a Flash Gordon movie.
"Most Queen songs are different than most Queen songs."
Truer words have never been spoken.
So very true. That musical diversity is what makes Queen so unique.
Literally paused to tell my husband that quote and he said “holy sh*t…that’s so true”
There's a simple reason for that, they all wrote separately. Brian May wrote and took the intro vocals on this one
You can only COmpare Queen to themselves; no other band is CLOSE to what Queen was capable of
Fact!
I played this at my dad's funeral, he was a huge Queen fan and introduced me to them. At the end of the funeral I played Another One Bites The Dust, my dad would have found it hilarious.
Awesome. My two funeral songs for myself will be this one and Dust in the Wind by Kansas, which I first heard watching Highlander the series in a very similar way that this song was Incorporated into both the movie and the TV series.
I played this at my dad's funeral aswell! Perfect song x
Another one bites the dust lol. That's great
@@sadfaery I'd want Kansas Carry on My Wayward Son
than I guess he would also have liked all dead all dead
Brain May (guitarists) was singing first.
This was written for the movie "Highlander" 1986. He's an immortal & tired of outliving everyone & every woman he loves.
May also wrote the song, or at least most of it - Michael Kamen's Highlander score is definitely responsible for the orchestra playing in the background.
"He's an immortal & tired of outliving everyone & every woman he loves."
To be fair that only happens the once - he finally understood what the stupid haggis was telling him when this is playing in the film.
Connor only loved one person..... his bonny Heather this song was used in the aging and death montage of Heather
@@mnomadvfx 👍
@@mikemclaughlin3306 👍
How can you say Brian's voice is just a voice?
The guy has huge hits and a wonderful solo career.
No one is Freddie Mercury, but voices united together can be greater.
It's been said more than once that Brian May (and Roger Taylor!) could have fronted any band in the world except for the one that he was in.
Queen could have never done all those gorgeous, dense harmonies live if Brian and Roger hadn't been fantastic singers too!
(Though I'll bet that by now, Roger's lost some of his dog-whistle falsetto range!)
Ha! Brad hit the nail on the head. This is from the scene in "Highlander" when his first love was dying, and he held her in his arms as she passed away. "I love you my bonny Heather." One of the most powerful scenes in the movie.
One of my fave films, great soundtrack... The kurgan is my favourite though
@@That-Ginger-Chick Better 2 Burnout than 2 fade away.👍
Light a candle for me on my birthday (sobs)
@@That-Ginger-Chick Clancy Brown. For the millennials and later gens, the voice of Mr Krabs from S Bob.
@@andypickle1584 Clancy Brown. Also I dug Him in Pathfinder, The Burrowers, and SpongeBob. 👍😁👍
I cannot listen to this song without tears. There's no reason; nothing bad in my life. Just this song brings me to tears every single time. It's like when I hear Pavarotti sing "Nessun Dorna." Tears just spring up from the depths, completely unbidden by conscious thought.
You are a lucky Person :)
It's just life; I was quite taken with the quote from the late Queen Elizabeth: " Grief is the price we pay for love..."
Queen was so impressed with the plot for Highlander that they ended up doing most, if not all, the soundtrack for the movie. This was the theme and is a heart wrenching banger. Then, so was the movie.
There can be only one!
In my opinion there should have been only one movie. Nothing more, ever!
@@RustyDust101 Yes 😄. Although the TV series also had its moments.
The scene where the kurgen is driving the car through New York with the squeeze in the passenger seat singing 'New York, New York' - movie legend. Queen did a masterful job on this soundtrack.
ruclips.net/video/tuS2JDtwPXY/видео.html
loved the movie ya stupid haggis
@@Veyron1967 Never found a full verion of that song. Unfortunately. It's not in Queen's "A Kind of Magic".
This song was in Highlander both the movie and the series. When this song played, some serious tear-jerking death scene had just happened. The movie was about immortals and how they went thru pain every time their mortal love died.
Loved the series as well as the movie. Wish I could find the series on DVD
The movie was NOT about immortals pain they went through every time their mortal love dies. I think it is time for someone to rewatch the movie. (It was about obtaining the ULTIMATE PRIZE, the knowledge of EVERYTHING! And the way to obtain it was to kill ALL other Immortals on Earth.)
This song was played during a montage of his (the main characters) first love and how he lived through her whole life with her and didn't age a day yet she grew old and died IN HIS ARMS!
"The first guy" - is the founder of the Queen, composer, the author of the song, and one of the best guitarists of the world ;)
One of the founders
Amen!
This is my absolute favorite Queen song. Brian starts the song off beautifully before Freddie takes over. Seeing it along with the scenes from the movie Highlander which this was written for makes it even more impactful and emotional as it shows the story of an immortal man in love with and married to a mortal woman, watching her grow old and die while he stays young and strong the entire time. This is going to be my funeral song when I die. Such a powerful, beautiful song.
This will be my funeral song as well
I'm scottish. Well said friend.
I love Brian's voice in this song. He begins it sounding like a choirboy, then Freddie takes over with a voice like an angel.
@@neuralmute Absolutely. His voice is so clear and lovely before Freddie takes over & continues the song.
Well said, Brad! “No Queen song sounds like a Queen song.”
yep, perfect comment.
Brian and Roger both have amazing voices. Freddy did not do it all by himself. Roger handled the truly high end while playing the drums and Brian had almost the same range as Freddie. Freddie was the front man, the show and the creative driver. As a whole they were Queen. Don't disregard the vocals of the other members.
It blows my mind that more people don’t talk about this song. A lot of reactors on RUclips just cover the top one or two songs from bands, but there are almost always better songs in their discography! Thank you for reacting to gems like this!
Its about an immortal man lamenting the fact that everyone he loves will eventually die...leaving him alone.
A beautiful song, but a bit hard to completely wrap your head around unless you understand the context given to it by the film it was written for.
Yes and it was such a sad moment. You can feel the heartache and how awful to know you will keep losing people. Queen were such a great choice for this soundtrack and Freddie put so much emotion into that song. It was the song that many played over and over when learning of Freddie's death.
The great thing about Queen is that each member of the band has written a hit song.
This song was used in the movie "Highlander" about an immortal losing love over the centuries. The song
makes more sense in context of the movie
There can be only one
@@shanenolan8252 The series was good too.
@@darrenbent7601 yes very good . Duncan MacLeod.
FYI This Song is featured in The 80's movie Highlander and also used in the TV series based on the movie worth a watch if you have never seen it.
first person singing was guitarist brian may who is also the writer of this song as others have said the song is from the highlander movie which queen did the soundtrack for
Sorry but Lex misinterpreted the songs meaning. It's really about immortal love and as others mentioned before it was written for the movie "Highlander".
By the way don't underestimate Brian May. He wrote half of Queen's songs and his voice is smooth and fits perfectly for the song's beginning.
Yeah Brian's voice is quite beautiful. You need his vocal qualities to harmonize with Freddies more erratic and over the top performances. That stability is what allows Freddies voice to run all over and still find home. The whole band is quite gifted vocally.
Brian's voice is good on some songs such as '39, but he should just have let Freddie sing this song. It is more classical and it fits Freddie's voice far better. Freddie's voice really adds extra dimension to the song.
Lex, your reactions are SO expressive and honest. I absolutely adore you
Simple and relatable, the power of a classic. I still cry every time I see this scene in Highlander.......goodnight my bonnie Heather :(
Queen wrote the soundtrack for the movie Highlander & this song has a particular very moving significance during the film. Brian May starts the song before Freddie comes in. Just incredible
This song was played at my father's funeral in 1993. He loved Freddie.
The fact that Freddy could not only record this but perform it live on stage while knowing he was dying of AIDS just shows the soul of the man. I get that same feeling from this as I do watching David Bowie's last video watching him dance while he's suffering immeasurably from cancer. Professional artists of the highest order.
Knowing the history I always get emotional at the tiny "... I do." at the end of some versions of it.
This is my favourite Queen song.
It's placement in Highlander is also perfect.
The first guys voice was the voice of the writer of this song Dr. Brian May (he of the big hair and homemade guitar), his voice can be found singing lead on quite a few Queen songs (but almost never on live performances pre 1992).
It is very important when listening to Queen music to not assume Freddie wrote it, all four band members wrote songs Freddie wrote the most, about 70 but when you consider there are about 180 in total that is not that many, their most recognizable one "We Will Rock You" was written by Brian May, their best selling single "Another One Bites The Dust" was written by John Deacon, and the song used for Freddie's farewell video "These Are The Days Of Our Lives" was written by Roger Taylor, Post 1986(I think although it might be a bit later) who wrote which Queen song is not as clear as they were all officially credited to Queen.
In this episode of Brad & Lex, chords and vocals and more chords and vocals create interest for the two as the twenty second intro draws them in. Brad's signature "side to side sway" isn't required, nor is it performed while his couch companion sprinkles in a few gentle "bops" here and there.
One of the most amazing songs in the world! The song is full of spirit and motivation. Thank you so much for your reactions to "Queen"!
Princes of the Universe is another great song from this album and was made for the Highlander movie as well
Such a beautiful song,listen to the full album version,as soon as the strings come in it sends shivers down my spine,great song written by Brian May!
This is the first time that I highly, highly recommend you do a movie reaction as well. This song is part of the soundtrack for the movie 'Highlander'.
I consider it one of the best movies made, thanks in part to this amazing soundtrack that was made almost exclusively by Queen.
No, it does NOT center around the music of Queen, it is an amazing fantasy story. Watch it, don't see any other spoilers.
But trust me, afterwards you'll understand when somebody says: "There can be only one!"
From the movie Highlander...beautiful and so hard listening to this coming from Freddy. In the movie the main character, who is immortal, must watch his love age and then eventually die.
Yeah - when this came out in 86 he had to know things were turning bad 😭, why do the good ones die young?
Michael Kamen too who wrote the score for the film (and almost certainly the orchestral backing for this song) - he died in his early 50s with a sound recognisable to millions of children all over the world (HERE WE GOOOO!!!! from the Disney DVD advert, taken from Kamen's Robin Hood score).
'A kind of Magic', the album that this song is from is probably my favourite album of theirs. Most of the album, along with this song was the soundtrack to the 80s classic fantasy movie 'Highlander'.
While I also love "a kind of magic" I can't help but chuckle at the line in "don't lose your head" that goes, don't drink and drive at night, don't get paralyzed. I mean it's okay to drink and drive during the daytime? Lol. But I do remember that it wasn't penalized as much back then. M.a.d.d was really the driving force in getting harsher punishments for drunk driving.
@@kennyfleck8630 I know what you mean. Being released in the early to mid 80s, they were much different times than they are today.
The whole album was movie sound tracks. The only one NOT from 'Highlander' was from the movie 'Iron Eagle'.
1981 montreal, Dragon Attack, Freddie controls the massive crowd, and has a load of fun just jamming with the band. watch everyone have fun.
This is Brian May's song by the way. He's the one who wrote it. And it was written for the soundtrack of a movie about a guy who was literally immortal.
While watching his wife grow old and die while he goes on. Same theme as One Year of Love, which was written for the same movie.
I remember watching the Highlander movie and my little sister started crying when this song played.
Thankyou darlings. Always a pleasure to see your Queen reactions. You can’t put Queen in a box, that’s what I love about them. This is an absolutely fabulous work of art. I suggest Innuendo, a little darker but really a great masterpiece. Queen 4ever!
"You'd think it's about him being immortal". Nailed it!
This is one song that really needs to be taken within the context of the movie for which it was written. Outside of that, it's totally different.
The song was written for the film Highlander and is about someone who is immortal and cannot die and how he is tired and depressed of having those he falls in love with get old and then die whilst he must carry on Century after Century after Century never getting old and never being able to die.
Another great Queen song/moment: Tommy, one of the original members of Cobra Kai in Karate Kid who said the infamous line "put him in a body bag" came back to play his character once again 35 years later for the 🐍 Cobra Kai series.
Sadly Tommy died in the end of that season 2 episode. The emotional Queen song "The Show Must Go On" was played. The intense scene ended with him being placed in a body bag which ironically preceded the surprising real-life death of the actor Rob Garrison shortly after.
No one involved with the show knew he was ill. He did not disclose the information & oddly the scene was more personal than anyone knew. Rob was happy he got to reprise his role & go out on such a high his wife said.
That ”voice” is the legendary Brian May! All members of Queen were multi-instrumentalists and vocalists as well as each member writing number one hits and all are inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame!
Brian May also earned a PhD degree in astrophysics from Imperial College London in 2007, and was Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University from 2008 to 2013. He was a "science team collaborator" with NASA's New Horizons Pluto mission. He is also a co-founder of the awareness campaign Asteroid Day.
@@owenfromkc3468 yes! He’s a very intelligent man! Also has his own animal rescue fund for saving badgers and other wildlife called Save Me! Very accomplished and very humble
The highlander is the movie this comes from. The last line of the song, which sadly you guys didn't hear is "who has forever anyway". Nobody in this world. This song actually makes me cry every time I hear it.
1) Brilliant of Lex to note the resonance w/ West Side Story; and Brad to note "Most Queen songs are different from most Queen songs;
2) Brad is like the center of the circle, still and quiet, and Lex roams wide, but the two are connected... As John Donne wrote centuries ago
“If they be so two, they are two so
As stiff twin compasses are two,
Thy soul the fixed foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if th' other do.
And though it in the centre sit,
Yet when the other far doth roam,
It leans, and hearkens after it,
And [straightens up], as that comes home.
Such wilt thou be to me, who must
Like the other foot, obliquely run;
Thy firmness makes my circle just [true, right]
And makes me end, where I begun.”
I think it was Brian May singing at first-- the guitarist and a songwriter- he wrote this; the dud also picked up a PhD in Astrophysics along the way.
Lex I have never seen anyone in my life get into a song like you do, you are amazing, you still can play guitar, go for it you ROCk🎸🥁
Having grown up listening to the music I played on the weekends when cleaning house, my sons both loved the band Queen. This is one of the songs I had played at my oldest boy's funeral. I also had "Don't Try So Hard" and "My Bijou" played as well. You should react to them as well -- both beautiful, melancholy songs.
Oh, and the song was written by Brian May (not Freddie) and I think it was Brian who started off singing the lead. So, we can't attribute what the song's about to be Freddie's issues with his sexuality -- but I DO think Freddie knew he was terminal at the time it was recorded. So I wonder if Brian wrote this song about Freddie and his life coming to an end while he was still relatively young.
Sorry to hear about your son. I can't imagine your pain.
This is someone who is immortal watching the love of his life grow old and die in his arms as he never ages . . .
One of my favorite songs from one of my favorite movies. You nailed it exactly Brad when you said "immortal'. Watch the movie, you'll enjoy it and it will put the song in context for you. "The Highlander' 1986
A beautiful song, one of many Queen songs used in the Movie Highlander from the 80's. Seal sang this song at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert.
And he did it absolutely beautifully.
I think it's time for you guys to learn the names of the other band members of these popular bands. Like this "other guy" singing in the song who also wrote the song, Brian May, is one of the greatest guitarists to ever live! Put some respect on the name!! I mean, don't get me wrong, Freddie is one of my life heroes, but the other guys who aren't always front and center deserve some love too. That goes with any band! Thanks!
John Deacon is one of the best base players in the world. Roger is a great drummer. Brain is a great guitarists. All are great song writers.
I know what your saying we all respect and know the names we grew up on it or I did I am 54 but you can't expect people that are just discovering a few songs of a band to know ALLthe names of the artists in a band just my opinion
That West Side Story connection is BRILLIANT. I reckon no one has ever made that connection before. And it's almost certainly true: Brian May and Freddie Mercury are/were very aware of Bernstein when they were young, as was my own father (who was only a few years older than Brian May). WSS was massive when it first came across to London theatres (before the movie), as my father often told me - with passion! It was part of his cultural landscape, and surely May's and Mercury's too.
I remember this from the movie, Highlander that Queen was commissioned to write songs for. This was such a powerful song for the immortal character who had to watch those he loved grow old and die while he had to stay.
Brian's inspiration for this was several things. He saw a scene from Highlander where his wife died. What was going on with Freddie. His dad was dying. His marriage was falling apart and we got this beautiful song.
It was only inspired by the movie - Brian wrote it after seeing the rushes for the relevant scenes.
Freddie had not been diagnosed yet (the diagnosis wasn’t until 87).
It’s true that Brian’s marriage was struggling, but *this* song wasn’t inspired by that.
I’m not exactly sure when Brian’s father got his lung cancer diagnosis, but again this song was only about the scene in the movie where Connor MacLeod watches his beloved mortal wife Heather age and die while he remains young and unaging.
Brian wrote it in the back of his car right after watching the first cut of Heather’s death scene.
@@imweakfordeaky in the days of our lives doc he says that all those aspects i know Freddie wasnt diagnosed but they knew something was going on
You should check George Michael's version of Somebody To Love done at Freddie Mercury's tribute concert. He killed it.
@Mike Rauch DUDE!!!
@@rowanmayfair9249 I watched that whole show. Almost everyone was pretty rough to listen to. His performance was incredible. When you can make Brian May smile while singing in place of Freddie Mercury, you've done something special.
@@crankfastle8138 Amen. HE was something special himself. Wish Brad and Lex would give GM's older work a chance. Wham! is an acquired taste, lol. His voice was gold. Liquid gold. I had trouble watching most of tribute as well. Turned off the tv several times then had to rewatch years later on YT just to see what I may have missed!
Funny you mention that , Seal does a cover of this song at the concert and it's fantastic.
Love, love this song!!! So much emotion.
Queen the only band who could successfully mix pop and opera together.
Meatloaf?
you have to study the group of queens just by listening to their albums. there is a lot of good stuff out there. plus the songs in the album create the general mood of the album, its essence.
"Princes of the Universe" is also a great song from the Highlander, I think you should check out some early Queen. "Stone Cold Crazy" live at the Rainbow and "Spread your wings" official video are amazing! Now I'm here live at Wembley is a kick ass song that let's them all show off their talents. You two are really cute together.
This song was written by Queen Guitarist Brian May. It was written specifically for the first Highlander movie. Which came out in 1986. West Side Story came out in 1961. So you can draw from thar what you like.
In the movie highlander. Connor McCloud (Christopher Lambert)finds out he is immortal.
He semi rejects this idea. Then despite advice from his mentor Ramirez (played by Sir Sean Connery) stays with his first love and wife.
The song plays as Connor stays with her as she grows old and finally dies of old age. Well he remains young as the day he met her.
That is the meaning behind the song.
at the start of the music video/album Brian May starts the singing then Freddie Mercury takes over. In concert Freddie does all of the lead vocals.
One of the best overlooked songs by Queen!!!!
You guys really do need to see Highlander ( but only the 1st movie, DON’T bother with ANY of the others). This song amongst many, was made specifically for that movie, and for a very specific and emotional scene in that movie. Do a reaction to it (I.E. the whole full length movie) if you want, I’m sure the viewers won’t mind that either. This movie has an epic soundtrack that’s entirely Queen. And the 1st movie is actually a great movie in its own right.
HIGHLANDER...... there can be only ONE... and this song is the perfect LOVE SONG for that movie.
Anything Queen Does is beautiful and very UNIQUE!!! Freddie IDOLIZED Elvis Presley!!!!!! and Freddie said --- I don't want to just be a rock star -- I wan to be a LEGEND! * HE WAS THAT *
Lex, personally I think Brian May has a voice like an angel in this and actually sings purer notes than Freddy does, not "just a voice". Freddy's voice is more unique sounding and has much wider range but I prefer Brian's intro here than later recordings where Freddy does the intro.
And shock horror, Brad was spot on with interpretation on this one 😀
Thank you! Brian's voice is not just "another voice" as Lex stated! His voice is brilliant and I absolutely love it!
Yeah Brian's voice is quite beautiful. You need his vocal qualities to harmonize with Freddies more erratic and over the top performances. That stability is what allows Freddies voice to run all over and still find home. The whole band is quite gifted vocally.
Brian has a fine voice for some song, but this song would have been far better if Freddie had just sang it. The song has a classical feeling which fits Freddie's far more powerful voice better. Freddie had pure voice, he added grit to his voice on purpose. This is also partly why the live version tends to better.
The song was actually written by guitar player Brian May, that was why he sang the first verse. You really need to hear the live version, it blows this one away. I know it is kind of counterintuitive but Queen is better live than in the studio.
Even the Seal version is good
Have you checked out Brian May's solo works
I’d say they are great in both.
Thank you so much for discussing lyrics, it brings so much more to the reaction. Cheers!
West Side Story came out about 25 years before this did. This was originally written for the Highlander movie, adn used also for the TV series. The main character is immortal and outlives everyone he loves.
Check out the live versions of this song - either at Wembley or in Budapest. Really showcases Freddie's voice!
All four members of Queen were very creative and wrote songs that became number one hits.
If one of them came up with an idea, they talked about it and tried to make it work.
The music was for the audience and that also everyone had something to listen to.
They were not totally into a specific style or genre of music.
This song always gives me chills ever since I first heard it used in "Highlander".
It was written as part of the soundtrack for the movie Highlander - the hero learns he is immortal, and then falls in love and watches his wife grow old and die while he remains ageless.
They only have a brief moment together from his perspective and then she's dead. But it works just as well as an ordinary love song, because that's what life is like.
A kind of magic album is my favourite for Queen. Princes of the universe is worth checking out - was the sound track the highlander series with Adrian Paul which I preferred to the Highlander films.
I would hardly call the composer and guitar maestro Brian May just a voice....
Queen, the entire band, are such talented musicians. Everyone hears Queen and thinks Freddie, who is an amazing singer/songwriter, but every member was so talented.
This song is from the soundtrack for the first Highlander movie, the movie is about a literal immortal. There are other immortals in the story and their goal is to be the last surviving immortal, the catchphrase from the movie is "There can be only One"
- The Highlander !!!
( " There can only be one " : a phrase from the movie )
That line "touch my woe with your finger tips" gives me chills
It really sums up how being loved by someone feels sometimes that the most sincere contact seems to be with the most horrible flaws of yourself only to find that vulnerability is what love is all about.
In order to understand what this song is about you need to watch The Highlander. About an immortal who has one true love in his life and this song plays while he lives her life with her til the end of hers. It is so touching. The entire film is Queens soundtrack so you will be very impressed with it.
Great Ear, Lex. Brian May starts the song off and Freddie comes in after.
This song was written for the Highlander soundtrack.
The lead guitarist, Brian May, wrote this song teaming up with Michael Kamen. The band After Forever also covered this song with Floor Jansen singing lead. There is guy who combined Floor's voice with Freddie's for this song. On the one you listened to Brian May sang with Freddie.
I have been a fan of the movie Highlander for many years. The song encompasses the journey of the immortals in the film. It's also more specifically, relates to the lead role 'Connor M'cloud', & how he loves his first wife & stays with her until old age claimed her. The song had very deep meaning in Connors journey what the immortals had to face with people they loved & living so long, to try win the prize, which would free them from immortality, as "there can be only one"!
Well, The name of the Band - Queen, Get it ? Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987. He continued to record with Queen, and posthumously featured on their final album, Made in Heaven (1995). He announced his diagnosis the day before his death, from complications from the disease, in 1991 at the age of 45. In 1992, a concert in tribute to him was held at Wembley Stadium, in benefit of AIDS awareness. His career with Queen was dramatised in the 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
Wow, Lex. Nice reference to West Side Story, I know both songs since I was a kid but never noticed that. That's why I love this channel. Hugs from Brazil!
Freddie lived his life exactly how he wanted to, the song is from the film Highlander which you need to watch, Queen did all the music to the film
Well, looks like I'm going to start binge watching Highlander again!:) One of my favorite series (movie too)...... I'm glad they used Connor MacLeod in the series!
As other people have said, this is from the sound-track of the film Highlander.
Connor MacLeod is born, immortal, in 16th Century Scotland. This is played as his first love and wife Heather dies. She has grown old while he stays the same. It is one of the saddest pieces in a film ever. It is not a love scene as such, it is about a man learning the pain of being immortal.
One Vision, the finale of the film is another fantastic track.
thank you! I love the comment that "most Queen songs are different from most Queen songs.." Yep, Brian started (he wrote the song)- but when Fred takes over it's obvious -- thanks!
This song is about a Man who cannot die , and he marries a girl - he loves her more than life itself - and while he is cursed to stay forever young , she grows old and ultimately dies in his arms , leaving him to be forever heart broken , eternally mourning for the love of his life 💔 😢
The first time I heard this song was a few months ago. It seems to magnify the wonder of Queen's music and especially Freddie's voice. I love how the reviewers seem entranced by the experience. Cool.
He's referring to the story of the film and TV series, Highlander. It's about a group of immortal people who have to hide from society and deal with constant threat of attack from another immortal as their end fate is for there to be only one left to attain life's ultimate prize.
My favorite Queen song from the AWESOME movie Highlander. Always gives me the feels. Thank you!
The first time I heard this song was in the movie Highlander. It was the soundtrack as the immortal Connor McCleod spends years with his mortal wife. It was a very touching montage. The first person singing was Brian May, who wrote and composed this song. He also has the voice of an angel.
@5:40, in the Highlander movies the immortal characters are usually adults when they find out they can't die. So they don't grow old, get sick and can heal from anything. They have to spend their long lives watching anyone they get close to just grow old and wither away. By the time many make the discovery they could already be married or trying to have a family. On top of being immortal they can't sire or bear children. So many of life's choices and experiences have already "been decided for them". So that is why they say "there is no place or time for them" to just be people.
In the first Highlander movie, the main character Conner MacCleod is told by his teacher to break up with his wife Heather go for these reasons. His teacher felt Heather could then find someone that who could grow old with her and raise a family. Instead Conner stayed with his wife throughout the decades of her normal life. She grew old and while he remained young. As she lay dying she said she regretted not being able to give him children. He couldn't tell her that their lack of children had nothing to do with her.
"There's no time for us...There's no chance for us"
The transient nature of life and a seemingly harsh fate that controls everything. There is a sense of doom and hopelessness, even despair at the beginning of this song.
The harshness of living forever - immortality is not to be prized, but is a burden. Therefore: make the most of what time you do have, and do not wish for more.
"But touch my tears..."
However, love makes any life worth living, and is worth the hurt and the pain - even if you know you will lose that love.
This is when the song blossoms - but even when singing of this joy of love, there is an underlying sadness and grieving.
Perhaps there is a hint that you cannot have one love in your life if that is taken away from you - "who dares to love forever/When that love must die" could mean both who dares to love the same person forever or, who would dare to love again?
Also, being with the one you love can feel like forever - in a good way - in that the moment seems to stretch into eternity...
Brian May was friends with the director of The Highlander and watched the original cut of the film with no sound track. After watching the film, he asked if they could do the entire score, the director agreed. Queen had previously done the soundtrack of the the Flash Gordon film also.
From the movie "Highlander" which noted film critic Will Farrell in Talladega Nights called "the greatest movie in the history of ever"
Wow the fact that you guys did my favorite Queen is crazy. This song gives such power and hits harder then most of there songs for me and it’s one of the more mellow songs. The drums joe thry build and the guitar solo just absolutely flawless. I believe Freddy wrote this a round the time he was keeping his aids a secret, so maybe it might have to deal with that mindset. Anyways Queen never fails to deliver and neither do you guys!!!
This was a song for the Highlander movie. It was a movie whose main character was immortal. It played while they showed a sequence where his wife aged and died while he did not. It's a must watch.
PS. It was Brian May singing at first.
The studio version nontheless ends up with these lyrics "Who waits forever anyway?" And that's the real twist with Freddie.