Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy
"Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" is the eighth track from the British rock band Queen's 1976 album A Day at the Races, written by Freddie Mercury. It was also featured as a track on the 1977 release Queen's First EP. It was one of several British music hall-inspired songs composed by members of the band.
"Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" | ||||
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Single by Queen | ||||
from the album A Day at the Races | ||||
A-side | "Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)" | |||
B-side | ||||
Released | 20 May 1977 | |||
Recorded | 1976 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:54 | |||
Label | EMI, Elektra | |||
Songwriter(s) | Freddie Mercury | |||
Producer(s) | Queen | |||
Queen singles chronology | ||||
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Background and composition
The song begins with a piano and vocal introduction by Mercury, then continues, with the bass and drums adding on, at the start of the chorus. The second verse is sung, followed by another chorus. At this point, the drums, bass and guitar drop out, which then leads into the bridge, sung by Mercury and Mike Stone ("Hey boy where'd you get it from, Hey boy where did you go?"). Following the Brian May guitar solo, another verse is sung, and then the chorus ends the track.
The song describes how "a good old-fashioned lover boy" is looking forward to a night of revelry and romance.
Live performances and other appearances
It was partially mimed by the band for the BBC and aired on Top of the Pops. The Top of the Pops version also has drummer Roger Taylor singing Mike Stone's line.
The song was also performed live from A Day at the Races Tour until the end of the News of the World Tour.[2][3] It was performed in a medley after "Killer Queen", and was the first two verses, followed by the final chorus.[2][3]
Queen comments on the song
It’s called 'Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy', and it’s in my ‘ragtime’ mood that I get a chance to do on every album and this time, this is something I’ve come up with this time around.
— Freddie Mercury
Personnel
- Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, piano
- Brian May - electric guitar, backing vocals
- Roger Taylor - drums, triangle, woodblocks, backing vocals[4]
- John Deacon - bass
- Mike Stone - additional vocals
Chart position
- #17 (UK)
References
- Georg Purvis (24 August 2012). Queen: Complete Works. Titan Books. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-78116-287-3.
- Queen live on tour: A Day At The Races: Setlist Queen Concerts. Retrieved 31 August 2011
- Queen live on tour: News Of The World: Setlist Queen Concerts. Retrieved 31 August 2011
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
- Official music video on YouTube
- Lyrics at Queen official website
- Queenpedia - detailed worldwide release information