Mustapha (song)

"Mustapha" is a song written by Freddie Mercury and recorded by British rock band Queen. It is the first track of their 1978 album Jazz,[1] categorized as "an up-tempo Arabic rocker" by Circus Magazine.[2]

Not to be confused with Ya Mustafa.

"Mustapha"
German cover of the single
Single by Queen
from the album Jazz
B-side
ReleasedApril 1979 (Bolivia, West Germany, Spain and Yugoslavia only)
Recorded1978
Genre
Length3:01
LabelEMI
Songwriter(s)Freddie Mercury
Producer(s)Queen and Roy Thomas Baker
Queen singles chronology
"Don't Stop Me Now"
(1979)		 "Mustapha"
(1979)		 "Jealousy"
(1979)

Single

"Mustapha" was released as a single in Germany, Spain, Yugoslavia and Bolivia in 1979. The B side of the single was "Dead On Time" for German and Spanish releases and "In Only Seven Days" for Yugoslavian and Bolivian releases. Also, all four versions had different covers.[3]

Lyrics

The composition's lyrics are in English, Arabic and Persian-emulating gibberish since the singer had a Parsi background. Parts of the lyrics like "Achtar es na sholei" meaning "His star, not his flame" have clear ties to the Persian language.

Live performances

In live performances, Mercury would often sing the opening vocals of "Mustapha" in place of the complex introduction to "Bohemian Rhapsody", going from "Allah we'll pray for you" to "Mama, just killed a man...". Sometimes the band performed an almost full version of the song from the "Crazy Tour" in late 1979 to "The Game Tour" in 1980, with Mercury at the piano. They dropped the second verse and went from the first chorus to the third. Also notable is that the song was often requested by the audience, as can be heard on "Live Killers".

Personnel
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References
  1. "Jazz: Queen: Music". Amazon. Retrieved 31 January 2012. 1. Mustapha
  2. "Interviews > Freddie Mercury Interviews > 12-12-1978 - Circus Magazine". Queenarchives.com. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  3. "Jazz (1978)". Queenvinyls.com. Retrieved 15 October 2016.


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