For the analysis I have chosen a song performed by the British rock band Queen. It was written in 1978 by the band’s lead singer Freddie Mercury. From the first tune the song attracts the listener with its energetic melody and lyrics. Also I like this song for its ability to cheer me up and fill with energy in any gloomy day. “Don’t Stop Me Now” has no hidden messages and meanings, everything is in its title. The speaker of the song is a man, who is in a cheerful mood, enjoys himself, has a great time and does not want to be interrupted or stopped: “Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time / I'm having a ball” (Mercury)
The theme of the song is seem to be simple. The speaker encourages the listeners to live a life and to enjoy every minute of it. With his positive energy he wants to transfer his emotions and make every listener cheerful and full of joy and sings: “I wanna make a supersonic man [woman] out of you.” (Mercury) The imagery plays a great role in coping with this task. The visual imagery can be found in a range of people and objects the speaker compares with himself: “a shooting star”, “a tiger”, “a racing car”, “Lady Godiva”, “Mister Fahrenheit”, “a rocket ship”, “a satellite”, “a sex machine” and “an atom bomb”. (Mercury) Such a variety of comparisons evidences his versatility and flexibility. Although, there are some things that connect all these objects – speed, heat and an ability to go out of control. Moreover, Lady Godiva and Fahrenheit also serve as allusions and “like a tiger” and “like an atom bomb” are similes. The auditory imagery evokes the sense of hearing and can be found in the words: “explode”, “a tiger leaping”, “a racing car passing by”, “at the speed of light”. (Mercury) The kinesthetic imagery in the song specifically appeals to the sense of temperature: “I'm burnin'” and “Two hundred degrees”. (Mercury)
Some people tend to state that the main theme of the song is sex and sexuality. All the objects in the song create the feeling of heat, burn, speed, sweat and ecstasy. The speaker’s comparison of himself with a “sex machine ready to reload” can prove it. The allusion to Lady Godiva, who, according to the legend, rode naked on the horse through the streets of town, also support the idea of sexual expression in the song. But without diving in and reading between the lines, “Don’t Stop Me Now” is a great song to enhance the mood.
Work Cited
Mercury, Freddie. Don't Stop Me Now. Berre-les-Alpes, France: Elektra, 1978. CD.
