"39" is a song by British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

. Composed by lead guitarist Brian May, it is the fifth track on their fourth studio album '' A Night at the Opera''. The song was also the B-side to " You're My Best Friend". The song relates the tale of a group of space explorers who embark on what is, from their perspective, a year-long voyage. Upon their return, however, they realise that a hundred years have passed, because of the time dilation effect in

Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

special theory of relativity In physics, the special theory of relativity, or special relativity for short, is a scientific theory regarding the relationship between Spacetime, space and time. In Albert Einstein's original treatment, the theory is based on two Postulates of ...

, and the loved ones they left behind are now all dead or aged.

Recording

May sings lead vocal on the studio recording of the song, one of his few lead vocals on Queen recordings. May had asked bassist

John Deacon John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951) is an English retired musician, best known for being the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. He wrote several songs for the group, including Top 10 hits " You're My Best Friend", " Another One Bit ...

to play

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as a joke but a couple of days later he found Deacon in the studio with the instrument, and he had already learned to play it. May had been working on his thesis in

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

, but eventually abandoned his studies to pursue his career with Queen. In 2006, he resumed his studies and eventually completed his thesis, titled ''A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud'', and received his

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in 2008. Since Queen had named their albums '' A Night at the Opera'' and '' A Day at the Races'' after two of the

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...

' most popular films, surviving brother

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invited Queen to visit him at his Los Angeles home in March 1977 (five months before he died). The band thanked him, and performed "39" a cappella. The song is the 39th album track released by the band when counting each album track from the debut album onwards.

Live performances

The song was a live favourite throughout the 1970s, often being used a singalong in concert. It was first performed in Edinburgh in September 1976 and remained in setlists until December 1979, although the song was briefly performed in 1984. Instead of May singing the lead vocals live, Mercury did. ''

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'' later commented that live performances of the song were played as "a raucous, rollicking sea shanty." The song is featured on the live album '' Live Killers''.

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...

performed "39" at the

Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness was a benefit concert held on Easter Monday, 20 April 1992, at Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom for an audience of 72,000. The concert was produced for television by Ray Burdis, d ...

in April 1992. Michael cited this song as his favourite Queen song, claiming he used to busk it on the

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. Later the song was included by Queen on the setlists of their Queen + Adam Lambert tours in

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& 2014-2015 featuring

Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical tra ...

& both

Queen + Paul Rodgers Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

Tours, which were

Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

& Rock the Cosmos featuring

Paul Rodgers Paul Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law. He has also performed as a solo artist, and co ...

; as on the album, it is sung by May.

Comments

Personnel

Information is taken from the album's Liner Notes except where noted *

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

- Backing vocals * Brian May - Lead vocals, backing vocals,

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, electric guitar *

Roger Taylor Roger Taylor may refer to: *Roger Taylor (Queen drummer) (born 1949), drummer for Queen *Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer) (born 1960), drummer for Duran Duran *Roger Taylor (author), author of epic fantasy Hawklan series *Roger Taylor (college pr ...

- Tambourine, bass drum, backing vocals *

Double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:39 (Queen song) Queen (band) songs 1975 songs British progressive rock songs Songs about outer space Song recordings produced by Roy Thomas Baker Songs written by Brian May Fiction about time travel 1976 singles British pop rock songs