"It's a Hard Life" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by lead singer

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 ...

. It was featured on their 1984 album '' The Works'', and it was the third single from that album. In 1991 it was included in the band’s second compilation album '' Greatest Hits II''. It reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart and was their third consecutive Top 10 single from the album. It also reached number 2 in Ireland and number 20 in the Netherlands. It also came 19th in a poll, '' The Nation's Favourite Queen Song'' broadcast on ITV on 11 November 2014.

Composition

The opening lyric and melody of "It's a Hard Life" is based on the line "Ridi, Pagliaccio, sul tuo amore infranto!" (Laugh, clown, at your broken love!) from "

Vesti la giubba "" (, "Put on the costume", often referred to as "On With the Motley", from the original 1893 translation by Frederic Edward Weatherly) is a tenor aria from Ruggero Leoncavallo's 1892 opera ''Pagliacci''. "" is sung at the conclusion of the ...

", an aria from Ruggero Leoncavallo's opera ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who m ...

''. The same melody is also quoted in the soundtrack of the movie '' A Night at the Opera'' after which Queen had named their 1975 album. Musically, the song recreates the feel of " Play the Game" in order to update the story, utilising Mercury's piano playing and the band's characteristic technique of layered harmonies. It is recorded very much with the ethos of earlier Queen albums in that it features 'no

synthesizers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

'. By that time the band had been using synths on record since 1980's ''

The Game The Game or The Games may refer to: Sports and games * The Game (dice game) (German: ''Das Spiel''), a dice game designed by Reinhold Wittig * The Game (mind game), a mind game, the objective of which is to avoid thinking about The Game itself * ...

'' and the gesture of returning to the traditional Queen sound was comforting to some fans.

Music video

The accompanying music video, directed by Tim Pope and produced by Gordon Lewis, has been created in an operatic "style," with the band and extras appearing in period "operatic-style" costume. The video also featured an unusual "skull and bones"-themed guitar that cost more than £1,000,Queen, ''Box of Flix'', 1991, Picture Music International, liner notes p. 7 played by May, which can also be seen on the single's cover, and also relied heavily on the use of alchemist and pagan symbols and symbolism. The band found the costumes hot and uncomfortable, and the "eyes" on Mercury's outfit were ridiculed by the others, saying he looked "like a giant prawn". Both Brian May and Roger Taylor groaned out loud when shown this video during their commentary for the ''

Greatest Video Hits 2 ''Greatest Video Hits 2'' is the second DVD of music videos from the English band, Queen. It was released in November 2003, and included video hits of the band from 1981 to 1989. It was at number one in UK, in its first week. It also peaked at ...

'' collection. Taylor, who openly admits to "loving the record, but really hating the video", said in the commentary: “I think we look more stupid in this video than any other artists has looked in a video." May pointed out more positively that the video was an ironic take, as it portrayed Mercury as a wealthy man singing about how hard life and love are, and at that point Mercury in real life possessed great wealth but was still searching for love. The video was filmed at the Arnold & Richter studio in Munich. Actors Kurt Raab and Barbara Valentin, friends of Mercury, can be seen as extras. Ingrid Mack, who is married to record producer Reinhold Mack and a friend of the band, is also featured.

Track listings

7" single # "It's a Hard Life" (Album Version) - 4:08 # "Is This the World We Created...?" - 2:12 12" single # "It's a Hard Life" (Extended Version) - 5:05 # "Is This the World We Created...?" - 2:12

Personnel

- lead and backing vocals, piano * Brian May - electric guitar, backing vocals * Roger Taylor - drums, backing vocals * John Deacon - bass guitar

Live recordings

*'' Live in Rio'' (VHS) *'' We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan'' (DVD) The song was only played on The Works Tour. On 17 Nov 2010, Tom Chaplin of Keane performed "It's a Hard Life" live with Brian May and Roger Taylor at The Prince's Trust Gala.

Chart positions

References

External links

*
Lyrics at Queen official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:It's A Hard Life Queen (band) songs 1984 singles Songs written by Freddie Mercury Music videos directed by Tim Pope Song recordings produced by Reinhold Mack EMI Records singles Capitol Records singles Hollywood Records singles 1984 songs Songs about heartache