"It's Late" is a song by British rock band

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

, written by guitarist

Brian May Sir Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist and astrophysics, astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen ...

and released on their 1977 studio album, ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national "Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top" Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling ...

''.

Background

The song was May's idea of treating a song as a three-act theatrical play, and the verses are called "acts" in the lyrics sheet. It makes use of the

tapping Tapping is a playing technique that can be used on any stringed instrument, but which is most commonly used on guitar. The technique involves a string being fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion. This is in contrast to stand ...

technique a few months before

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex V ...

's use of the tapping technique on the ''

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

'' album. May told ''Guitar Player Magazine'' that his use of the tapping technique was inspired by Texas guitarist Rocky Athas, after seeing one of his performances at Mother Blues, a Dallas club. The lyrics describe a love affair that is on the verge of ending. According to ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', the music of the single version "shifts gear from subdued balladry to thunderous rock'n'roll." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that "Brian May's guitar work excellently omplementsFreddie Mercury’s embracing vocals." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' called it a "thundering rocker

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

has quiet passages and a good melody, then roars through the choruses."

Release

The song was released as a single in North America, Japan and New Zealand in 1978, albeit in heavily edited form, and peaked at #74 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #66 on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100. The song was later included on the ''

Queen Rocks ''Queen Rocks'' is a compilation album by the British rock band Queen, released on 3 November 1997. Content The compilation is unique to the Queen catalogue, as it deliberately does not follow the standard "greatest hits" collection format and ...

'' compilation in 1997.

Personnel

Queen

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

– lead and backing vocals *

– electric guitar, backing vocals * Roger Taylor – drums, backing vocals *

John Deacon John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951) is an English retired musician who was 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 Bites the Dust" a ...

– bass guitar

References

External links

Lyrics at Queen official website
(from ''

'') {{authority control Queen (band) songs Hard rock ballads 1978 singles Songs written by Brian May Song recordings produced by Mike Stone (record producer) EMI Records singles Elektra Records singles Hollywood Records singles British blues rock songs 1977 songs British hard rock songs