Song
The song was written in 1983 by John Deacon and released at the beginning of April in 1984. The main idea of the song lies in its title which is repeated through the text. A love theme is also present as the protagonist "has fallen in love", "can't get over the way you love me like you do" and "don't want to live alone". Most of the song follows the traditional 12 bar blues progression in E major. It has three verses with one bridge, no chorus and relatively little section repetition. There are three versions of the song: album, single and extended.
The album version is 3 minutes 20 seconds long. Its first 6 seconds repeat the basic rhythm played with the drums (Ludwig), an acoustic guitar (Gibson), a bass guitar (Fender) and an electric guitar (Fender Telecaster). This rhythm continues through most of the song, stopping only for its first line. The first verse ends at 0:37 and is followed by a very similar second verse, which is however shorter by one line. A stacked guitar accompaniment (Red Special) appears at the end of the second verse (1:03), and between 1:15 and 1:17 it is replaced by a synthesizer. A synthesizer solo starts at 1:33 that mimics the sound of brass instruments, it is assisted by a guitar. The last verse starts in the second minute, it additionally features a synthesizer and a Fender Stratocaster guitar. The song pauses at the final line "I've got to break free", followed by the fade out. This version was released on the album The Works and on some singles.
The regular single version lasts 4 minutes 21 seconds and differs from the album version by the 40-second introduction and a longer synthesizer solo which starts at 2:33. The introduction is played on an electronic keyboard and is assisted by cymbals, drums and a guitar (Red Special). Otherwise, the composition copies that of the album version.
The extended version lasts 7 minutes 16 seconds and features longer introduction and ending. It lasts until 6:04, and the remaining minute contains fragments of other songs from The Works, namely "Radio Ga Ga", "It's a Hard Life", "Man on the Prowl", "Machines (or "Back to Humans")", "Keep Passing the Open Windows", "Hammer to Fall", "Tear It Up" and "Is This the World We Created ...?". The extended version was mostly distributed as 12-inch vinyl records and then reissued on the CD of The Works in 1991.
Besides The Works, the song was featured in the albums Greatest Hits II, Box of Tricks, Greatest Hits (1992 U.S. edition) and Absolute Greatest and in the box-sets The Complete Works, The Crown Jewels and The Platinum Collection.
Read more about this topic: I Want To Break Free
Famous quotes containing the word song:
“but you are not deaf,
you pick out
your own song from the uproar
line by line,
and at last throw back
your head and sing it.”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)
“Death could drop from the dark
As easily as song—
But song only dropped,”
—Isaac Rosenberg (1890–1918)
“The palsy plagues my pulses”
—Unknown. Tom o’ Bedlam’s Song (l. 37)