It's a Hard Life
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| “It's a Hard Life” | |||||
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| Single by Queen from the album The Works |
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| B-side | Is This the World We Created...? | ||||
| Released | 16 July 1984 | ||||
| Format | vinyl record (7", 12") | ||||
| Recorded | 1983 | ||||
| Genre | Glam rock | ||||
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| Label | EMI / Capitol | ||||
| Writer(s) | Freddie Mercury | ||||
| Producer | Queen and Mack | ||||
| Queen singles chronology | |||||
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"It's a Hard Life" is a song by English rock band Queen, written by lead singer Freddie Mercury. It was featured on their 1984 album The Works, and it was the third single from that album. It reached No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart and was their third consecutive Top 10 single.
The opening line of "It's a Hard Life" is based on a translation of a line from "Vesti la giubba", an aria from Ruggiero Leoncavallo's opera Pagliacci. Mercury was well-known for his love of opera, which influenced many Queen songs, notably Bohemian Rhapsody.
Musically, the song strongly features Mercury's piano playing and a controlled guitar solo by Brian May.
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[edit] Promotional video
Tim Pope's video which accompanies the song (which is full of visual jokes) 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 [1] played by May, which can be seen on the single cover.
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"[1]. Both Roger Taylor and Brian May[2] groaned out loud when shown this video during their commentary for the Greatest Video Hits 2 collection. Taylor said it was "the worst music video ever." May pointed out more positively that the video was a thematic joke, 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.
[edit] Live recordings
- Live in Rio (VHS)
- We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan (DVD)
[edit] Trivia
The song has been criticised for being "too similar" to "Play the Game".
[edit] References
- ^ a b Queen, Box of Flix, 1991, Picture Music International, liner notes p. 7
- ^ See also Mark Blake. "Cash for Questions. Answered in Brian's living room, Windlesham, Surrey on 29 April 98." Q, July 1998. (Queen Archives)
[edit] External links
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