Frank
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Post by Frank on Aug 29, 2021 20:35:26 GMT
This is a song that has taken me ages to warm up to. It was something I felt was in bad taste for a while. Like it's too light a song for such a heavy topic. But upon further research and listening to other people covering it, I think it's a pretty nice track actually. Apparently, Freddie wrote it about one of his former lovers who threatened to commit suicide when they broke up. I need to find my source on this, but I'm pretty confident it's legit. So what are your thoughts on this number?
As a bonus, these kids put on a great performance. It's really jazzy and it puts the song in a new light for me. Love it!
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Post by saintjiub on Aug 29, 2021 21:32:29 GMT
Just my two cents as a manic depressive.
I did this song for karaoke at a "Royal Vision" North American Queen convention back in the late 90s.
I always thought of this song as a joking light wake up call to snap out of a suicidal funk.
After all, Freddie said "you got a good thing going now" and that Freddie was saying that he is not worth committing suicide over (IMHO).
Back from my teenage years, I have found Don't Try Suicide as theraputic, along with Rush 2112, Rain Must Fall, Keep Passing the Open Windows, Pain is so Close to Pleasure, and Friends Will Be Friends.
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Aug 29, 2021 23:21:40 GMT
I've always kind of liked the song, but it's never made my top 50 Queen tracks. When The Game first came out, I considered DTS and Coming Soon rather as fillers, which now seems odd given it's been said that they had something like 40 songs for the record, and it only ended up being just over half an hour long - were the rest that bad?
Anyway, when I hear it now, it's a little bit of a different vibe to the rest of the album, and I get the feeling they had the music first, then needed some lyrics. It sounds to me like the lyrics were written fairly quickly and off-the-cuff, and it was intended to be quite tongue in cheek, but that was then and it might be seen in a different light were it released today.
All of the above is pure unfounded speculation and personal thoughts. It's probably completely wrong, but it's one way of looking at the song.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2021 17:24:36 GMT
I've always read it as quite bitchy and acerbic from Fred.
"Don't try suicide, nobody gives a damn."
Presumably aimed at an ex-lover, Freddie tells him to avoid suicide, not because it would be upsetting for Fred, but because quite frankly no-one would give a shit, so it's pointless. Ouch!
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jo
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Post by jo on Aug 31, 2021 2:49:42 GMT
I remember a story about the building that Musicland studio was in being a place that had more than a few jumpers. I think it was an interview with Brian and he mentioned that it was part of the crazy that was Munich. I wonder if that could have had something to do with the song.
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georg
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Post by georg on Aug 31, 2021 12:55:55 GMT
Freddie’s former lover David Minns claimed in his book Is This the Real Life that Freddie wrote it “for” him after they broke up in 1979, and was apparently inspired by something Minn actually tried. I haven’t read the book too in depth (too tabloid-y for me, not interested in Fred’s sex life) but I believe that’s the general idea.
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Strange_frontier
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Post by Strange_frontier on Sept 1, 2021 0:09:24 GMT
In other news, I wonder how many lives DTS must have saved.
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Post by snakecharmer on Nov 11, 2023 12:01:54 GMT
It had the guitar sound like "The Police" who were huge around that time , I never really enjoyed it and I think Rogers "Human Body" would have been a better track for "The Game." However as Freddie wrote the track it was always going to the album.
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Nov 11, 2023 13:55:14 GMT
It had the guitar sound like "The Police" who were huge around that time , I never really enjoyed it and I think Rogers "Human Body" would have been a better track for "The Game." However as Freddie wrote the track it was always going to the album. I don't really see where AHB would have fitted onto The Game. It already had three ballads on it, and I think AHB might have slowed things down a bit too much. I don't mind Don't Try Suicide. It's not their greatest song, and I doubt they'd write those lyrics today, but I don't think it was ever meant to be taken too seriously. |
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fireplace
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Post by fireplace on Nov 11, 2023 22:44:16 GMT
Just my two cents as a manic depressive. I did this song for karaoke at a "Royal Vision" North American Queen convention back in the late 90s. I always thought of this song as a joking light wake up call to snap out of a suicidal funk. After all, Freddie said "you got a good thing going now" and that Freddie was saying that he is not worth committing suicide over (IMHO). Back from my teenage years, I have found Don't Try Suicide as theraputic, along with Rush 2112, Rain Must Fall, Keep Passing the Open Windows, Pain is so Close to Pleasure, and Friends Will Be Friends. Funny how tastes differ, Pain Is So Close To Pleasure is one of the very few things that could actually make me consider suicide. I Love Don't Try Suicide by the way, an early foray into the "Hot Space" they aimed for but without the synth overdose and cheesy electronic drums. |
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mike71
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Post by mike71 on Nov 12, 2023 1:12:19 GMT
I recently revisited The Game, I didn't give the album it's due credit. I was so hooked on the earlier records back in the day. It's definitely a pretty great record. My least favorites are Don't Try suicide and Coming Soon, but suicide is still a good song, I like that it's a dark subject, but has that Freddie humor. Would you rather listen to a song about depression, and feel more depressed after listening to it? or lift your mood?
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