Tag: Life Is Real (Song For Lennon)

I did not dislike Hot Space like some Queen fans and non-Queen fans. I would not rate it as high as The Game but it had some decent songs. The album peaked at only #22 in the Billboard Album Chart in 1982 after the hugely successful album The Game.

Queen incorporates a little of Lennon’s style in this one and Mercury’s voice sounds great in this song.

From Songfacts

Freddie Mercury wrote this song as a dedication to John Lennon. The music emulates different John Lennon song styles, and the lyrics are mostly about Freddie’s realization that John was dead, and how real life was. “Life is Real” is related to the John Lennon lyric “Love is Real.”

The death of John Lennon sparked Queen to play “Imagine” during concerts, something they did during their tour with Paul Rodgers.

This song took on a new life after Freddie Mercury’s death, and is now regularly performed as a tribute to Mercury as well as Lennon – particularly when performed by Kerry Ellis and Brian May on their tours (notably the Born Free tour) where a montage of Freddie Mercury images would play on screens behind the artists.

Life Is Real (Song For Lennon)

Guilt stains on my pillow
Blood on my terraces
Torsos in my closet
Shadows from my past
Life is real, life is real
Life is real, so real

Sleeping is my leisure
Waking up in a minefield
Dream in just a pleasure dome
Love is a roulette wheel
Life is real, life is real
Life is real, oh yeah

Success is my breathing space
I brought it on myself
I will price it, I will cash it
I can take it or leave it
Loneliness is my hiding place
Breast feeding myself
What more can I say?
I have swallowed the bitter pill
I can taste it I can taste it
Life is real, life is real
Life is real

Music will be my mistress
Loving like a whore
Lennon is a genius
Living in ev’ry pore
Life is real, life is real
Life is real, so real
Life is cruel, life is a bitch
Life is real, so real
Life is real, life is real, yeah
Life is real.