Another One Bites The Dust boiMAG.com

Queen bass player John Deacon wrote the song. All four members of Queen wrote songs, and each wrote at least one hit. Deacon also wrote “You’re My Best Friend.”

Deacon was influenced by the Chic song "Good Times." In an interview with the New Musical Express, Chic bass player Bernard Edwards said “Well, that Queen record came about because that bass player spent some time hanging out with us at our studio.”

Deacon played most of the instruments on the track, lead and rhythm guitars, bass, reversed piano and additional percussion. Brian May did some guitar effects with harmoniser (in the interlude), and Roger Taylor played the drum loop. Surprisingly, there are no synthesizers. The drum track and the hand claps were looped and they repeat throughout the song.

Freddie Mercury loved this track. Brian May recalled to Mojo, “Freddie sung until his throat bled on Another One Bites The Dust. He was so into it. He wanted to make that song something special.”

Queen band members were originally reluctant to release this as a single, but backstage after a Queen gig at the Los Angeles forum, a visiting Michael Jackson convinced them it would be a hit. “Michael and all his brothers were all going, ‘That’s a fantastic track. You must release it,’” recalled Queen drummer Roger Taylor to Q magazine December 2009.

This meeting lead to several recordings and collaborations between Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson, all of which remain unreleased.

This was the single that really broke the band in America, and it garnered a huge following amongst American disco audiences, with many fans and journalists convinced it was a black man singing lead vocals, people obviously hadn’t heard of Queen before so didn’t know what Freddie looked like..

There was a rumor that Freddie Mercury was writing and singing about his personal war with AIDS. He knew he would be “biting the dust” very soon, and many of his friends were too. But, the rumor that the song was about AIDS isn’t to plausible. The song was written by John Deacon, a member of the band and was released on “The Game” album in 1980 when AIDS was still very rare and wasn’t really known in the UK till 1981, and Freddy Mercury didn’t become infected until 1987, as he claimed. Freddy died in 1991 at the age of 45.

LYRICS:

Let’s go Steve walks warily down the street. With his brim pulled way down low Ain’t no sound but the sound of his feet. Machine guns ready to go Are you ready hey are you ready for this? Are you hanging on the edge of your seat? Out of the doorway the bullets rip to the sound of the beat, yeah, Another one bites the dust, Another one bites the dust, And another one gone and another one gone, Another one bites the dust, Hey I’m gonna get you too, Another one bites the dust.

How do you think I’m going to get along wthout you when you’re gone, you took me for everything that I had And kicked me out on my own. Are you happy are you satisfied? How long can you stand the heat. Out of the doorway the bullets rip, to the sound of the beat. Look out.

Oh take it - Bite the dust, bite the dust. Hey Another one bites the dust. Another one bites the dust, ow. Another one bites the dust

There are plenty of ways that you can hurt a man and bring him to the ground. You can beat him, you can cheat him, you can treat him bad and leave him. When he’s down, but I’m ready yes, I’m ready for you, I’m standing on my own two feet. Out of the doorway the bullets rip, repeating to the sound of the beat.

Another one bites the dust, Another one bites the dust, and another one gone and another one gone, Another one bites the dust, yeah. Hey I’m gonna get you too, Another one bites the dust. Shoot out...