About
Robbie Williams performed Bohemian Rhapsody, the 1975 Queen classic, as part of his Let Me Entertain You Tour in 2015. The rendition appeared in selected shows as a high-impact set piece, drawing on the song's established status in British rock history and its longstanding association with large scale live performance.
The arrangement retained the structure of the Queen original, combining the ballad, operatic and hard rock sections, but was adapted for Williams's touring band. The performance served as a showcase for the band's vocal layering and for Williams's theatrical delivery, elements that aligned with the tour's broader emphasis on rock-driven staging.
In performance, Williams presented the song as a tribute to Freddie Mercury, maintaining its core lyrical narrative and dramatic shifts. The operatic section was supported by pre arranged vocal tracks to replicate the dense studio harmonies, while the live band drove the rock finale.
I would never try to replace Freddie. I just want to celebrate what he did.Robbie Williams
Critical response noted the ambition of including Bohemian Rhapsody in a mainstream pop setlist. Reviewers highlighted its role in linking Williams with a lineage of British stadium performers, emphasising the song's durability and the audience's familiarity, rather than positioning it as a reinvention.
Lyrics
Is this just fantasy
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see
I'm just a poor boy
I need no sympathy
Because I'm easy come, easy go
Little high, little low
Any way the wind blows
Doesn't really matter to me, to me
Mama, just killed a man
Put a gun against his head
Pulled my trigger now he's dead
Mama, life had just begun
But now I've gone
And thrown it all away
Mama, ooh, didn't mean to make you cry
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow
Carry on, carry on
As if nothing really matters
Too late, my time has come
Sends shivers down my spine
Body's aching all the time
Goodbye, everybody, I've got to go
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth
Mama, ooh
Any way the wind blows
I don't want to die
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all
I see a little silhouetto of a man
Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?
Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightning me
Galileo Galileo
Galileo Galileo
Galileo figaro magnifico
I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
He's just a poor boy from a poor family
Spare him his life from this monstrosity
Easy come, easy go, will you let me go
Bismillah! No, we will not let you go
Let him go!
Bismillah! We will not let you go
Let him go!
Bismillah! We will not let you go
Let me go!
Will not let you go
Let me go!
Will not let you go
Let me go!
Ah
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
Oh mamma mia, mamma mia
Mamma mia, let me go
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me
So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye
So you think you can love me and leave me to die
Oh, baby, can't do this to me, baby
Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here
Nothing really matters, anyone can see
Nothing really matters
Nothing really matters to me
Any way the wind blows
Credits
-
Vocalist
Robbie Williams -
Songwriter
Freddy Mercury -
Original Artist
Queen