8 Hard Rock Songs Probably Written Out Of Spite
5. Queen - Death On Two Legs (Dedicated To…)
Freddie Mercury went in hard with the lyrics to this not exactly glowing tribute to Queen’s ex-manager Norman Sheffield. This was written after Sheffield, in Queen’s view at least, ripped the band off financially. Despite a big hit with Killer Queen, they still found themselves broke.
The rest of the band were initially shocked at the words, with Freddie going out of his way to make them “as coarse as possible.” Despite, or perhaps because of, the level of vitriol in lines like, “You’re a sewer rat decaying in a cesspool of pride,” and, “do you feel like suicide (I think you should)” the song’s subject is kept vague. Perhaps it would still be a mystery if Sheffield hadn’t helpfully drawn attention to himself by suing the band for defamation.
If we can measure the success of a spiteful song by the impact it has on its subject, Death On Two Legs was a smash hit. Clearly still touchy about it decades later, Sheffield called his 2013 autobiography Life On Two Legs: Setting The Record Straight.