Queen - Great King Rat (De Lane Lea Take 1 - with Guide Vocal)

This version of Great King Rat comes from the Queen 1 - Collector's Edition CD3 and was released on October 25th, 2024 in the UK. This first take of the song sees the band laying down a bed track of drums, bass and acoustic guitar, with Freddie singing a rough guide vocal to keep the band in sync, so that everyone knows where they are in the song (so what sound like him messing up the lyrics is more accurately him just focusing on marking time for the benefit of Roger, John and Brian's playing. Hence it being just a guide vocal. It's neat to hear count the different parts along and sing the electric guitar parts, which haven't been recorded yet. The backing track itself sounds close to the finished De Lane Lea Demo version, but there are some differences, like the longer acoustic and electric guitar solo parts in the final cut compared to this take, so it's possible some of this take was preserved in the final mix. Written by: Freddie Mercury Produced by: Queen, Louie Austin Additional Production: Justin Shirley-Smith, Joshua J. Macrae and Kris Fredriksson Musicians: Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals Brian May - acoustic & electric guitars, backing vocals John Deacon - bass guitar Roger Taylor - drums, tambourine, backing vocals Information from both QueenVault.com & QueenPedia.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lyrics / Transcription: Unknown: unknown dialouge - take one Freddie: Two twenty you want me to do that? Brian: Ten Freddie: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten Great king rat died today Born on the twenty-first of May Died syphilis forty-four on his birthday Every second word he swore Yes, he was the son of a whore Always wanted by the law A wouldn't you like to know A wouldn't you like to know A wouldn't you like to know Great king rat was a dirty old man And a dirty old man was he now listen What did I tell you Would you like to see? Yeah Where will I be tomorrow Will I beggar or will I borrow I don't care anyway Come on, come on, the time is right The man is evil and that is right I told you, once before And that's no lie Oh listen all you people Didn't I tell you before? Listen all you people Great king rat was a dirty old man And a dirty old man was he Now listen all you people Would you like to see? Show me Oh yeah Freddie vocalising the guitar Now listen all you people Now listen all you people What do you wanna know Great king rat was a dirty old man And a dirty old man was he Now what did I tell you Would you like to see? Now listen all you people Put out the good and keep the bad Very soon you're gonna be the bible Sinners get in line Far behind And very soon you're gonna be... Freddie: One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four Oh listen all you people out there Ahh yes, whoa oh In the bible Freddie: One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four Freddie: One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four No, I'm not gonna tell you What you already know Cause time and time again The old man said ago Come on, come on the word is right The man is evil and that is right I told you, I told you once before Listen, real dirty Freddie: One, two, three, four Freddie vocalising the guitar Freddie: One, two, three, four Freddie vocalising the guitar Listen all you people What do you wanna know unknown lyrics Now great king rat was a dirty old man And a dirty old man was he Now what did I tell you Would you like to see Freddie: Oh that's a good end Rog, I like that do doo doo Brian: How was that?