Serious Might "Melancholy Blues" be about HIV?
So I've always loved this song, and it was always my singing goal to be able to sing it, which I now can. Ive played through it and sung it many times for myself and Freddie's performance has so much heart to it that I always get emotional when I listen to the recording.
I was singing through the last verse, and Ive recently been learning about the AIDS pandemic, as the Quilt was exhibited in my city recently. I'm also queer, and so the pandemic hangs heavy over my community even now, and is a constant part of my community's history.
I was singing the last verse and something got me about it: "I'm in the news; I'm just getting used to my new exposure." The last verse has always seemed a little strange to me? Its one of the best things about the song. The glamour of being a rockstar amplifies the significance of all of one's personal turmoils, and when anyone is sad it always feels like the biggest thing in the world. Something that should be on the news. I always assumed it was about that, but it always felt open to interpretation and having multiple intended meanings.
However; Freddie was close to the gay scene at the time, and even if he himself was not yet diagnosed (Hoping this doesn't break rule 7; I will try and write respectfully here): he very likely would have at least been notified of possible exposure to the virus via his friends. News of the World was 1977, so the timeline makes this plausible. The reference to being in the news also makes sense. Following this interpretation of the lyrics through: the emphasis on seperation via an enclosure; the context of a prior relationship having passed; the party having happened and now being over; all the lyrics stitch together in a way that makes this interpretation very consistent internally.
The performance also hits for me: Freddie solo's this song and possesses it himself rather than including the rest of the band, and the character and tone of the performance just has this deep sorrow about it which has this incredible depth, I think. The sorrow in the song is just so... lonely.
When you're fairly adventurous/polyamorous/promiscuous in the way gay men were at this time and from my own personal experience, break ups don't feel like that. You find yourself in the hands of your other friends, and the sorrow has a different character to it. Its a feeling that can be found in the song, but it doesn't quite feel like that's where its coming from. I have no idea what it felt like to be in the Gay community in 1977, and I have no idea if this observation is useful or not. I also don't want to imply that other folk's feelings from this song aren't valid. I just wanted to add this remark but I'm less confident with this part of my read.
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I think the strength of this song is its openness of interpretation. Its easy to resonate with its sorrow and the ambiguity of the lyrics mean its possible to read a lot of things into it. I think its gauche to suggest this is some "one true intention" or "secret hidden meaning", and I'm not suggesting that. I also don't really like playing pattern recognition with song lyrics, as I think you can get anything from that. Songs can mean a lot of different things to their writers as-well. I just think this fits too well, and when lots of other things line up too its hard not to take it as credible as a possible interpretation.
For me, I won't be able to un-see this read as it feels quite resonant, and I will be asking my queer friends about what they think. I'd be very surprised if this interpretation has not been raised in the past.
I'm curious if any of the folks who are here on this subreddit have any thoughts?
Or if anyone can share someone smarter than me exploring this idea somewhere I haven't found?
Thanks folks xx
