The British pop band Queen’s classic Bohemian Rhapsody has consistently featured in song lists ever since it was released on October 31, 1975. The music has been of so much interest that Google decided to visualise a 3D virtual reality experience.

Part of the ongoing obsession with the song is the curiosity about the lyrics, written by lead vocalist Freddie Mercury. The lyrics have been interpreted as an expression of Mercury’s personal traumas and insecurities. But Mercury denied these theories, and maintained that the words were meant to evoke a “fantasy feel”. What happens when you remove the upbeat opera-meets-hard rock music and Mercury’s incredible vocals? Only the words are left, which, when read out loud, give out a dark, strange meaning. Here is a video in which actors narrate the lyrics as dialogue in a crime drama.

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‘Literal Bohemian Rhapsody’.