Top 10 Queen Love Songs

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Our Top Queen’s Love Songs looks at a legendary band that always had such remarkable range. Of course, Queen is still around, but we all know that the group will never be the same as they were wither there much-loved lead vocalist and songwriter Freddie Mercury. While recently the band has issued some unreleased songs their album Made in Heaven remains the band’s final release, which makes sense because the surviving band members made it using the material that the lead singer Freddie Mercury had recorded for that precise purpose. That means Queen released a total of fifteen studio albums over two-and-a-half decades. That output includes a fair number of love songs, which cover the full gamut of the experience.

Top 10 Queen Love Songs

#10 – In Only Seven Days

“In Only Seven Days” is one of the songs on Queen’s seventh studio album Jazz. It is the only song on the studio album penned by John Deacon, though it isn’t the only song on this list penned by the band’s one-time bass guitarist. Subject-wise, “In Only Seven Days” covers the singer’s holiday romance. As such, it is a sweet song that ends on something of a sad note.

#9 – I Want to Break Free

Speaking of which, Deacon is also the songwriter for “I Want to Break Free.” Queen released the song as the second single for The Works in 1984. Amusingly, there was a sharp divide between the song’s reception in North America and the song’s reception in other regions. “I Want to Break Free” peaked at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 26 on the RPM Canada Top Singles chart. In contrast, it was consistently a Top 10 hit in other countries.

It is believed that Queen received a poor reception in North America because the band members cross-dressed for the music video. The United Kingdom and some of its European neighbors took it in stride because cross-dressing is a staple of British comedy. Meanwhile, people in South Africa and South America liked the song even if they didn’t necessarily like the music video, not least because they saw it as a rallying cry against oppression. Not bad for a song about the singer feeling trapped in his current relationship.

#8 – Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Moving on, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” is a Freddie Mercury-penned single from The Game. It is catchy, energetic, and surprisingly easy to sing along with. As a result, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” shot to the number two spot in the United Kingdom in 1979 before proceeding to shoot to the number one spot in the United States in 1980. It was Queen’s first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, though it wouldn’t be the last.

#7 – Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy

“Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy” is another Freddie Mercury-penned single. In its case, it preceded “Crazy Little Things Called Love” by a couple of years because it was the fourth single from A Day at the Races. This song has some of Queen’s more charming lyrics. Moreover, its varied influences keep it fresh throughout. In particular, it is interesting to note that “Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy” has music hall influence, which refers to a kind of Victorian theatrical entertainment with a reputation for boldness and scandalousness in equal measure. Ironically, one of the reasons music hall died out in the early 20th century was competition from new forms of music such as rock and roll. On the whole, “Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy” did quite well with more than 200,000 sales in the United Kingdom and more than 500,000 sales in the United States.

#6 – You Take My Breath Away

“You Take My Breath Away” also came from A Day at the Races. It was never a single, but it is well-known because it has seen extensive use in a wide range of movies, TV shows, and other works. The simplicity of “You Take My Breath Away” does a great deal to accentuate the emotional power of the song.

#5 – One Year of Love

Deacon wrote “One Year of Love.” Interested individuals should know it because of two things that happened in 1986. One, Mercury performed it for the first Highlander movie. Two, Queen released it on its twelfth studio album A Kind of Magic. The band never played this song live. Still, it is an excellent example of Deacon’s ability to express things that a lot of other people would shy away from.

#4 – You’re My Best Friend

Queen released “You’re My Best Friend” as a single in 1975. The name is somewhat ambiguous, whereas the lyrics are nothing of the sort. They make it very clear that the singer’s significant other is also the singer’s best friend, thus explaining the name of the song. People might wonder if the lyrics refer to real people. If so, they should know Deacon wrote the song for his wife, Veronica Tetzlaff. “You’re My Best Friend” met with a positive reception. It was certified platinum in the United States, though it peaked at the number 16 position on the Billboard Hot 100.

#3 – I Was Born to Love You

“I Was Born to Love You” saw two releases. First, Mercury released it on his solo album Mr. Bad Guy in 1985. Then, Queen’s surviving members released it on Made in Heaven in 1995. One is a disco song. The other is a rock song thanks to some extra instrumentation. This song was extremely popular in Japan, which is why it sometimes shows up in the strangest places in Japanese culture. Regardless, “I Was Born to Love You” is a wonderful response to existential questions. It is normal for people to wonder why we are here. There is nothing wrong with falling back on the answers that are most readily available to us. Even so, it is good to remember that we can choose an answer of our own. Here, the singer answers so decisively that there can be no doubt about his feelings for his lover.

#2 – Somebody to Love

“Somebody to Love” was the lead single for A Day at the Races. Its singer does a bit of soul-searching because his life is absent of love. That is no coincidence, seeing as how “Somebody to Love” has a great deal of gospel influence. Indeed, Queen recreated the sound of a 100-voice choir by layering the voices of three of its members. The success of that technique can be seen in how the song went platinum in the United Kingdom and triple-platinum in the United States.

#1 – Love of My Life

“Love of My Life” isn’t the happiest of songs. After all, it is a lament for a lost love. Indeed, people have speculated that Mercury wrote it about an individual named Mary Austin, who was supposedly the love of his life. Whatever the case, “Love of My Life” isn’t just one of the most moving songs in A Night at the Opera, it is one of the most moving songs in Queen’s body of work as a whole. The song is simple and light, but somehow, those things lift it up rather than cast it down.