Mustapha (song) - Misplaced Pages

"Mustapha" is a song written by Freddie Mercury and recorded by British rock band Queen. It is the first track of their 1978 album Jazz, categorized as "an up-tempo Arabic rocker" by Circus magazine.

Single

"Mustapha" was released as a single in Germany, Spain, Yugoslavia and Bolivia in 1979. The B side of the single was "Dead On Time" for German and Spanish releases and "In Only Seven Days" for Yugoslavian and Bolivian releases. Also, all four versions had different covers.

Lyrics

The composition's lyrics are mainly in English and Arabic, repeating the word Allah, the Arabic word for God used by Muslims. It also uses a sentence in Persian-emulating gibberish, reflecting Mercury's Parsi background. The lyrics repeat the names Mustapha and Ibrahim. The lyrics also repeat the phrase "Allah will pray for you." Parts of the lyrics like "Achtar es na sholei" meaning "His star, not his flame" have clear ties to the Persian language.

Live performances

In live performances, Mercury would often sing the opening vocals of "Mustapha" in place of the complex introduction to "Bohemian Rhapsody", going from "Allah we'll pray for you" to "Mama, just killed a man...". However, from the 1979 Saarbrücken Festival to the South American Game Tour, the band performed an almost full version of the song, with Mercury at the piano, where they dropped the second verse and went from the first chorus to the third. He also sang the intro before launching the band into "Hammer to Fall", as seen on We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan.

Personnel

Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, piano
Brian May - electric guitar
Roger Taylor - drums, hawk bells
John Deacon - bass guitar

References

"Jazz: Queen: Music". Amazon. 1991. Retrieved 31 January 2012. 1. Mustapha
"Interviews > Freddie Mercury Interviews > 12-12-1978 – Circus". Queenarchives.com. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
"Jazz (1978)". Queenvinyls.com. 6 December 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2016.

External links

Lyrics at Queen official website

v t e Queen songs
Queen	"Keep Yourself Alive" "Liar"
Queen II	"Seven Seas of Rhye"
Sheer Heart Attack	"Killer Queen" "Now I'm Here" "Flick of the Wrist" "Lily of the Valley" "Stone Cold Crazy" "Brighton Rock"
A Night at the Opera	"Bohemian Rhapsody" "You're My Best Friend" "Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)" "I'm in Love with My Car" "'39" "Sweet Lady" "The Prophet's Song" "Love of My Life" "Good Company" "God Save the Queen"
A Day at the Races	"Somebody to Love" "Tie Your Mother Down" "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" "Long Away"
News of the World	"We Will Rock You" "We Are the Champions" "Spread Your Wings" "It's Late" "Sheer Heart Attack"
Jazz	"Bicycle Race" "Fat Bottomed Girls" "Don't Stop Me Now" "Mustapha" "Jealousy"
The Game	"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" "Save Me" "Play the Game" "Another One Bites the Dust" "Need Your Loving Tonight"
Flash Gordon	"Flash's Theme"
Hot Space	"Under Pressure" "Body Language" "Las Palabras de Amor (The Words of Love)" "Calling All Girls" "Staying Power" "Back Chat"
The Works	"Radio Ga Ga" "I Want to Break Free" "It's a Hard Life" "Hammer to Fall" "Is This the World We Created...?"
A Kind of Magic	"One Vision" "A Kind of Magic" "Princes of the Universe" "Friends Will Be Friends" "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" "Who Wants to Live Forever" "One Year of Love"
The Miracle	"I Want It All" "Breakthru" "The Invisible Man" "Scandal" "The Miracle"
Innuendo	"Innuendo" "I'm Going Slightly Mad" "Headlong" "These Are the Days of Our Lives" "The Show Must Go On" "I Can't Live with You" "Ride the Wild Wind"
Made in Heaven	"Heaven for Everyone" "A Winter's Tale" "Too Much Love Will Kill You" "I Was Born to Love You" "Let Me Live" "You Don't Fool Me" "Made in Heaven" "Mother Love"
Queen Rocks	"No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)"
Queen Forever	"Let Me in Your Heart Again" "Love Kills" "There Must Be More to Life Than This"
Other songs	"Thank God It's Christmas" "Face It Alone"
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