Tie Your Mother Down
Encyclopedia
"Tie Your Mother Down" is a song by the English rock
group Queen
, written by guitarist Brian May
. It is the opening track and the second single
from their 1976 album A Day at the Races
. On the album, the song is preceded by a one-minute instrumental intro featuring a Shepard tone
melody, which is actually a reprise of the ending of "Teo Torriatte": this was intended to create a "circle" in the album, typical, for example, of Pink Floyd
's albums.
After its release in 1976, it was played by Queen on every subsequent tour. At the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, the song was co-performed by Queen and guests Joe Elliot and Slash. On several occasions in the recent years, May and Taylor have played this song live with the Foo Fighters
, including performances at Queen's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
induction ceremony in 2001, and the VH1 Rock Honors
in 2006.
, while he was working for his Ph.D.
as an astronomer
. He composed the riff on a Spanish guitar, and woke up early one morning and played it while singing "tie your mother down," a line he considered a joke. Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury
encouraged him to keep the line, similar to what happened between John Lennon
and
Paul McCartney
with the line "the movement you need is on your shoulder" from The Beatles
' song "Hey Jude
". "Tie Your Mother Down" opens with an ultra-heavy, stripped down Brian May guitar riff.
A promotional film was made for the song, directed by Bruce Gowers
, based on a performance clip shot at Nassau Coliseum in Long Island
, New York in February, 1977 during the band's US arena headlining tour.
Though it was a long-time live favorite and a US FM rock radio favorite, the song had limited chart success, making #31 in the UK and #49 in the US. Therefore it was included on the band's first Greatest Hits compilation in certain markets only; however, the song is featured on the Queen Rocks
compilation album, together with some of the band's heaviest songs.
In a BBC Radio 4
tribute program to Rory Gallagher
, May stated that a key inspiration for the riff of this song came from Taste's
'Morning Sun' from their On The Boards (1970) album. The riff is also quite close in sound to the verse riff from T.Rex's song "Funky London Childhood", from their January 1976 album, Futuristic Dragon
.
In a 1976 interview on Capital Radio
, Freddie Mercury was asked why "tie your mother down"? He replied: "Well this one in fact is a track written by Brian (May) actually, I don't know why. Maybe he was in one of his vicious moods. I think he's trying to out do me after 'Death on Two Legs
' actually."
singer Joe Elliot. On several occasions in the recent years, Brian and Roger have played this song live with the Foo Fighters
, including performances at Queen's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
induction ceremony in 2001, VH-1's Rock Honors 2006, and in Foo Fighters London Hyde Park concert for the encore of the show.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
group Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, written by guitarist Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
. It is the opening track and the second single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from their 1976 album A Day at the Races
A Day at the Races (album)
A Day at the Races is the fifth album by British rock group Queen, released in December 1976. A Day at the Races was the band's first completely self-produced album, and the first not to feature producer Roy Thomas Baker. Recorded at Sarm East, The Manor and Wessex Studios in England, A Day at the...
. On the album, the song is preceded by a one-minute instrumental intro featuring a Shepard tone
Shepard tone
A Shepard tone, named after Roger Shepard, is a sound consisting of a superposition of sine waves separated by octaves. When played with the base pitch of the tone moving upward or downward, it is referred to as the Shepard scale. This creates the auditory illusion of a tone that continually...
melody, which is actually a reprise of the ending of "Teo Torriatte": this was intended to create a "circle" in the album, typical, for example, of Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's albums.
After its release in 1976, it was played by Queen on every subsequent tour. At the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, the song was co-performed by Queen and guests Joe Elliot and Slash. On several occasions in the recent years, May and Taylor have played this song live with the Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
, including performances at Queen's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
induction ceremony in 2001, and the VH1 Rock Honors
VH1 Rock Honors
The VH1 Rock Honors were an annual ceremony paying homage to bands who influenced the sound of rock music. The events began in 2006, and the final event took place in 2008. The general format of each show is for modern bands to "pay tribute" to classic greats of the rock/metal world , after which...
in 2006.
History
May started writing the song in TenerifeTenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
, while he was working for his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
as an astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
. He composed the riff on a Spanish guitar, and woke up early one morning and played it while singing "tie your mother down," a line he considered a joke. Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range...
encouraged him to keep the line, similar to what happened between John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
and
Lennon/McCartney
The Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership is one of the best-known and most successful musical collaborations in history...
Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
with the line "the movement you need is on your shoulder" from The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' song "Hey Jude
Hey Jude
"Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The ballad evolved from "Hey Jules", a song widely accepted as being written to comfort John Lennon's son, Julian, during his parents' divorce—although this explanation is not...
". "Tie Your Mother Down" opens with an ultra-heavy, stripped down Brian May guitar riff.
A promotional film was made for the song, directed by Bruce Gowers
Bruce Gowers
Bruce Gowers is an English television director and producer, best known for work on large-scale live music and event productions. He started his career in his native England where his landmark music video for Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" brought him international recognition leading to his...
, based on a performance clip shot at Nassau Coliseum in Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York in February, 1977 during the band's US arena headlining tour.
Though it was a long-time live favorite and a US FM rock radio favorite, the song had limited chart success, making #31 in the UK and #49 in the US. Therefore it was included on the band's first Greatest Hits compilation in certain markets only; however, the song is featured on the Queen Rocks
Queen Rocks
-Video version:A video version of the album was made. It included slightly different videos for all these songs.# “I Want It All”...
compilation album, together with some of the band's heaviest songs.
In a BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
tribute program to Rory Gallagher
Rory Gallagher
William Rory Gallagher, ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995, was an Irish blues-rock multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader. Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland, and raised in Cork, Gallagher recorded solo albums throughout the 1970s and 1980s, after forming the band Taste...
, May stated that a key inspiration for the riff of this song came from Taste's
Taste (band)
Taste was an Irish rock and blues band formed in 1966 that gained fame in large part because of their unique style, and the talent and charisma of the band's founder, songwriter and musician Rory Gallagher...
'Morning Sun' from their On The Boards (1970) album. The riff is also quite close in sound to the verse riff from T.Rex's song "Funky London Childhood", from their January 1976 album, Futuristic Dragon
Futuristic Dragon
Futuristic Dragon is the eleventh studio album by T. Rex, released in 1976. Preceded by two UK Top 40 hits, "New York City" and "Dreamy Lady" , Futuristic Dragon was released in January, reaching #50. It was T. Rex's first album to register in the charts since Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of...
.
In a 1976 interview on Capital Radio
Capital Radio
Capital London is a London based radio station which launched on 16 October 1973 and is owned by Global Radio. On 3 January 2011 it formed part of the nine station Capital radio network.- Pre-launch :...
, Freddie Mercury was asked why "tie your mother down"? He replied: "Well this one in fact is a track written by Brian (May) actually, I don't know why. Maybe he was in one of his vicious moods. I think he's trying to out do me after 'Death on Two Legs
Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)
"Death on Two Legs " is a song by British rock group Queen, the opening track on their fourth studio album A Night at the Opera...
' actually."
Personnel
- John DeaconJohn DeaconJohn Richard Deacon is a retired English multi-instrumentalist and song writer, best known as the bassist for the rock band Queen. Of the four members of the band, he was the last to join and also the youngest, being only 19 years old when he was recruited by the other members of the band...
: Bass, Backing vocals. - Brian MayBrian MayBrian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
: Guitar, Backing vocals. - Freddie MercuryFreddie MercuryFreddie Mercury was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range...
: Vocals. - Roger Taylor: Drums, Backing vocals.
Live performances
After its release in 1976, "Tie Your Mother Down" would go on to become the most frequent opening number for the remainder of the band's long career. At the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, the song was co-performed by Queen and guests Joe Elliot and Slash. May sang the first verse and chorus before handing over the vocal part to the Def LeppardDef Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
singer Joe Elliot. On several occasions in the recent years, Brian and Roger have played this song live with the Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
, including performances at Queen's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
induction ceremony in 2001, VH-1's Rock Honors 2006, and in Foo Fighters London Hyde Park concert for the encore of the show.
Live recordings
- Live KillersLive KillersLive Killers is a double vinyl and compact disc live album by English rock band Queen. It was released on June 22, 1979.It was recorded live during the European leg of Queen's Jazz world tour between January and March 1979...
(1979) - We Will Rock YouWe Will Rock You (video)We Will Rock You is a concert film by English band Queen. It was filmed in Montreal, Quebec, Canada at the Montreal Forum on November 24 and 25, 1981....
/ Queen Rock MontrealQueen Rock MontrealQueen Rock Montreal is a live album by English rock band Queen. It was released in 2007 as a double CD / triple vinyl on 28 October in Australia, 29 October in Europe, and 30 October in the US....
(1981) - Queen on Fire - Live at the BowlQueen on Fire - Live at the BowlQueen on Fire - Live at the Bowl is a double compact disc live album by English band Queen released on October 25, 2004 in Europe and on November 9, 2004 in the US....
(1982) - Live at Wembley '86Live at Wembley '86Live at Wembley '86 is a double compact disc live album by English rock band Queen.It was recorded live on Saturday July 12, 1986 during the Magic Tour at Wembley Stadium in London, England and released on May 26, 1992...
/ Live at Wembley StadiumQueen Live at Wembley StadiumQueen at Wembley is a video recorded at the original Wembley Stadium, England on Saturday 12 July 1986 during Queen's Magic Tour. It was first released in December 1990 as an edited VHS , then as an audio CD in 1992, followed by a DVD release as Queen: Live at Wembley Stadium to coincide with the...
(1986) - Live MagicLive MagicLive Magic is a live compilation album by British rock band Queen. It was recorded at various 1986 live shows during the European Magic Tour and released on December 1, 1986. However, it was not released in the United States until August 1996. It received strong criticism by fans, due to the heavy...
(1986) - Seville Expo 92 concertSeville Expo '92The Universal Exposition of Seville took place from Monday, April 20 to Monday, October 12, 1992 on La Isla de La Cartuja , Seville, Spain. The theme for the Expo was "The Age of Discovery" and over 100 countries were represented...
(1992) - The Freddie Mercury Tribute ConcertThe Freddie Mercury Tribute ConcertThe Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness was an open-air concert held on Easter Monday, 20 April 1992 at London's Wembley Stadium, for an audience of 72,000. The concert was produced for television by Ray Burdis and broadcast live on television and radio to 76 countries around the...
(1992) - Live at the Brixton Academy (Brian May album)Live at the Brixton Academy (Brian May album)Live at the Brixton Academy is a recording of The Brian May Band's first show in London on June 15 1993. The album was released on CD, LP and VHS in 1994, and remains the group's only release as a collective....
(1993) - Return of the ChampionsReturn of the ChampionsReturn of the Champions is a double live album by English rock band Queen + Paul Rodgers. It was recorded in May 2005 during the Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour at the Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield, England and released on 19 September 2005...
(2005) - Super Live in JapanSuper Live in JapanSuper Live in Japan is a DVD by Queen + Paul Rodgers, capturing the performances in Saitama Super Arena in Japan on 27 October 2005 from their world tour, featuring songs from both Queen and Rodgers' catalogues. 15 of these songs will become available on DVD to the rest of the world as a Bonus DVD...
(2005) - Skin and BonesSkin and Bones-Live in Los Angeles :-Live in Hyde Park :Note: The whole setlist is not included on the DVD. The song "The One" is excluded, as Taylor Hawkins made a mistake on the drums...
(Foo Fighters album/DVD, on the Hyde Park DVD) (2006)
Covers
- W.A.S.P.W.A.S.P.W.A.S.P. is an American heavy metal band formed in 1982. They emerged from the same Los Angeles scene that spawned Mötley Crüe, Ratt, Quiet Riot and others. The band's popularity peaked in the 1980s, yet they continue to record and tour, making them one of the most enduring of the West Coast heavy...
- Still Not Black EnoughStill Not Black EnoughStill Not Black Enough is the sixth studio album by W.A.S.P. , first released in June 1995 in Japan only. It was not until August 1996 released in the U.S. through Castle Records.... - L.A. GunsL.A. GunsL.A. Guns is the name of a hard rock group formed in Los Angeles, California, of which two rival incarnations currently exist due to numerous line-up changes. The first incarnation of the group was formed, by Tracii Guns, in 1983 but disbanded in 1985 following its merger with fellow Los Angeles...
- Rips the Covers OffRips the Covers OffRips the Covers Off, some copies of which are titled Rips Off the Covers, is an album by Phil Lewis's version of L.A. Guns, their first with guitarist Stacey Blades.... - ShinedownShinedownShinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 2001 and founded by members Brent Smith , Brad Stewart , Jasin Todd , and Barry Kerch . A few line-up changes followed, and the band's current line-up consists of Smith and Kerch, the band's only two remaining original...
- Killer Queen: A Tribute to QueenKiller Queen: A Tribute to QueenKiller Queen is a tribute album of Queen songs. The album is named for the 1974 Queen song of the same name that first appeared on the Sheer Heart Attack album.The album peaked at #104 on the Billboard 200 on August 27, 2005... - Foo FightersFoo FightersFoo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
- Skin and BonesSkin and Bones-Live in Los Angeles :-Live in Hyde Park :Note: The whole setlist is not included on the DVD. The song "The One" is excluded, as Taylor Hawkins made a mistake on the drums...
" - Lynch Mob - Lynch Mob (1992)