These Are the Days of Our Lives

"These Are the Days of Our Lives"
; Single by Queen;
from the album Innuendo;
B-side	"Bijou"
Released	5 September 1991 (First Issue) ; 9 December 1991 (Second Issue);
Format	; 7"; ; cassette; ; CD; ;
Recorded	March 1989 – November 1990 at; Metropolis Studios; (London, United Kingdom); Mountain Studios; (Montreux, Switzerland);
Length	4:13
Label	; Parlophone (Europe); Hollywood (North America);
Songwriter(s)	; Queen ; (Roger Taylor);
Producer(s)	Queen and David Richards;
; Queen singles chronology
	;
Second Issue
	;
Music video
	; "These Are the Days of Our Lives" on YouTube;
	;

"These Are the Days of Our Lives" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Although credited to the whole band, it was largely written by their drummer Roger Taylor, and is the eighth track on the band's 1991 album Innuendo.^[1].

The song was released as a single in the US on Freddie Mercury's 45th birthday, 5 September 1991, and as double A-side single in the UK on 9 December, in the wake of Mercury's death, with the Queen track "Bohemian Rhapsody". The song debuted at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, and remained at the top for five weeks.^[2] The song was awarded a Brit Award for "Best Single" in 1992.^[3]

Live performances and covers[edit]

The song was first played live on 20 April 1992 at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, sung by George Michael and Lisa Stansfield.^[4] This live version was included on the 1993 album Five Live (EP), credited to 'George Michael with Queen & Lisa Stansfield'.

The song was played on the 2005/2006 Queen + Paul Rodgers tours with vocals provided by Roger Taylor. On stage the song was accompanied by a video of the band in their early days in Japan, including many shots focusing on past band members Freddie Mercury and John Deacon.

The song was used on 1 July 2007 at the Concert for Diana held at the new Wembley Stadium, London in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, who had died almost 10 years earlier.^[5] At the end of the concert, a video montage of Diana as a child was presented and this song was playing in the background.^[5]

A cover version by Petula Clark is included on her 2008 compilation album Then & Now.

Music video[edit]

The accompanying video was the last to feature frontman Freddie Mercury as he was in the final stages of his battle with AIDS. Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher of DoRo Productions filmed the majority of the footage used in the video on 30 May 1991.^[6]

For the promotional video, Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor and John Deacon were present at the shoot, with additional footage of guitarist Brian May filmed some weeks later and edited into the footage, as he was out of the country on a radio promotional tour at the time of the principal film shoot. Following rumours about Mercury's health, which had been at the centre of much public speculation for over a year, the video was filmed and released in black and white to hide the full extent of Mercury's faltering condition from AIDS. This followed on from its use in the video for "I'm Going Slightly Mad" earlier in 1991.^[6]

Colour footage of the band later emerged, revealing just how frail Mercury appeared, thus justifying the band's decision to film the video in black and white out of respect for him.

In the video, Mercury wears a waistcoat with pictures of cats that was made for him by a close friend, and which he loved. With his knowing farewell look straight at the camera, Mercury whispers "I still love you" as the song ends, which are his last ever words on camera.^[7]^[6]^[8] Taylor was the primary songwriter, who produced the lyrics from how parenthood had made him reflect on life. However, the song, as sung by Mercury, is also meaningful when referencing reflections at the end of life. The band knew Mercury had little time left before death, though news was not released publicly until near Mercury's death.^[9]

The version of the finished video serviced to the U.S. market also featured some animated footage produced by animators for the Walt Disney Studios, as Queen's North American record label, Hollywood Records, is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.^[10] The US version also used video editing to add Brian May into several shots, giving the appearance that all four members were side-by-side during filming. In Europe, a different, 'clean' version of the video without the animated sequences was released. Then another video version was released in 1992 to promote the Classic Queen compilation album in the US, combining old footage of the band from 1973 to 1991 plus the performances of the band from the US aired video.^[11]

Track listings[edit]

First Issue

Cassette
No.	Title	Length
1.	"These Are the Days of Our Lives"	4:10
2.	"Bijou"	3:36

US Modern rock promotional single
No.	Title	Length
1.	"These Are the Days of Our Lives"	4:18
2.	"These Are the Days of Our Lives" (Edit)	3:54

US Contemporary hit promotional single
No.	Title	Length
1.	"These Are the Days of Our Lives"	4:10

Second Issue

CD, CT, 7"
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Bohemian Rhapsody"	6:00
2.	"These Are the Days of Our Lives"	4:15

Charts, certifications and accolades[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Chart (1991–92)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)	5
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)	8
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[12]	40
France (SNEP)	15
Germany (Media Control AG)	16
Ireland (IRMA)	1
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)	1
New Zealand (RIANZ)	16
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	8
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)^[13]	1

Certifications[edit]


Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[14]	Platinum	600,000^{^}
^{^}shipments figures based on certification alone

Accolades[edit]

Year	Ceremony	Award	Result
1992	Brit Awards	British Single of the Year	Won

Release history[edit]

Country	Date	Format	Label	Catalog no.
First Issue
United States	August 1991	CD-R (Modern Rock / Alternative radio)	Hollywood Records	PRCD-10061-2
	5 September 1991	7", CT		64868 4 (7") HR-64868-4 (CT)
	1991	CD-R (Contemporary hit radio)		PRCD-8390-2
Second Issue
Europe	9 December 1991	7", CD, CT	EMI, Parlophone	016 2046497, QUEEN 20 (7") 2046492, CDQUEEN 20 (CD) 300201 4 (CT)
United Kingdom	9 December 1991	7", CD, CT		2046497, QUEEN 20 (7") 2046492, CDQUEEN 20 (CD) 2046494, TCQUEEN 20 (CT)
Australia	1992	CT		TC-2046494
Japan	8 July 1992	CD		TOCP-7259

Personnel[edit]

Freddie Mercury - vocals, keyboards

Brian May - electric guitar

Roger Taylor - drums, keyboards

John Deacon - bass guitar

David Richards - keyboards, programming, bongo, percussion

References[edit]

^ Innuendo - These Are The Days Of Our Lives UltimateQueen. Retrieved 25 June 2011

^ Bohemian Rhapsody/These Are The Days Of Our Lives Chartstats. Retrieved 24 June 2011

^ The Highs and Lows of the Brit Awards BBC. Retrieved 24 June 2011

^ The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert: These Are the Days of Our Lives Retrieved 24 June 2011

^ ^a^b Old and new stars celebrate Diana BBC. Retrieved 16 July 2011

^ ^a^b^c Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock. p.224. Voyageur Press, 2009

^ "Queen's Greatest Videos". Episode 1/1. 1999. 50 minutes in. Channel 4. Missing or empty |series= (help).mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em} (Roger Taylor)

^ Final Freddie Mercury performance discovered The Independent. Retrieved 24 June 2011

^ Brian May 'Queen:Days of Our Lives'

^ DVD Docum - These Are The Days Of Our Lives Queen Collection. Retrieved 16 July 2011

^ Queen Album: Classic Queen MTV. Retrieved 16 July 2011

^ "Ultratop.be – Queen – These Are the Days of Our Lives" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.

^ "Queen: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.

^ "British single certifications – These Are the Days of Our Lives". British Phonographic Industry.
Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type These Are the Days of Our Lives in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.

External links[edit]

Official YouTube videos: Queen + Paul Rodgers (live), at Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert (with George Michael and Lisa Stansfield)

Lyrics at Queen official website

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

[1] Innuendo - These Are The Days Of Our Lives UltimateQueen. Retrieved 25 June 2011

[2] Bohemian Rhapsody/These Are The Days Of Our Lives Chartstats. Retrieved 24 June 2011

[3] The Highs and Lows of the Brit Awards BBC. Retrieved 24 June 2011

[4] The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert: These Are the Days of Our Lives Retrieved 24 June 2011

[Diana-5] Old and new stars celebrate Diana BBC. Retrieved 16 July 2011

[History-6] Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock. p.224. Voyageur Press, 2009

[Channel4-7] "Queen's Greatest Videos". Episode 1/1. 1999. 50 minutes in. Channel 4. Missing or empty |series= (help).mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em} (Roger Taylor)

[8] Final Freddie Mercury performance discovered The Independent. Retrieved 24 June 2011

[9] Brian May 'Queen:Days of Our Lives'

[10] DVD Docum - These Are The Days Of Our Lives Queen Collection. Retrieved 16 July 2011

[11] Queen Album: Classic Queen MTV. Retrieved 16 July 2011

[sc_Flanders_Queen-12] "Ultratop.be – Queen – These Are the Days of Our Lives" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.

[sc_UKchartarchive_Queen-13] "Queen: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.

[United_KingdomThese_Are_the_Days_of_Our_LivessingleCertRef-14] "British single certifications – These Are the Days of Our Lives". British Phonographic Industry.
Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type These Are the Days of Our Lives in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.

Queen songs
Discography
Queen	"Keep Yourself Alive" "Liar"
Queen II	"Seven Seas of Rhye"
Sheer Heart Attack	"Killer Queen"/"Flick of the Wrist" "Now I'm Here" "Lily of the Valley" "Stone Cold Crazy"
A Night at the Opera	"Bohemian Rhapsody" "You're My Best Friend" "Love of My Life"
A Day at the Races	"Somebody to Love" "Tie Your Mother Down" "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" "Long Away" "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy"
News of the World	"We Are the Champions"/"We Will Rock You" "Spread Your Wings" "It's Late"
Jazz	"Bicycle Race"/"Fat Bottomed Girls" "Don't Stop Me Now" "Jealousy" "Mustapha"
Live Killers	"Love of My Life" (Live) "We Will Rock You" (Live)
The Game	"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" "Save Me" "Play the Game" "Another One Bites the Dust" "Need Your Loving Tonight"
Flash Gordon	"Flash"
Hot Space	"Under Pressure" (with David Bowie) "Body Language" "Las Palabras de Amor" "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"
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" "I Can't Live with You" "The Show Must Go On" "These Are the Days of Our Lives"
Made in Heaven	"Heaven for Everyone" "A Winter's Tale" "I Was Born to Love You" "Too Much Love Will Kill You" "Let Me Live" "You Don't Fool Me"
Queen Rocks	"No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)"/"Tie Your Mother Down"
Greatest Hits III	"Under Pressure (Rah Mix)"
Non-album singles	"Thank God It's Christmas" "Another One Bites the Dust (Small Soldiers Remix)" "We Will Rock You" (with Five) "We Are the Champions" (with Robbie Williams) "Flash (Vanguard Mix)" "Another One Bites the Dust (The Miami Project Remixes)" "Bohemian Rhapsody" (with The Muppets)
Other songs	"See What a Fool I've Been" "Death on Two Legs" "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" "I'm in Love with My Car" "'39" "Sweet Lady" "Seaside Rendezvous" "The Prophet's Song" "Good Company" "Sheer Heart Attack" "Is This the World We Created...?" "Ride the Wild Wind" "Delilah" "Made in Heaven" "Mother Love" "Let Me in Your Heart Again" "Love Kills" "There Must Be More To Life Than This"
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