In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Great King Rat died today
Born on the twenty first of May
Died syphilis forty four on his birthday
Every second word he swore
Yes he was the son of a whore
Always wanted by the law
Wouldn't you like to know?
Wouldn't you like to know people?
Great King Rat was a dirty old man
And a dirty old man was he
Now what did I tell you
Would you like to see?
Now hear this
Where will I be tomorrow?
Will I beg ?, Will I borrow?
I don't care, I don't care anyway
Come on, come on the time is right
The man is evil and that is right
I told you ah yes I told you
And that's no lie, oh no no
Wouldn't you like to know?
Wouldn't you like to know?
Wouldn't you like to know?
Great King Rat was a dirty old man
And a dirty old man was he
Now what did I tell you
Would you like to see?
Show me
Oooh oooh oooh oooh
Wouldn't you like to know?
Wouldn't you like to know people people?
Great King Rat was a dirty old man
And a dirty old man was he
Now what did I tell you
Would you like to see?
Hit it
Now listen all you people
Put out the good and keep the bad
Don't believe all you read in the Bible
You sinners get in line
Saints you leave far behind
Very soon you're gonna be his disciple
Don't listen to what mama says
Not a word not a word mama says
Or else you'll find yourself being the rival
Sure, the great lord before he died
Knelt sinners by his side
And said you're going to realise tomorrow, oh woh oh woh oh woh
No I'm not going to tell you
What you already know
'Cause time and time again
The old man said it all a long time ago
Come on come on the time is right
This evil man will fight
I told you once before
Hear it
No
Wouldn't you like to know?
Wouldn't you like to know?
Just like I said before
Great King Rat was a dirty old man
And a dirty old man was he
The last time I tell you
Would you like to see?
Born on the twenty first of May
Died syphilis forty four on his birthday
Every second word he swore
Yes he was the son of a whore
Always wanted by the law
Wouldn't you like to know?
Wouldn't you like to know people?
Great King Rat was a dirty old man
And a dirty old man was he
Now what did I tell you
Would you like to see?
Now hear this
Where will I be tomorrow?
Will I beg ?, Will I borrow?
I don't care, I don't care anyway
Come on, come on the time is right
The man is evil and that is right
I told you ah yes I told you
And that's no lie, oh no no
Wouldn't you like to know?
Wouldn't you like to know?
Wouldn't you like to know?
Great King Rat was a dirty old man
And a dirty old man was he
Now what did I tell you
Would you like to see?
Show me
Oooh oooh oooh oooh
Wouldn't you like to know?
Wouldn't you like to know people people?
Great King Rat was a dirty old man
And a dirty old man was he
Now what did I tell you
Would you like to see?
Hit it
Now listen all you people
Put out the good and keep the bad
Don't believe all you read in the Bible
You sinners get in line
Saints you leave far behind
Very soon you're gonna be his disciple
Don't listen to what mama says
Not a word not a word mama says
Or else you'll find yourself being the rival
Sure, the great lord before he died
Knelt sinners by his side
And said you're going to realise tomorrow, oh woh oh woh oh woh
No I'm not going to tell you
What you already know
'Cause time and time again
The old man said it all a long time ago
Come on come on the time is right
This evil man will fight
I told you once before
Hear it
No
Wouldn't you like to know?
Wouldn't you like to know?
Just like I said before
Great King Rat was a dirty old man
And a dirty old man was he
The last time I tell you
Would you like to see?
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Pippin the Mercury...when Freddie says, "don't believe everything you read in the Bible", no truer words have ever been written about the Bible...why? Because it was written by men and men are not perfect. God's "words" can be found inside everyone, if you look hard enough, not just words in a book.
If you are a Bible reader("offended christian"), do you not remember when God told Moses not to use cutting tools on the altar for God? Why? Because it was to be known as "God's Alter" and anything known as God's cannot be touched by man's tools...that includes writing tools. People who LIE and title the Bible "God's Word" are insulting God's perfection.
The reason preachers and religious leaders brainwash their followers to believe God's word is whatever particular version of canon(insert any religion's handbook) is so their rules aren't questioned...it's a control tactic that's been used dating back to the era of the first recorded language. Look it up.
Freddie obviously believes there is a God at this point in his life, but is unsure what to believe. Fortunately, he knows enough not to believe EVERYTHING he reads...you live, you learn...research helps.
Faith=ignorance+laziness
"Don't listen to what mama says" is probably because "moma" is still clinging to what her pastor tells her...like a good little sheep...
Truth hurts,"in the beginning"(Genesis 1:1), until you can "put away childish things"(1 Corinthians 13:11)...like old "Jewish myths"(Titus 1:14)...unless you ENJOY being made a spectacle of(1 Corinthians 4:9).
That's what Freddie meant when he wrote "Or else you'll find yourself, bein' a rival".
@spicyflo OOOOPS you have made a tiny little error that deflates your whole argument....yes, I agree with you the Bible is written by men, and one more critical aspect to consider. "But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." Read the book 2Peter to discover this verse in context. The whole of the Bible is either from God or it isn't. Read it for yourself and then decide.
@spicyflo What you said here is beautiful, may I keep this?
@spicyflo \r\nI understand your misgivings about religious things, but it\'s not the Bible that is false but rather men claiming to represent it and mislead people with their own thoughts and ideas, consider...\r\nIf men uninspired wrote the Bible how did they know that the best day to circumcise an infant was the eighth day when the body is at its peak ability for blood coagulation? Lucky guess?\r\nOr that at Isa 40:22 it says the earth is round when it was generally believed the earth was flat at that time around 800 BCE?\r\nOr that at Job 26:7, where it says the earth is suspended upon nothing when even centuries after that was written men believed the earth to be resting on a giant turtle?\r\nThe real formula for faith is found at Hebrews 11:1 where it shows true faith is supported by evidence like the same evidence that assures you the sun will rise tomorrow though no one has seen tomorrow yet. There is plenty more evidence including accurate history, fulfilled prophecy, internal harmony as well as harmony with proven science. If you want to challenge this goto JW.org and search Bible accuracy. \r\n
This first album took me quite a while to come around to, but i love it now, not that its my favorite, but this song is up there with some of my favorites, it seems to be about some power being revealed as 'evil' perhaps the devil, or 'Angra(of Zoroastrianism)'.
@Italian Phaethon Yes exactly, many Queen songs have a message of the battle between good and evil, and this song shows the audacity of evil to claim he (Great King Rat) will win....evil ALWAYS LIES, so the opposite is true.
This song is epic, didn't really like it at first until I listened to it over and over. Genius lyrics, really makes you think about yourself. Talk about a message in the music. Strange that Freddie did die around 44 from a similar fate. Looking back too many of his songs lyrics were so prophetic to be coincidental. Absolutely love Queen, their intellect matched their talent, no other group like them.
@Queenforever13 I agree, very prophetic and epic song- like the battle between good and evil which is hinted at in a few of their songs...like Bohemian Rhapsody and Liar. So I think for Freddie to have ended his life recording a song like "My Life Has Been Saved" is very interesting indeed. Lyrics are "Oh Lord, I thank the Lord above, My life has been saved." Saved from the influence of those like Great King Rat? Surrendering to the Lord to be saved? So interesting!!!!!!
I don't believe this is metaphor at all. The King Rats are one year tenure leaders of the Grand Order of Water Rats, which is a charity group of theatre people, and I believe the lyrics refer to one of these who is obviously not named for legal reasons. There is a list of them on some websites with the years they were "king" for. All you need to do is go through these...
@rocker115 Holy shit. I came here because I worked this out and was going to shae that it was George Martin, King Rat of 1971 when Freddie wrote the song, and why... It has to do with comments John Lennon made about George "the 5th beatle" Martin in an interview...It's all in George's Wiki article, you just need to look at the time Freddie would have been paying attention...
@michaelnyx - one fact - George Martin died 1991 at the age 69 as a complication after suffering stroke. So its not the name.<br /> <br /> Welladay, i didnt find (in my sources) anybody who died at 44 on syphilis and was a Great King Rat.
When you really love an artist, you pay them the most respect by listening to all their albums. This day and age, its very hard to find such artists. I'm so happy to have found an artist that I could apply this ideal to.
This song was the first to really catch my attention after listening to "Keep Yourself Alive", and "Doing All Right". Those were great, relatable with enduring of life, but for the year it was released, 1973, this was a time period where everyone believed in a religion, and he's boldly questioning it.
this is all just speculation
Its starts off with some tale, "The Great King Rat", like a fairy tale we heard as children. Though he has the title of king and has the adjective Great, the tale speaks nothing but ill of him. Now, It sounds as if there is 2 people talking, one being a strong believer since he's preaching, and the other being the ignorant. Ignorant because of the line, "Show me", indicating the preacher is trying to convince someone. Considering they said he was always wanted by the law and always swearing, Its not far fetched to assume they're talking about someone viewed as a criminal. Mind you, there was no such thing as 'serial killers' till 1981, so people already had harsh views on criminals who'd committed lesser crimes. There was nothing but TV, so people would believe everything they heard. Now, I want to talk about the "rat". A rat is found highly disgusting by most likely carries diseases from living in filth. A squirrel is found very cute and nature friendly because its found by trees and sunshine, yet carries the same level of diseases. How different would you think of the first chorus if it began as Great King Squirrel instead of Rat. This use of irony in just the name indicates so much on how our society revolves around people's perceptions. For him to put this as his first song in bands first album shows how much hes buttering us up for more. All of these things still apply today.
You know what they say, the past is just the future with the lights on.
This is actually one of the best things in classic rock like Queen or Bob Dylan: The lyrics aren't always crystal clear. Think about it, you have bands like Linkin Park or Creed, who express their feelings or critizism openly. The lyrics are quite blunt. Personally, I just get depressed when listen to Creed...
this is obviously about someone, just read the first verse! For some reason Al Capone crops up but i doubt its him.
Love this song. Love this song. Love this song. lol it kinda sounds to me like a nursery rhyme in the chorus, really innocent, but the lyrics seem to be about a drug dealer...that's just a theory...
I noticed the date and it reminded me of this song.
I've always liked the faint sound of chains and how I never even heard them until I listed to it with headphones.
i haven't heard them, i'll listen for them
First time i heard the lyrics i was quite shocked: "What? What kind of a song is this?" -and i should add that as a queen fan i know that their songs are everything but ordinary- And the second time i listened to it, it became one of my favourites. The lyrics don't have a clear meaning, that's right, but let's say we can expect everything from a man like Freddie...