Somebody to Love (4:57)

“Somebody to Love” is a song by British rock band Queen. Written by singer Freddie Mercury, the track featured on their 1976 album A Day at the Races, from which it was also released as the lead single.

Like “Bohemian Rhapsody”, the major hit from Queen’s previous album A Night at the Opera, “Somebody to Love” has a complex melody and deep layering of vocal tracks, this time based on a gospel choir arrangement. It was the first single off the album A Day At The Races. It is a rock ballad on which band members Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor multitracked their voices to create the impression of a 100-voice gospel choir.

The lyrics, especially combined with the gospel influence, create a song about faith, desperation and soul-searching; the singer questions both the lack of love he’s experiencing and the role of God in helping to provide this disparately needed in his life. He’s passionately pondering what the use of it all is without having somebody to love in his life. Staying true to Queen’s guitar-driven style, it was also filled with intricate harmonies and a notable guitar solo by Brian May, and it went to number 2 on the UK charts and number 13 on the U.S. singles chart.

A promotional video was made combining a staged recording session at Sarm East Studios (where the A Day at the Races album was recorded) and film footage of the band’s performance at Hyde Park that September.

The song was included on their first Greatest Hits, released in 1981.