Who Wants to Live Forever (5:16)

“Who Wants to Live Forever” is a song by the English rock band Queen. The song is the sixth track on the album A Kind Of Magic, released in June 1986, and was written by guitarist Brian May for the soundtrack to the film Highlander. The song is used to frame the heart-wrenching scene in the film where Connor MacLeod must endure his beloved wife Heather growing old and dying while he, as an Immortal, is forever young. (It was later used in the television series of the same name, in the episodes “The Gathering”, “Revenge is Sweet”, “The Hunters”, and “Leader of the Pack”).

May sings lead on the first verse before Freddie Mercury takes over for most of the remainder of the song. The version which can be heard in the film is unique, in that it features Mercury singing lead vocals on the first verse. Mercury also sang the lead in live performances.

An instrumental version of the song, titled Forever, was included as a bonus track on the CD version of the album. This instrumental featured only a piano, with keyboard accompaniment during the chorus sections. The piano track was recorded solely by Brian May.

Interviews With Queen::

Brian May - 2003, Greatest Video Hits 2 DVD commentary.:

“This is a very different era, of course. The song was written – I’ve documented this very well, I know – but what happened was we went to see the Highlander rushes with Russell Mulcahy, and that was our first experience in any way with Highlander – I hadn’t read the script; I don’t think any of us had – and it was very moving. about a man who becomes conscious that he’s immortal, and he’s reluctant to accept that fact, but he’s told that if he falls in love he’s in big trouble, but of course he falls in love anyway.