For My Sunday Song #229, we are tackling on of the band’s biggest hits, “Another One Bites the Dust” off the Queen album “The Game” from 1980. The song was a departure for Queen as it was more funk and disco but it seems everything they do is a departure as they don’t follow anyone’s rules. The song went to #1 in the US and several other countries and sold over 5 million copies worldwide.
The song was written by bass player, John Deacon, and let me tell you there is some bass in it. The song was inspired by the song “Good Times” by the Chic and resulted from John hanging out a lot with that band as he was a big fan. Now, Roger Taylor wasn’t a big fan of the song, but Freddie loved it and worked hard to get everyone’s buy-in on the song and thanks to Freddie it was put on the album and the rest is history.
The song has so many effects on it, but none are with a synthesizer. It is all bass, guitar, piano and drums. Deacon played all the instruments except Roger’s drum loop. Brian May was on it as he added numerous sound effects using his guitar and a harmonizer. Some of the effects were the tape played backwards at different speeds. As a result of this effect, Christian groups protested the band saying the band was using backmasking to hide messages. They thought the band was promoting the use of marijuana.
What I love about the song is that bass line which is so funky and danceable and so recognizable. You hear and you instantly know this is Queen. The drum sound on the album is really cool. To get the sound, the band stuffed blankets in to the kick drum to soften it. Another cool things is all the little fills with the guitar from both Brian and John. I think you hear different sounds every time you listen. And if that wasn’t enough, Freddie’s vocals are brilliant. They are tough, serious and he really sounded like a mean bad ass ready to kick your ass. He sounds angry and helped give the song so much punch and everything worked so well together, it was a kind of magic.
If you haven’t heard the song, give it a listen and let me know what you think. If you have heard, listen to it again. I hope you dig it and it gets you moving today. Thanks for stopping by and have a Happy Sunday!
“Another One Bites The Dust”
Oh! Let’s go!
Steve walks warily down the street
With the brim pulled way down low
Ain’t no sound but the sound of his feet
Machine guns ready to go
Are you ready, hey, are you ready for this?
Are you hanging on the edge of your seat?
Out of the doorway the bullets rip
To the sound of the beat
Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust
Hey, I’m gonna get you, too
Another one bites the dust
How do you think I’m gonna get along
Without you when you’re gone?
You took me for everything that I had
And kicked me out on my own
Are you happy, are you satisfied?
How long can you stand the heat?
Out of the doorway the bullets rip
To the sound of the beat
Look out!
Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust
Hey, I’m gonna get you, too
Another one bites the dust
Hey!
Oh, take it
Bite the dust
Bite the dust, yeah
Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
Shout!
There are plenty of ways that you can hurt a man
And bring him to the ground
You can beat him, you can cheat him
You can treat him bad and leave him when he’s down
But I’m ready, yes, I’m ready for you
I’m standing on my own two feet
Out of the doorway the bullets rip
Repeating to the sound of the beat
Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust
Hey, I’m gonna get you, too
Another one bites the dust
Shoot out
Alright
Written by John Deacon
2 Loud 2 Old Music 
Another song I have listened to a million times without ever seeing the video before. A good tune even if the radio over does it.
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Yes, it is overplayed, but still a favorite of mine. I hadn’t seen the video in decades until I wrote this up.
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Well played about the song being a kind of magic!
The scene in Bohemian Rhapsody is a fun one, where it shows the band initially quite reluctant before realizing, hey, this is actually quite good.
Always been a fan of Weird Al’s Another One Rides the Bus as well!
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I like almost anything Weird Al. I know that pun is for a song that isn’t on that album, but it was still relevant.
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still works for me, John!
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Now THAT put me in a good mood!
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Great! Glad to hear it!!
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One name and one name only- John Deacon!
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That was a highlight for him no doubt.
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When this song was released you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing it…either the record itself, a school band playing it, someone whistling it, or someone humming it…John Deacon didn’t write a ton of songs…but he wrote a few of their biggest hits.
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With Deacon it was quality over quantity.
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Perfect description…when your first song is “My Best Friend” you have done a good job.
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I remember the song coming out when I was in the service in 1980. Two of my African-American comrades in arms were listening to it and one of them remarked, “These are a bunch of white boys.” Strange what can amuse me. This was one song which got a lot of people on the dance floor at the time.
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Who knew they could be so funky is what those guys were thinking. 😂.
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Probably so. 🙂
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Queen on a Sunday AGAIN! Just what the doctor ordered.
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Yes, always the right prescription for any day.
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I like to listen to Queen only on days that end in Y.
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I hate you limited yourself to only 365 days a year. At least you get that extra day on Leap Year’s.
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I look forward to those for this reason!
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Classic Queen tuneage! Always good to hear this one.
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One of their best.
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Roger never liked the song?!?! How dare he!! Nah, everyone has their own opinion. “Another One Bites the Dust” is my favorite Queen song, and during my sophomore year of college, I played this song on Spotify while walking to the bus stop and I felt like such a boss lol! I don’t play this one often anymore because it is overplayed like Kevin said, but once in a while, I still jam to it!
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Good inspirational song to get you ready for class.
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Heck yesss!!!!
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Great song. Stallone wanted to use it for Rocky 3 but the song came with a large licensing fee so Stallone commissioned Survivor to write a similar song.
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I think Survivor thanks Queen for being so expensive as it really changed their career.
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