See What a Fool I've Been

"See What A Fool I've Been" was the B-side to Queen's 1974 single "Seven Seas of Rhye". It was inspired by "That's How I Feel", a blues song by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.^[1] Originally released in 1974, it was re-released in 1991 as one of the bonus tracks on the re-release of Queen II.^[2] It was described as "a slow crawl that's the closest Queen ever came to blues".^[2]

Details

The "Seven Seas of Rhye" single featured the first of several non-album B-sides released during Queen's recording career. This song dated from the pre-Queen band Smile. Brian May heard the song "The Way I Feel" by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee on a TV program, but at the time he never caught the name of the song or band. He remembered the riff and some lyrics and brought them to the band, then proceeded to write "See What A Fool I've Been" around it.

It was not recorded until the Queen II sessions, though it was a live staple since Queen's formation. The B-side version features a vocal delivery from Freddie Mercury that could be best described as burlesque in nature, rather than the more straightforward delivery of the live and BBC versions which were officially released in 2011. Also, there are lyric changes between the B-side, BBC and live versions (with references to a "train to Georgia" and a "Greyhound bus at dawn" not heard in B-side version, whereas the live versions have no "sailor boy" or "barking dog" lyrics). The reason for these differences has never been explained.

In 2004, May was contacted by a fan who had discovered which song "See What A Fool I've Been" had been based on, as it had long been a mystery. May officially confirmed "The Way I Feel" as the inspiration after the fan sent him the recently released CD containing the song (along with a note explaining how it was tracked down by looking up song lyrics rather than listening to every recording by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee). The explanation of the song's history appears on the February 2004 Soapbox entry of May's official website.^[3] May said he planned to contact their estates to work out the long-overdue royalty issues.

Personnel

Freddie Mercury - vocals
Brian May - acoustic and electric guitars
Roger Taylor - drums
John Deacon - bass guitar

References

↑ Hodkinson, Mark (2004). Queen The Early Years. London: Omnibus Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-84449-012-7.
1 2 Woodstra, Christopher. All Music Guide Required Listening : Classic Rock (All Music Guide Required Listening Classic Rock). Backbeat. ISBN 978-0-87930-917-6.
↑ "Brian's Soapbox Feb 04". Brianmay.com. Retrieved 2016-06-22.

C. Strong, Martin; Peel, John (1998). The Great Rock Discography: Complete Discographies Listing Every Track Recorded by More Than 1,200 Artists. Canongate U.S. p. 665. ISBN 978-1-84195-615-2.

External links

Lyrics at Queen official website (from The Singles Collection Volume 1)

Queen singles 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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