This is one of my most favourite songs of all time! I always get vivid pictures in my head whenever I listen to it. It almost goes on like a play. And the more I listen to it, the more inquisitive I get. But it gets difficult to understand the meaning of a song, when the band members themselves refuse to reveal the inception of the lyrics.

The most transparent interpretation can be - a boy pleading in front of an unsympathetic jury after murdering a man. The jury may be a religious group, as pointed by the word 'Bismillah', which is the first word of every chapter of Quran (Freddie belonged to a Zoroastrian family). Though, a small voice in the group does indeed show a little sympathy every now and then.

He's just a poor boy from a poor family, Spare him his life from this monstrosity

The song moves from Ballad to Guitar solo to Opera and to Hard Rock. Never heard so much variety in style in a rock song! The lyrics progresses through the central character's understanding of the situation.

At First, Confusion

Is this the real life?

Is this just fantasy?

Nonchalance

Because I'm easy come, easy go, Little high, little low,
Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me.

Realization

Mama just killed a man,
Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he's dead.

Regret

Mama, life had just begun,
But now I've gone and thrown it all away

The Trial

I see a little silhouette of a man,
Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the fandango?
Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening

The Plea

But I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me.
He's just a poor boy from a poor family,
Spare him his life from this monstrosity.
Easy come easy go will you let me go

The Judgement

Bismillah! No we will not let you go - let him go
Bismillah! We will not let you go - let him go

Anger (love this part of the song; the guitar sequence is amazing)

So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye
So you think you can love me and leave me to die
Oh, baby, can't do this to me, baby,
Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here.

And finally, Resignation

Nothing really matters,
Anyone can see,
Nothing really matters, nothing really matters to me

Now, to understand what it meant to Freddie Mercury, we should first look into his life at the time he most likely completed the lyrics of the song. The album released on 31st October, 1975. Freddie was in a long term relationship with Mary Austin since the early 1970's. In the mid 1970's, he cheated on her by having an affair with a man who worked for a record company. He must have felt immense amount of inner turmoil and guilt to come clean in front of Mary. But he didn't just have to confess to his girlfriend that he cheated. He also had to confront the possibility of being judged for his bisexuality. The confusion, guilt, anger and fear of society's judgement – these are all emotions Freddie may have felt around that time. (Finally in December 1976, he disclosed Mary his sexuality)

This is what Brian May, the lead guitarist of Queen, said about the song.

"Freddie was a very complex person: flippant and funny on the surface, but he concealed insecurities and problems in squaring up his life with his childhood. He never explained the lyrics, but I think he put a lot of himself into that song."

I may have twisted the meanings trying to mind-read one of the true geniuses of the music industry. But I really feel the emotional struggles of this song relate to what Freddie may have felt trying to come to terms with his sexuality (and perhaps his religion too IMO). Of course this cannot be the only interpretation of this song. The band has never explained the meaning of the song themselves, which has only added to the mystique. But us fans try (often in creepy ways, I admit) to relate each masterpiece with the creator’s life. It just makes the song feel all the more real.

Let’s see what the legend himself had to say about it.

“It’s one of those songs which has such a fantasy feel about it. I think people should just listen to it, think about it, and then make up their own minds as to what it says to them. Bohemian Rhapsody didn’t just come out of thin air. I did a bit of research although it was tongue-in-cheek and mock opera. Why not?”- Freddie Mercury

Below are the Wikipedia links from which I got most of the facts :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_Rhapsody
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Mercury