Forums > Queen - Serious Discussion > She Makes Me - lyrics

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Love the song, one of my favourite Queen ballads. 

I really like one line in particular: 

"...and if I'm very slow she makes me so!"

The way I understand it is: "If I'm a good lover it is because I'm making love to her."

Fantastic line, really. Lovely song (with an odd subtitle).

V.

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It's a track I've skipped through for the past 30 years, as I've always thought it to be the weakest on the album, and a bit of a durge, but maybe I should give it another listen.  I may appreciate it more, now I'm older.  Lol!

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Are you sure he wrote those songs while still in the hospital?

Myself, I don't think such a creative person spent all the period from July/August 1973 to July/August 1974 writing absolutely nothing.

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Really? D'you happen to have one of those 'numerous times' at hand? I'm not being an a*sehole, I'm really curious.

If you can provide convincing evidence, then that's a great way to turn this into a more professional and accurate dialogue. If not, then I think we could entertain the idea that a lot of the songwriting was done prior to his illness and hospitalisation and that, as such, it's a mere coincidence that you can apply the lyrics to whatever he may or may not have been feeling.

Coincidences, to paraphrase Alan Parsons, are sometimes just that: coincidences.

By the way, the famous interview on the eve of SNL (which you can read in full at http://www.pcpki.com/queen/articles/bhm8301.html) includes Brian saying he often wrote while on the road. Granted, that's from almost a decade after She Makes Me, so there's still a strong chance that he didn't write stuff on the road back in '74. Yet, 'it makes me wonder...'

At the end of the day (watch the latest Community episode for back-up), it's realtively easy to interpret anything to mean anything. Remember all those people who analyse Bo Rhap and find AIDS-related meanings there? Same could happen with She Makes Me and hepatitis. Or maybe not, maybe you do have a point. But in order to be sure, may you please provide further evidence that he wrote that song (or any other) while in bed?

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How sure are you that Brian played acoustic guitar on this song, Sebastian? I have always thought John played that part. The same goes for Tenement Funster.

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Sebastian wrote: Really? D'you happen to have one of those 'numerous times' at hand? I'm not being an a*sehole, I'm really curious.

If you can provide convincing evidence, then that's a great way to turn this into a more professional and accurate dialogue. If not, then I think we could entertain the idea that a lot of the songwriting was done prior to his illness and hospitalisation and that, as such, it's a mere coincidence that you can apply the lyrics to whatever he may or may not have been feeling.

Coincidences, to paraphrase Alan Parsons, are sometimes just that: coincidences.

By the way, the famous interview on the eve of SNL (which you can read in full at http://www.pcpki.com/queen/articles/bhm8301.html) includes Brian saying he often wrote while on the road. Granted, that's from almost a decade after She Makes Me, so there's still a strong chance that he didn't write stuff on the road back in '74. Yet, 'it makes me wonder...'

At the end of the day (watch the latest Community episode for back-up), it's realtively easy to interpret anything to mean anything. Remember all those people who analyse Bo Rhap and find AIDS-related meanings there? Same could happen with She Makes Me and hepatitis. Or maybe not, maybe you do have a point. But in order to be sure, may you please provide further evidence that he wrote that song (or any other) while in bed?
Unsure about the interpretation of the lyrics and wouldn't want to comment on that but I think more info /insight as to what was written and where/when could be gained by going back and looking at interviews done around that time. I am interested and have stuff from that period so will have a look thru it.

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I am sorry Brian not a great effort most of us love women, although as some posters already stated boring beyond belief.
I also need to really listen to make out the lyrics Brian sings as he is not a very strong lead vocalist, but there again he is not alone, neither is Roger.

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> BRian says something about the 1st BoRap solo that contradicts what everyone has been saying before i.e. that Fred composed every bit of BoRap and told everyone else what to play:

AFAIK, he mentioned having written that solo several times. On the 2004 BBC documentary, Brian commented he thought of it, sang it to Freddie and Freddie thought it was good, so he (Fred) gave him (Brian) the green light to play what he (Brian) had thought of. When Roger et al mention Freddie 'had all the parts in his head' they most likely mean vocal parts, and perhaps some instrumentation but not necessarily all of it.

 > How sure are you that Brian played acoustic guitar on this song, Sebastian?

Mmmmmm, I'd say I'm pretty confident (but not entirely sure or positive) it's Brian considering:

* Backing tracks, at the time, were usually bass + drums + either guitar or piano. John was on bass, so Brian (or Freddie, but that'd be too far-fetched to suspect him wouldn't it?) must have been playing acoustic. Unless of course they took a different approach for that particular song (e.g. John on acoustic + Rog on drums, and then John overdubbed his bass later on).

* The strumming style fits him more than it fits John (Funny How Love Is vs Misfire).

* It was common practice for Brian to play all or most guitars on his own songs. John would play on his own, and possibly some of Roger's and Freddie's (e.g. Staying Power), with some exceptions (is SMM one of them? Maybe, maybe not).

I admit none of those conjectures makes up for strong evidence and that, as you can see, you could always entertain the possibility that it was an exception to both rules (three-piece backing tracks and Brian being the only guitarist on his own songs). There's nothing to strongly confirm Brian played it but, at the same time, there's even less to suggest John's doing it, IMO.

> The same goes for Tenement Funster.

That one's a similar case, what with both the arpeggios and the strumming patterns being so simple that anybody (even Freddie and Roger) would easily be able to play them. For those cases (that there's nothing to strongly suggest any particular player) I tend to give the (interim) credit to Brian as he was, well, the band's main guitarist (be it lead or rhythm, acoustic or electric). But of course I may be wrong. Maybe I am, maybe I'm not.

@ Strange Frontier: Personally, I think She Makes Me is a nice song and a very good choice to set the mood after such an involved album, to prepare the listener for the anthemic ending. But, IMO, Leaving Home Ain't Easy, Sail Away Sweet Sister, Another World and Dream of Thee (and others like All Dead, All Dead and My Boy) are waaaaaaaaay better.

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I seem to recall "she" is New York City, and this is about Brian's feeling after touring there.

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Sir GH wrote: This is a song that is often forgotten about, and even dismissed by many Queen fans.

Myself, I see it as a piece of genius.

It's deep and introspective, which is nothing unusual for Brian.  But it's also minimalist - very unlike any other Queen track.  Like Radiohead, it's the subtleties that makes it.  The fact that it maintains the exact same vibe throughout creates a certain ethereal quality.  The only exception is the sudden burst of guitars at 1:35, which I think is one of the best moments in the entire Queen canon.

Lyrically it remains a mystery, like most of Brian's songs.  My interpretation is that "She" is his art, or maybe even the band... the song is about his devotion to his art and his insecurities while recovering from his illnesses.

Brian wrote this song while he was in the hospital.  It discusses his fears that the band may dump him because of his health (he has said that was a genuine thought in his head at the time).   "I know the day I leave her I'll love her still."  The "leave her" line may not necessarily mean leaving on his terms.

"And the world will surely heal my ills" - a single moment of optimism, although he is still uncertain if he will recover quickly enough - "And if I'm very slow she makes me so."  He's expressing his doubts that the band will want to keep him on board, as he knows they've already started this record without him.

Brighton Rock and Now I'm Here were about touring and cheating on his wife to be (he later admitted who "Peaches" was and what the "little holiday" entailed), and Dear Friends expresses a new-found optimism for life after his illness.  His songs on this record were very personal, so I think it makes sense that She Makes Me falls into the same category.  It could be about his wife to be and his guilt, as he expressed in Brighton Rock ... or even a combination of the above.  Only he knows.

Either way, this is one of the best examples of Brian using metaphors and ambiguous language to express something within himself.  He is criminally underrated as a songwriter.

As for the fx at the end (namely the sirens), Brian once called them the "New York nightmare."  And as we know, Brian fell ill in New York.  At the very least, the song is largely related to his illness.

Thoughts ... ?

Probably My least favorite from Sheer Heart Attack,  though still a nice ballad.  Not a song from that album i don't like....I never knew Brighton Rock and Now I'm here were about his Cheating.   you learn something new every day......