Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” voted best song to listen to when ill

Queen’s anthemic song Bohemian Rhapsody has been voted the best track to listen to if you’re feeling down or unwell.

The results were gathered by ComRes for BBC local radio for Faith in the World Week, which is exploring the healing powers of music. ComRes polled 1,000 people and gave them 10 choices.

Dancing Queen by Abba came second, with Happy by Pharrell Williams in joint third with the generic category of ‘classical music’.

Almost nine out of 10 respondents were in agreement that listening to music can be therapeutic when you’re in low spirits. Overall, the poll found that 81% of Britons have felt better by listening to music, while just 36% said that they prefer to listen to speech than music when they’re poorly.

Written by Freddie Mercury for the band’s 1975 album A Night at the Opera, Bohemian Rhapsody was the most expensive single ever produced at the time. It features a soaring operatic passage and is made up of unpredictable segments – perhaps this is the secret to the song’s success.

Main image: brett jordan at Flickrcc