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A Winter's Tale (Queen song)

"A Winter's Tale" is a song by Queen, from the album Made in Heaven, released in 1995 after Freddie Mercury's death in 1991. It was written after the Innuendo sessions, inspired as Mercury was staring out the windows of various places in Montreux. The song has a psychedelic, dreamy feel, and describes what Mercury saw outside the windows.

"A Winter's Tale"
Artwork for UK release
Single by Queen
from the album Made in Heaven
B-side
Released11 December 1995 (1995-12-11)[2]
Length3:49
Label
Songwriter(s)Queen (Freddie Mercury)
Producer(s)
Queen singles chronology
"Heaven for Everyone"
(1995) 		"A Winter's Tale"
(1995) 		"I Was Born to Love You"
(1996)
Music video
"A Winter's Tale" on YouTube

Composition and lyrics

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Mercury wrote and composed the song, and also performed the vocals and keyboards (although the track is credited to Queen). According to May, Mercury wrote the song in a small house called "The Duck House" (seen on the album cover for Made in Heaven) in Montreux.[3] In the 1995 documentary Queen: Champions of the World, it was stated that this was, if not the first, then an extremely rare style of recording for Mercury, as it was all performed in one take live in the studio. It was stated in the film that Mercury had always insisted upon music being completed prior to the vocal arrangement beginning, but acknowledged that he had little time left and there was not enough time to work on it differently. The guitar solo was recorded at Brian May’s home studio years after Mercury’s passing.[3]

Critical reception

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British magazine Music Week gave "A Winter's Tale" three out of five, adding, "This is more ballsy and uplifting than the slightly corny Heaven For Everyone, but now the album is out, it may struggle to match its predecessor's number two success."[4]

Music video

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The music video, produced after his death, resembled the form of an epitaph, as Mercury's actual written song notes were displayed alongside imagery and clips of Mercury's past performances.

Track listings

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CD single

  1. "A Winter's Tale" – 3:49
  2. "Thank God It's Christmas" – 4:18[5]
  3. "Rock in Rio Blues" (Live in Rio, January 1985) – 4:34[6]

Alternative CD single

  1. "A Winter's Tale" – 3:49
  2. "Now I'm Here" – 4:13[7]
  3. "You're My Best Friend" – 2:50[8]
  4. "Somebody to Love" – 4:55[9]

Personnel

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Charts

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Chart (1995–1996) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[10] 71
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11] 23
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[12] 33
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[13] 34
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[14] 10
Germany (GfK)[15] 62
Ireland (IRMA)[16] 23
Italy (Musica e dischi)[17] 19
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[18] 25
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[19] 16
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 28
UK Singles (OCC)[21] 6

References

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  1. ^ "Live Solos and Improvisations". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk.
  2. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 9 December 1995. p. 35.
  3. ^ a b "'A Winter's Tale': Freddie Mercury Lives On In Queen's Christmas Solstice". 23 December 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 2 December 1995. p. 18. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Queen "The Works" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  6. ^ "Live Solos and Improvisations". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Queen "Sheer Heart Attack" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  8. ^ "Queen "A Night At The Opera" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Queen "A Day At The Races" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  10. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 04 Feb 1996". ARIA. Retrieved 21 July 2017 – via Imgur. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
  11. ^ "Queen – A Winter's Tale" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  12. ^ "Queen – A Winter's Tale" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  13. ^ "Queen – A Winter's Tale" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  14. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  15. ^ "Queen – A Winter's Tale" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  16. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – A Winter's Tale". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  17. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 28 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Queen".
  18. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Queen" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  19. ^ "Queen – A Winter's Tale" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  20. ^ "Queen – A Winter's Tale". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  21. ^ "Queen: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
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