Surrender your Ego: Queen, Innuendo

Queen’s Innuendo is a fine example of a spiritual rock song, musically impressive, and the official video a piece of art in its own right. It was released in 1991 on the album of the same name, the band’s last one published in Freddie Mercury’s lifetime.

One two three four
Ooh ooh

While the sun hangs in the sky and the desert has sand
While the waves crash in the sea and meet the land
While there’s a wind and the stars and the rainbow
Till the mountains crumble into the plain

Oh yes, we’ll keep on trying
Tread that fine line
Oh, we’ll keep on trying
Yeah
Just passing our time

Oh oh

What is the longing that “we’ll keep on trying” directed towards?

The fallen state of man

The second verse clearly describes the fallen state of man:

While we live according to race, colour or creed
While we rule by blind madness and pure greed
Our lives dictated by tradition, superstition, false religion
Through the eons and on and on

How to get out of this state of sorrow

Through the sorrow all through our splendor
Don’t take offence at my innuendo

You can be anything you want to be
Just turn yourself into anything you think that you could ever be
Be free with your tempo, be free, be free
Surrender your ego be free, be free to yourself

Oh oh, yeah

If you want to break free – surrender your ego!

That this is well possible within one’s life time, and not only after physical death, is shown nicely in the highly recommended movie Revolver (featuring Jason Statham and Ray Liotta, directed by Guy Ritchie, former husband to Madonna).

Longing for answers

If there’s a God or any kind of justice under the sky
If there’s a point, if there’s a reason to live or die
Ha, if there’s an answer to the questions we feel bound to ask
Show yourself destroy our fears release your mask

… Till the end of time

“Till the end of time”: Is this a nearly hopeless statement, in the sense that no solution is in sight?

Oh yes, we’ll keep on trying
Hey, tread that fine line
(Yeah) yeah
We’ll keep on smiling, yeah
(Yeah) (yeah) (yeah)
And whatever will be will be
We’ll just keep on trying
We’ll just keep on trying
Till the end of time
Till the end of time
Till the end of time

There may be a much more optimistic view of these lines:

Time forms part of the illusion we are trapped in. Any second it is possible to connect to a realm beyond the influence of time, the true self, the inner kingdom. Only the ego cannot access this sphere, it will be dissolved and thereby release the true self, the spirit-soul, to freedom.