A Winter's Tale (Queen song)

"A Winter's Tale"
"A Winter's Tale"
	Artwork for UK release
Single by Queen
from the album Made in Heaven
B-side	"Thank God It's Christmas"; "Rock in Rio Blues" (Live in Rio, January 1985) (An alternative CD single was released with a different track listings than the original one. On the alternative CD, tracks 2-4 are "Now I'm Here", "You're My Best Friend", and "Somebody to Love");
Released	11 December 1995
Recorded	1991, 1993-1995
Genre	Soft Rock
Length	3:49
Label	Parlophone (Europe); Hollywood (North America)
Songwriter(s)	Queen; (Freddie Mercury)
Producer(s)	Queen; David Richards; Justin Shirley-Smith; Josh Macrae;
Queen singles chronology
Music video
	"A Winter's Tale" on YouTube

"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 and wrote in the Duck House. The song has a psychedelic, dreamy feel, and describes what Mercury saw outside the windows.

Composition and lyrics[]

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.^[4]

Critical reception[]

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."^[5]

Track Listings[]

CD 1

1. "A Winter's Tale" - 3:49

2. "Thank God It's Christmas" - 4:18^[6]

3. "Rock in Rio Blues" (Live in Rio, January 1985) - 4:32^[7]

CD 2

1."A Winter's Tale" - 3:49

2. "Now I'm Here" - 4:13^[8]

3. "You're My Best Friend" - 2:50^[9]

4. "Somebody to Love" - 4:55^[10]

Personnel[]

Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, keyboards
Brian May - electric guitar, slide guitar, backing vocals
Roger Taylor - drums, backing vocals
John Deacon - bass guitar

Music video[]

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.

Chart performance[]

Chart (1995–96)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA Charts)^[11]	71
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[12]	23
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[13]	33
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)^[14]	34
Germany (Official German Charts)^[15]	62
Ireland (IRMA)^[16]	23
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[17]	25
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[18]	16
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[19]	28
UK Singles (OCC)^[20]	6

References[]

^ "Live Solos and Improvisations". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk.
^ "Queen UK Singles Discography 1992-2017". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk.
^ "'A Winter's Tale': Freddie Mercury Lives On In Queen's Christmas Solstice". 23 December 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
^ "'A Winter's Tale': Freddie Mercury Lives On In Queen's Christmas Solstice". 23 December 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
^ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 2 December 1995. p. 18. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
^ "Queen "The Works" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
^ "Live Solos and Improvisations". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
^ "Queen "Sheer Heart Attack" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
^ "Queen "A Night At The Opera" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
^ "Queen "A Day At The Races" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 04 Feb 1996". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 21 July 2017. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
^ "Austriancharts.at – Queen – A Winter's Tale" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
^ "Ultratop.be – Queen – A Winter's Tale" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
^ "Ultratop.be – Queen – A Winter's Tale" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Queen – A Winter's Tale" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – A Winter's Tale". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Queen" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Queen – A Winter's Tale" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
^ "Swisscharts.com – Queen – A Winter's Tale". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
^ "Queen: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 August 2020.

External links[]

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[1] "Live Solos and Improvisations". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk.

[2] "Queen UK Singles Discography 1992-2017". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk.

[3] "'A Winter's Tale': Freddie Mercury Lives On In Queen's Christmas Solstice". 23 December 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2020.

[4] "'A Winter's Tale': Freddie Mercury Lives On In Queen's Christmas Solstice". 23 December 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2020.

[5] "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 2 December 1995. p. 18. Retrieved 15 May 2021.

[6] "Queen "The Works" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2020.

[7] "Live Solos and Improvisations". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2020.

[8] "Queen "Sheer Heart Attack" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2020.

[9] "Queen "A Night At The Opera" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2020.

[10] "Queen "A Day At The Races" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2020.

[11] "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 04 Feb 1996". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 21 July 2017. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.

[sc_Austria_Queen-12] "Austriancharts.at – Queen – A Winter's Tale" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 3 August 2020.

[sc_Flanders_Queen-13] "Ultratop.be – Queen – A Winter's Tale" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 3 August 2020.

[sc_Wallonia_Queen-14] "Ultratop.be – Queen – A Winter's Tale" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 3 August 2020.

[sc_Germany_Queen-15] "Offiziellecharts.de – Queen – A Winter's Tale" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 3 August 2020.

[sc_Ireland2_-16] "The Irish Charts – Search Results – A Winter's Tale". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 24 November 2018.

[sc_Dutch40_Queen-17] "Nederlandse Top 40 – Queen" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 3 August 2020.

[sc_Dutch100_Queen-18] "Dutchcharts.nl – Queen – A Winter's Tale" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 3 August 2020.

[sc_Switzerland_Queen-19] "Swisscharts.com – Queen – A Winter's Tale". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 3 August 2020.

[sc_UKsinglesbyname_Queen-20] "Queen: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 August 2020.

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hide v t Queen songs
Queen	"Keep Yourself Alive" "Liar"
Queen II	"The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke "The March of the Black Queen" "Seven Seas of Rhye"
Sheer Heart Attack	"Brighton Rock" "Killer Queen" "Flick of the Wrist" "Lily of the Valley" "Now I'm Here" "Stone Cold Crazy"
A Night at the Opera	"Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)" "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" "I'm in Love with My Car" "You're My Best Friend" "'39" "Sweet Lady" "Seaside Rendezvous" "The Prophet's Song" "Love of My Life" "Good Company" "Bohemian Rhapsody" "God Save the Queen"
A Day at the Races	"Tie Your Mother Down" "Long Away" "Somebody to Love" "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)"
News of the World	"We Will Rock You" "We Are the Champions" "Sheer Heart Attack" "Spread Your Wings" "It's Late"
Jazz	"Mustapha" "Fat Bottomed Girls" "Jealousy" "Bicycle Race" "Don't Stop Me Now"
The Game	"Play the Game" "Dragon Attack" "Another One Bites the Dust" "Need Your Loving Tonight" "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" "Save Me"
Flash Gordon	"Flash's Theme"
Hot Space	"Staying Power" "Back Chat" "Body Language" "Calling All Girls" "Las Palabras de Amor (The Words of Love)" "Under Pressure"
The Works	"Radio Ga Ga" "It's a Hard Life" "I Want to Break Free" "Hammer to Fall" "Is This the World We Created...?"
A Kind of Magic	"One Vision" "A Kind of Magic" "One Year of Love" "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" "Friends Will Be Friends" "Who Wants to Live Forever" "Princes of the Universe"
The Miracle	"The Miracle" "I Want It All" "The Invisible Man" "Breakthru" "Scandal"
Innuendo	"Innuendo" "I'm Going Slightly Mad" "Headlong" "I Can't Live with You" "Ride the Wild Wind" "These Are the Days of Our Lives" "The Show Must Go On"
Made in Heaven	"Made in Heaven" "Let Me Live" "Mother Love" "I Was Born to Love You" "Heaven for Everyone" "Too Much Love Will Kill You" "You Don't Fool Me" "A Winter's Tale"
Queen Rocks	"No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)"
Queen Forever	"Let Me in Your Heart Again" "Love Kills" "There Must Be More to Life Than This"
Other songs	"See What a Fool I've Been" "A Human Body" "Thank God It's Christmas"
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