Queen & David Bowie ~ Under Pressure 1981 Extended Meow Mix
One more from Freddie, tomorrow is his birthday.
LYRICS
Pressure, pushing down on me
Pressing down on you, no man ask for
Under pressure, that burns a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets
It’s the terror of knowing what this world is about
Watching some good friends screaming let me out
Pray tomorrow gets me higher
Chippin’ around, kick my brains around the floor
These are the days it never rains but it pours
It’s the terror of knowing what this world is about
Watching some good friends screaming let me out
Pray tomorrow gets me higher
Turned away from it all like the blind man
Sat on a fence but it don’t work
Keep coming up with love but it’s so slashed and torn
Why-why-why
Love
Insanity laughs under pressure we’re cracking
Can’t we give ourselves one more chance
Why can’t we give love one more chance
Why can’t we give love
Cause love is such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is our last dance
This is ourselves
Under Pressure
Under Pressure
Pressure
Under Pressure
After the megahit status of “The Game” re-established Queen’s chart domination, they regrouped to Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland in late 1981 and concluded in March, 1982 to record an album of dance music as they saw it. They had an unexpected guest appear in the form of David Bowie who was invited to jam with the band and he put some background vocals on “Cool Cat” and then wrote a new song with Queen called “Under Pressure”. While his “Cool Cat” vocals were deleted from the final cut, Bowie’s vocals were front and center with Freddie’s on Under Pressure. The song is a plea for level heads and hearts when facing the impossible, a message that is not lost on me. Released as a single in October of 1981 it peaked at #29 on the pop charts, an unfortunate placement considering the talents involved. It received an adrenaline shot when Vanilla Ice sampled the catchy bass and rhythm clip and failed to obtain the copyright. He got a #1 pop hit with a side of lawsuit and then Queen rightly had their names added to his megahit. Vanilla Ice also inadvertently gave Queen a boost as his fans went to uncover “Under Pressure” and in the years since, it has become an anthem. They are both gone now and all we have left is this testament to the healing power of love that makes it even more relevant to today’s situation. We are all under pressure, with sarcastic remarks, one upmanship and outright hate invading and poisoning our souls.
