The Hitman

Album: Innuendo (1991)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Freddie Mercury wrote this song, where he takes on the persona of a nefarious hitman. It could be a metaphor, but it sounds like this guy really likes killing people:

    Gun in my pocket
    Don't get me wrong


    Mercury was responsible for some of the heaviest tracks by the band, like "Ogre Battle," "Stone Cold Crazy" and this one.
  • When Mercury wrote this, it was not as heavy. It was originally written in keyboards, then Brian May transferred it to guitar, changed the key, and added some new parts (he even did a demo with him singing those). Bassist John Deacon reconstructed the track and that's what finally came out. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Sebas - Tokyo, Japan, for above 2

Comments: 5

  • Mamakidd from UsaFreddie wrote hits. He was the hit man.
  • AnonymousI've read that the "hitman" in this song is the HIV that was ravaging Freddie's body at the time. Listen to the lyrics from this perspective and they take on a whole new meaning.
  • Lori from Greenville, ScI like in the song where he says "I'm been to hitman school"..love Freddie's yeah's at the end.
  • Jonathon from Clermont, FlI like the main riff in the song, and Freddy's interjections.
  • Amy from Dallas, Tx'I'm the hitman I'm your prize', Yes you are Freddie =)
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Weird Al Yankovic

Weird Al YankovicFact or Fiction

Did Al play on a Beach Boys record? Did he have beef with George Lucas and Coolio? See if you can spot weird but true stories.

Graduation Songs

Graduation SongsFact or Fiction

Have you got the smarts to know which of these graduation song stories are real?

Randy Newman

Randy NewmanSongwriting Legends

Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.

Tommy James

Tommy JamesSongwriter Interviews

"Mony Mony," "Crimson and Clover," "Draggin' The Line"... the hits kept coming for Tommy James, and in a plot line fit for a movie, his record company was controlled by the mafia.

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired MenSong Writing

Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.

Rick Springfield

Rick SpringfieldSongwriter Interviews

Rick has a surprising dark side, a strong feminine side and, in a certain TV show, a naked backside. But he still hasn't found Jessie's Girl.