Freddie Mercury's Personal Notes Show Iconic Queen Song Was First Called 'Mongolian Rhapsody'

A previously unseen draft of the late singer's hit song reveals his songwriting process in more detail

Freddie Mercury's old songbooks have revealed the original name for one of the world's most famous rock anthems.

A new exhibition of the Queen frontman's songwriting drafts at Sotheby’s Auction House in London shows that Mercury — who died in November 1991 at age 45 — originally called the band's most famous song "Mongolian Rhapsody."

Written in black and blue ink and pencil on stationery from the long-closed U.K. airline British Midland Airways, Mercury's lyrics for the 1975 rock classic span 15 pages and reveal he later crossed out the word "Mongolian" and replaced it with the famous "Bohemian Rhapsody" instead.

On another page, a possible opening for the second verse is revealed. Mercury's notes read, "Mama, There's a war began, I've got to leave tonight." The final version of the song ultimately lost the military reference and used the now-famous lyrics: "Mama, I just killed a man."

Related: Freddie Mercury's Never-Before-Seen Personal Items to Be Auctioned

Though the drafts don't reveal why Mercury changed the title of the hit song, "Bohemian Rhapsody" has been sold or streamed more than 10 million times in the U.S. and streamed more than 4 billion times globally on Spotify and YouTube.

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The song manuscripts, which also include drafts for Queen classics including "Don't Stop Me Now," "Somebody to Love," and "We Are the Champions," come from a personal collection stored in the London home Mercury purchased in 1980, called Garden Lodge.

A selection of the items will be revealed for the first time at Sotheby's New York City from June 1 to June 8, before touring Los Angeles and Hong Kong and returning to London in August.

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The lyrics also form part of a collection of more than 1,500 Mercury items, including clothing and artwork, titled "Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own" which will be auctioned in London in September.

Sotheby's estimate the lyrics will reach between $250,000 and $400,000, while a crown and cloak Mercury wore to sing "God Save the Queen" during his final tour with Queen is expected to reach between $75,000 to $100,000.

"For many years now, I have had the joy and privilege of living surrounded by all the wonderful things that Freddie sought out and so loved," Mercury's close friend Mary Austin, who has cared for the late singer's belongings since his death, said in a Sotheby's release. "But the years have passed, and the time has come for me to take the difficult decision to close this very special chapter in my life."

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"It was important to me to do this in a way that I felt Freddie would have loved, and there was nothing he loved more than an auction," added Austin. "Freddie was an incredible and intelligent collector who showed us that there is beauty and fun and conversation to be found in everything."

"I hope this will be an opportunity to share all the many facets of Freddie, both public and private, and for the world to understand more about, and celebrate, his unique and beautiful spirit," she continued.

Austin will share a percentage of the proceeds from the sales to HIV/AIDS charities the Mercury Phoenix Trust and the Elton John Aids Foundation.

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