These Are The Days Of Our Lives

The video was filmed on May 30, 1991. It was Freddie Mercury's last filmed performance, as he died on November 24 of that year. Unreleased backstage footage of the shooting of the video appeared in the Days of our Lives documentary, showing Mercury's deteriorating physical condition (extremely skinny and pale) largely covered up by makeup and colorful attire. Brian May speculated in the documentary that Freddie was "saying his goodbye" in that video, knowing that he would likely not be healthy enough to perform anymore.

The song was originally written by Roger Taylor about his children, and how parenthood made him look back on his own life. Inevitably, the song took on new meaning when it was announced that Freddie Mercury had AIDS and knew he was going to die soon when he recorded this. Mercury did not tell the public about his disease until shortly before he died. It's highly likely this was also on Taylor's mind when he wrote the lyrics - Mercury told the band and manager Jim Beach about his AIDS diagnosis in 1987, but ordered them to keep it secret. Brian May described it in the Days of our Lives documentary: "We hid everything. I guess we lied! Because we were trying to protect him."

Freddie Mercury made sure the band worked on this song despite his illness. He wanted to make music until he was no longer physically capable, and with the band not touring due to Mercury's health, they spent a lot of their time in the studio working. Mercury insisted on the band giving him music and lyrics, and he would continue to record for as long as his health permitted. His bandmates speculated that recording helped Mercury deal with the illness.