Queen’s “Misfire” Lyrics Meaning

Overarchingly Queen’s “Misfire” is a song about bedroom fun. That much can be ascertained simply by listening to the symbolic yet generally easy-to-decipher lyrics. However, more specifically, it has been suggested that this song is about “early release”, a condition some men suffer from where, succinctly put, they experience pleasure faster than they (or their partner) would like to. 

This song reads as if it is relayed from two different perspectives – that of a man afflicted with the aforementioned condition as well as his partner. And the sentiment being relayed is one whereas they strongly desire that a “misfire” would not occur, with the titular term once again being synonymous with early/premature release.

 So we can conclude that this song is actually about the prospect of bedroom dissatisfaction. The singer and his partner are about to get it on. But before doing so, they realize that “there’s only one bullet” in his gun (which hopefully is a metaphor we don’t have to explain). So they are both hoping that this singular projectile is used effectively and to both of their maximum satisfaction.

Who wrote “Misfire”?

This song was written by Queen’s iconic bass guitarist, John Deacon. In fact it is the first Queen song he ever wrote. Interestingly enough, the band had to actually coax him into do so due to his initial reservations concerning his songwriting ability.

“Misfire” was produced by the entire band in conjunction with record producer Roy Thomas Baker.

Release Date of “Misfire”

EMI Records in conjunction with Elektra Records released Queen’s third album “Sheer Heart Attack”, which featured “Misfire”, on 8 November 1974.

Did Queen release this as a single?

No. Sheer Heart Attack produced four official singles. They are:

• “Killer Queen”
• “Flick of the Wrist”
• “Now I’m Here”
• “Lily of the Valley” 

FYI, “Misfire” was the only song on the aforementioned 1974 album that Deacon wrote. According to Freddie Mercury, Queen was given only two weeks to compose the songs on Sheer Heart Attack.