What was the last song Freddie Mercury ever wrote?

There seemed to be something strangely prophetic about the title of Queen‘s final album. No matter what you believe in, Made in Heaven has certain connotations to it, not just with how it marked Freddie Mercury’s final moments but how it also signalled something different for Queen, something newly sentimental, like holding on to something you know you won’t have forever.

For many, listening to Queen dredges up similar emotions. There’s something strangely nostalgic about sticking on songs like ‘Love of My Life’ or even some of the more anthemic ones, and not just because many capture specific moments in time. When Mercury sings, “What is this thing that builds our dreams yet tips ’em ‘way from us?” in ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’, it’s normal to feel a sense of overwhelm, like Mercury is holding up a mirror to us and asking, “If you took your last breath tomorrow, have you lived the life you always wanted?”

And yet, as spine-tingling a notion as that may seem, little compares to those final moments of Made in Heaven, though perhaps that’s because the way they created the album was different to anything they’d ever done before. During this time, the band didn’t collaborate with the same blissful fervour they always had. Instead, Mercury created recordings with requests for the others to finish them later, placing everyone in a sort of strange mindset where the cliff-edge felt infinitely nearer.

But that’s not to say that it created a sense of unease. There were, of course, moments where everything felt more delicate than it ever had before, but mostly it created an atmosphere filled with immense appreciation, not just for what they were working on but for everything they’d achieved up until that point. And it came through in the music, too.

As Brian May later reflected, “[Made in Heaven] was possibly the best Queen album we ever made. It has so much beauty in it. It was a long, long process, painstakingly put together. A real labour of love.”

What was the last song Freddie Mercury ever wrote?

Among these tracks was ‘Mother Love’. The final song Mercury co-wrote with May, ‘Mother Love’ feels particularly haunting to listen back to, not just because of the fact it was Mercury’s final curtain call but because his declining health feels palpable; something that the other members noted, even if they view it with fondness rather than letting themselves feel disturbed by it. Roger Taylor, for instance, sees it as a testament to his talent, specifically the fact that he managed to hit the notes despite his fading vocal ability.

“I’m hearing [his voice] getting weaker,” Taylor said later in the documentary Days of Our Lives. Continuing, “But I mean he still hits all the notes. There’s an absolutely spine-chilling note in the middle of ‘Mother Love’ (“out in the city, in the cold world outside, I don’t want pity, just a safe place to hide”) which is just a great bit of singing.”

Although May’s attachment seems different to Taylor’s because it was the last time he saw Mercury in the studio, the whole appeal of the song feels particularly poignant as a glimpse into Mercury’s commitment even as he knocked on heaven’s door. A self-proclaimed perfectionist, it probably took a while to become immersed in the creativity of the record, knowing he wasn’t at full power, but realising that any cracks in his sheen only proved the undying power of someone who always gave as good as he got.