Editing Bohemian Rhapsody (section)

===Ballad (0:49–2:37)===
{{Listen
|filename = QueenBohemianRhapsody Mama.ogg
|title = "Mama, just killed a man"
|description = This sample features the distinctive piano phrase in B{{Music|flat}} and the first line of the first verse.
}}
The piano begins in B{{Music|flat}}&nbsp;major along with the entrance of [[John Deacon]]'s bass guitar, marking the onset of this section. After it plays twice, Mercury's vocals enter. Throughout the section, the vocals evolve from a softly sung harmony to an impassioned solo performance by Mercury. The narrator explains to his mother that he has "just killed a man", with "a gun against [the man's] head" and in doing so, has thrown his life away. This "confessional" section, Whiteley comments, is "affirmative of the nurturant and life-giving force of the feminine and the need for absolution".{{sfn|Whiteley|2006|p=252}} In the middle of the verse (1:19), Taylor's drums enter, and a descending chromatic run leads to a temporary modulation to E{{Music|flat}} major (up one fourth). The narrator makes the second of several invocations to his "mama" in the new key, continuing the original theme. The narrator explains his regret over "mak[ing] you cry" and urging "mama" to "carry on as if nothing really matters". A brief, descending variation of the piano phrase connects to the second verse.

Then the piano intro plays, marking the start of the second verse. As the ballad proceeds into its second verse, the speaker confesses how ashamed he is by his act of murder (as May enters on guitar and mimics the upper range of the piano at 1:50). May imitates a [[bell tree]] during the line "sends shivers down my spine", by playing the strings of his guitar on the other side of the bridge. The narrator bids the world goodbye announcing he has "got to go" and prepares to "face the truth" admitting "I don't want to die / I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all". This is where the guitar solo enters.