The Night Comes Down Lyrics

Brian May wrote "The Night Comes Down" shortly after the band's formation in 1970, following the break up of his previous band Smile. It was first recorded at De Lane Lea Studios in September 1971, when the band was hired to test the studio's new equipment in exchange for being allowed to record proper demos for their attempt to find a record company. The agreement was mutually beneficial and Queen took full advantage of the state-of-the-art equipment to put five of their tracks to tape. In 1972, Trident Studios signed Queen to a recording contract which limited them to only down-time studio access (when paying artists weren't recording) and they began working with producer Roy Thomas Baker. Baker and Studio owners/management Norman and Barry Sheffield insisted on re-recording the five De Lane Lea demos. A new studio version of "The Night Comes Down" was recorded, but in the end, it was decided that the De Lane Lea version was still superior, and this was the version which appears on the debut album. As of 2006, the unused Roy-Thomas-Baker-produced version remains unreleased and has not surfaced even on bootlegs. Bootleg recordings of the original De Lane Lea demos are in circulation, and the difference in quality of "The Night Comes Down" is noticeable compared to the 1973 LP and even more noticeable compared to the latest series of digital remasters of that album from Parlophone and Hollywood Records. Otherwise, the demo is the same mix that appeared on the demo tape, with little to no alteration (the quality of the bootlegs makes it difficult to tell if the improvements are from proper mastering or additional mixing). The song follows what would become trademark Brian May themes such as coming-of-age, nostalgia over the loss of childhood to the past, and the difficulties of life as an adult. There is also what could be an ambiguous reference to "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", in the lyric: "When I was young it came to me; And I could see the sun breaking; Lucy was high and so was I; Dazzling, holding the world inside." May is admittedly a Beatles fan and has commented in numerous interviews on their impact on him.