The Queen Ballad Freddie Mercury Wrote About His Favorite Cat

In November this year, it will be 35 years since the death of Freddie Mercury, the iconic lead singer and songwriter of Queen.

As shown in a number of surviving photos, Mercury was a devoted fan of cats, and owned as many as 11 at one time. However, his favorite was said to be a calico cat he gave the name Delilah, and he loved Delilah so much that he even wrote a ballad about her.

The song which bore her name, “Delilah,” would ultimately become one of the tracks on Queen’s album Innuendo, their final one to be released while Mercury was still alive. This is the story behind the song and its feline namesake.

The story behind Queen’s “Delilah”

Mercury was so devoted to his cats, who lived with him in London at his home in Kensington’s Garden Lodge, that he dedicated his solo album Mr Bad Guy to them in 1985. He even called them on the phone while he was away on tour. His love for them, and for Delilah in particular, ultimately led him to write a song about her. This was not a popular track with all members of the band: Roger Taylor later said “I hate ‘Delilah.’ That’s just not me.” But they agreed to include it on Innuendo and Taylor even created sounds designed to evoke cat noises with his guitar.

The lyrics of the song describe Mercury’s adoration for his cat and how she illuminated his life: “You make me smile when I’m just about to cry / You bring me hope, you make me laugh.” The very beginning of the song might give the impression to a newcomer that the song is about a person, but a reference to “you’re all claws and you bite” after a few lines makes it clear that it is about an animal rather than a human. Meanwhile, the line “You even try to answer my telephone” alludes to Mercury’s phone communications with her and his other cats while he was on the road.

Delilah stayed by Freddie’s side until the end: according to Mercury’s assistant Peter Freestone, at the time of his death in November 1991, he was sharing his home with Delilah and five other cats including Oscar, Goliath, Miko, Romeo, and Lily. After Freddie’s passing, his friend Mary Austin inherited his house long with his cats; some of them were rehoused with new owners, but Austin continued to keep Deliah at Garden Lodge.

Freestone would later recall that he last saw her on a visit to the house in 1993 or 1994, when Delilah spent a couple of hours resting her head against him. She therefore continues to live on in the memory of Mercury’s friends as well as in the song which shares her name.

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