PETALING JAYA, Nov 26 — No Queen song is quite as popular and iconic as its 1975 hit Bohemian Rhapsody.
Thanks to the British rock band’s biopic of the same name that has been enjoying mass collections at the box office — the movie has made US$472 million (RM1.98 billion) worldwide so far — the song has found its way back on music charts such as Billboard and streaming platforms like Spotify.
Fans here have sought to give a Malaysian spin to the famous song.
In Mamak Rhapsody, YouTuber ShuaiCongGe Bohemian Rhapsody injected some cheeky lyrics that Malaysians of all stripes and colours will instantly relate to.
“I’m just a poor boy, I just eat Maggi mee,” a man is heard singing during the intro.
The ode to the mamak culture continues with vivid details of what would typically go on at the quintessentially Malaysian all-day eateries.
The makers of the video even took on the song’s daunting operatic passage with the lyrics: “Easy come, easy go, I makan dulu (I’ll eat).”
Across the causeway in Singapore, Baba-Nyonya community group Peranakan Sayang used the beloved Queen song as a vehicle to share about the unique subculture which also exists along the Straits of Melaka as a result of Chinese-Malay intermarriage between the 15th and 17th centuries.
“Baba, a Peranakan man with the matriarch as the head of the family, it’s said. Nyonya, she’s the pretty one, sarong and kebaya she will pakay (wear),” the lyrics go.
Described as an epic parody, YouTube user Alvin Ooi who wrote the lyrics wanted to share “the Peranakan story in a fun and entertaining fashion with an appeal for all of us to treasure and continue our Baba Nyonya heritage and culture.”
