Oh yes I'm the great pretender (ooh ooh ooh)
Pretending I'm doing well (ooh ooh ooh)
My need is such
I pretend too much
I'm lonely but no-one can tell

Oh yes I'm the great pretender (ooh ooh ooh)
Adrift in a world of my own (ooh ooh ooh)
I play the game
But to my real shame
You've left me to dream all alone

Too real is this feeling of make (make believe) believe
Too real when I feel what my heart can't conceal

Oh oh, yes I'm the great pretender (ooh ooh ooh)
Just laughing and gay like a clown (ooh ooh ooh)
I seem to be what I'm not you see (ooh you see)
I'm wearing my heart like a clown
Pretend that you're still around
Yeah-eah, wooh hoo

Too real (real) when I feel (feel) what my heart can't conceal

Oh yes I'm the great pretender
Just laughing and gay like a clown (ooh ooh ooh)
I seem to be what I'm not you see
I'm wearing my heart like a clown
Pretend that you're
Pretend that you're still around

Piesa este un cover dupa un cantec din 1956 al formatiei The Platters. Remake-ul lui Freddie a avut un mare succes, intrand pe locul 4 in top UK.

In The Great Pretender, Freddie ni se arata ca o persoana ce rade si e vesela tot timpul ("just laughing and gay like a clown"), dar se pare ca in spatele acestei aparente se ascunde un alt om, o persoana ce traieste intr-o iluzie ("in a world of my own"), nefiind mai mult decat un actor ("I play the game"). Desi stie ca este trist si ca a fost parasit de prietenii cei mai buni ("you've left me to dream all alone"), el continua a se preface ca o duce bine si ca nu are probleme ("pretending I'm doing well").

Linia melodica este simpla si usor de retinut, scotand in evidenta performantele vocale exceptionale ale lui Freddie, iar orchestratia este in stil clasic, folosindu-se instrumente precum vioara. Videoclipul ii prezinta pe Freddie (fara mustata!) si pe Roger imbracati in haine de femei...

Inapoi la prezentare
Urmatoarea melodie: No One But You [Only The Good Die Young]