Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? These are the opening lyrics of Queen’s epic rock ballad Bohemian Rhapsody. For years, rumors circulated about the meaning of this iconic song, including a popular theory that it was a metaphor for Freddie Mercury’s battle with AIDS. The legendary front man ultimately dispelled such speculation, explaining that the lyrics were nothing more than “random rhyming nonsense.”
While the song may not have been written with any particular symbolism in mind, the opening lyrics are strangely metaphoric of today’s irrational investment environment, which has many investors pinching themselves as the stock market continues its historic rise despite deeply entrenched structural problems.