# '39

By [Untitled](https://paragraph.com/@0xff1073c93bb30b5600fdb50d85edda93f59c923d) · 2022-07-27

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"**'39**" is a song by British rock band Queen. Composed by lead guitarist Brian May, it is the fifth track on their fourth studio album A Night at the Opera. The song was also the B-side to "You're My Best Friend".

The song relates the tale of a group of space explorers who embark on what is, from their perspective, a year-long voyage. Upon their return, however, they realise that a hundred years have passed, because of the time dilation effect in Einstein's special theory of relativity, and the loved ones they left behind are now all dead or aged.\[5\]

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/cab0b46291aa1001108dfb7bff66236b56c89e095435a27e2400fdb3a4251ccf.png)

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*Originally published on [Untitled](https://paragraph.com/@0xff1073c93bb30b5600fdb50d85edda93f59c923d/39)*