Vancouver choir's cover of Bohemian Rhapsody might make you want to wash your hands
Phoenix Chamber Choir recorded Coronavirus Rhapsody from their homes after concert season cancelled
If you're running out of songs to hum for 20 seconds while washing your hands, a Vancouver chamber choir's coronavirus-themed cover of Bohemian Rhapsody might keep you scrubbing.
Several members of the Phoenix Chamber Choir reworked the Queen song with all new pandemic-themed lyrics.
"I'm just a poor boy, no job security, because of easy spread, even though, washed our hands, laying low," the song goes.
Each member sang their part at home, to the beat of a metronome, before editing it together into a video.
Physician and choir member Dr. Carolyn Shiau recorded her part between shifts at the Royal Columbian Hospital.
It's been a tough time for many arts organizations in the city that rely on having people together to rehearse or perform, she said.
"We thought there should be some other way that we can still sing and also connect with each other," she said.
"Human beings are meant to connect as a community, that's why so many of us sing in choir. But I think right now the health and safety of everyone else around us is paramount."
The Phoenix Chamber Choir has existed in Vancouver for almost 40 years. It had to cancel the rest of its season because of COVID-19, so members likely won't see each other until October.
Seeing the finished video was the first time the choir had heard the song in its entirety.
Music provides a break from the stress of practising medicine, Shiau said, and a way to connect with people she otherwise may have never met.
Shiau said she hopes the song reminds people we're still connected during the pandemic.
"If people smile a little bit and remember some of the lines of the song that stick in your head, maybe they'll think about it again and remember to wash their hands and stay home," Shiau said.
"We can get through this, we just have to do these few things and remember and remind everybody just to keep going."