The Miracle cover art

  Studio Album · No. 12

The Miracle Songwriting Credits by Queen

1989 Parlophone / Capitol Records 10 tracks 41 min

Produced by Queen, David Richards  ·  Engineered by Justin Shirley-Smith, John Brough

Parlophone / Capitol Records RockPop rock
100%
Authorship
Complete Artist

Queen wrote 10 of 10 documented tracks

Authorship Breakdown 10 / 10 documented

Who wrote the songs?

Scored across the 10 tracks with documented writers, by whether Queen carries a lyricist or composer credit.

100%
10 trackswritten by Queen 0 tracksoutside writers
Queen's roles on this album

Share of the 10 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.

Lyricist100%
Composer100%
Producer100%
Performer100%

By the Numbers

10
Tracks
4
Lyricists
2
Producers
1989
Released
Data Insight

The Miracle is the album where Queen abandoned individual credits and attributed every song to "Queen" as a single entity, a deliberate move to end years of friction over which member's song became a single and earned the bigger royalties. The writing was still mostly individual underneath, with "I Want It All" largely Brian May's, but the band chose to share all credit equally from here on. It reframes the authorship: the same four songwriters, now presenting as one collective voice.

Queen's thirteenth studio album, released May 22, 1989, produced by Queen and David Richards. The Miracle marks a major structural change in how Queen credited their songwriting: the band collectively decided to credit all songs on the album to 'Queen' as a single entity, regardless of who actually wrote each track. This decision was made partly to reduce internal tension over royalties and recognition. The individual writers were later disclosed in liner note reissues: 'I Want It All' (May), 'The Invisible Man' (Taylor), 'Was It All Worth It' and 'The Miracle' and 'My Baby Does Me' (Mercury-led), but the official credit on the original release is the band collectively. Freddie Mercury's health had begun to deteriorate by this point, and the album is sometimes retrospectively viewed as the beginning of the farewell period. 'I Want It All' and 'Breakthru' were the album's two major singles.

Track Listing & Credits 10 tracks

Written by the artist Written by outside writers

Songwriter & Credit Spotlight 6 contributors

More from Queen

Frequently Asked Questions The Miracle

Did Queen write The Miracle themselves?
Yes, but credited differently. From The Miracle on, every song is credited to "Queen" collectively rather than to individual members, even though the underlying writing was still mostly by one member each. There are no outside writers.
Why is The Miracle by Queen credited to the whole band?
Starting with The Miracle, Queen agreed to credit all songs to the band collectively and split royalties equally. The change was meant to end long-running tension over whose song became a single and earned more money.
Who actually wrote I Want It All by Queen?
"I Want It All" was largely written by Brian May, though it is officially credited to Queen as a whole. It reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 50 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Is The Miracle by Queen the start of the farewell period?
Retrospectively, yes. Freddie Mercury's health had begun to decline by 1989, and The Miracle is often seen as the beginning of Queen's final chapter with him. It still debuted at No. 1 in the UK.
When was The Miracle by Queen released?
The Miracle was released on May 22, 1989, through Parlophone and Capitol. It was the band's thirteenth studio album.
What genre is The Miracle by Queen?
The Miracle is a rock and pop rock album running about 41 minutes. It pairs hard-rock tracks like "I Want It All" with polished late-1980s pop production.

Sources