Brian May, the legendary guitarist of Queen is officially knight 0:54

(CNN) -- The never-before-seen draft of the lyrics to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" suggests that Freddie Mercury considered giving his anthem a somewhat different title: "Mongolian Rhapsody."

The discovery followed the appearance of a 15-page folio with lyrics, vocal lines and harmonies handwritten by the singer while composing his 1975 hit. Near the top of an introductory page, Mercury appears to have crossed out the word "Mongolian" before replacing it with the now-famous "bohemian."

The draft lyrics reveal other ideas that were apparently abandoned or reworked, including alternative lines such as: "It's time to say goodbye now, is this reality."

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Elsewhere, an unknown version of the verse that begins "Mama, just killed a man" says instead, "Mama, a war began; I have to go tonight" "Mama, there's a war began; I've got to leave tonight". Another page features a messy profusion of words and phrases, some of which appeared in the final song, such as "Galileo," "Bismillah," and "Fandango" (while others like "Matador" and "Belladonna" were discarded).

One of the 15 pages of the manuscript shows the word "Mongolian" crossed out and replaced by "bohemian".

The long-lost notes were written in black and blue pen on the pages of a calendar produced by a defunct airline — British Midland Airways — in 1974. Queen recorded "Bohemian Rhapsody" the following year. It became the band's ultimate hit, topping the charts in countries around the world, including Mercury's native United Kingdom, where it has sold over 2.6 million copies and remains the third best-selling single of all time.

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The manuscript is among approximately 1,500 of the singer's personal belongings that will be auctioned at Sotheby's in London. It is expected to fetch between £800,000 and £1.2 million ($995,000 to $1.5 million) when it goes up for auction in September.

The stash of possessions is being put up for sale by Mercury's close friend Mary Austin, who inherited most of his estate and looked after his former London home and its contents, including the draft of the lyrics, following his death in 1991.

Sotheby's auction house said the handwritten lyrics present "incalculable revelations about other possible directions the song might have taken."

Dubbed "Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own," the six-part auction features a variety of personal items, ranging from costumes he wore on stage and Victorian paintings, to a silver mustache comb from Tiffany & Co. One of the six sales is entirely dedicated to the singer's love of Japanese art and will include woodcuts and porcelain from his collection.

Working lyrics to other Queen songs, including "Don't Stop Me Now," will also be released. Mercury's handwritten notes for "Somebody to Love" include unused early letters, while his nine-page folio for "We Are the Champions," also sketched in a 1974 calendar, is expected to fetch up to about £300,000 ($373,000).

Mercury never explained the meaning of his lyrics, not even to his bandmates. In a 2002 documentary, Queen guitarist Brian May recalled the moment the singer revealed the title "Bohemian Rhapsody."

"You never knew if Freddie was joking or (not)," he said. "You never knew how serious what he was saying, but it turned out to be serious."

Queen photographed in 1977, two years after releasing "Bohemian Rhapsody".

"What is 'Bohemian Rhapsody' about? I don't think we'll ever know," the guitarist added. "If I knew, I probably wouldn't want to tell you anyway, because I wouldn't tell you what my songs are about. I hate doing that. I think it kind of destroys them, really."

Prior to the auction, the items featured in the sale will be displayed in London until September 5, which would have been Mercury's 77th birthday. According to Sotheby's, his home, Garden Lodge, has remained "almost entirely as Mercury left it" for the past three decades.

"For many years, I have had the joy and privilege of living surrounded by all the wonderful things Freddie sought and loved," Austin said in a statement. "But the years have passed and the time has come to make the difficult decision to close this very special chapter in my life."

"It was important to me to do this in a way that I felt Freddie would have liked it, and there was nothing he liked more than an auction."

Freddie MercuryQueen