I think this expression is derived from French. "J'ai payé mon dû" = "I've paid for what I owed". "Dû" is the past participle of "devoir" (must/owe). But the meaning has evolved a bit. When you've paid for everything, you have some rights... French used to be spoken in England a long time ago, and English has borrowed many words from French. Handkerchief for instance is derived from "couvre-chef", which means "hat" in old French. It became "kerchief", and, in the end, "handkerchief". The small hat that people used to wave to say bye bye naturally became a handkerchief.

congratulations :P paid my dues: to have earned one's right to something through hard work or suffering

Olga, ‘Pay one’s dues’ has a literal meaning = fees; charges.......membership dues -I’ve paid my dues at the fitness club for the month of December. -I’ve paid my union dues for the year. ‘Pay one’s dues’ also has a figurative meaning = 1) fulfill one’s obligations 2) to earn a right or position through hard work, effort, or suffering -I've paid my dues, met my responsibilities, and followed all of the rules society has placed before me...Now...it's my time! -He worked hard to get to where he is today. He paid his dues and did what he was told. -So it comes to pass that after three days and three nights of fasting, deciding that he had paid his dues, he returned to the monastery. ======= You can use the Present Perfect to talk about repeated or multiple actions in the past. It suggests that the actions are not complete or may occur again. Present perfect “My car broke down and I’ve walked to work five days in a row.” (You walked to work and we suspect you are still walking to work, although we don’t know for certain.) Simple past “My car broke down and I walked to work five days in a row.” (You walked to work and maybe you are still walking to work, but we don’t know from what you are saying.) I've paid my dues Time after time… …..maybe you are still paying them and will continue to… I paid my dues Time after time………we don’t know if you are still paying them… Many times I've tried to tell you that I love you..........and I will probably continue Many times I tried to tell you that I love you.........maybe I stopped trying, gave up

Your "due" is something you are obliged to pay or give. So Freddie sings that he has paid/given everything he was expected to. As to the use of present perfect, that indicates that while he has paid his dues numerous times, it is still significant to the moment now (ie. that's when you use present perfect).

Congratulations on my stupidity, Dark panther?? :)))