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Blue Öyster Cult — Don't Fear The Reaper
Album: Agents of Fortune
Avg rating:
8

Your rating:
Total ratings: 3745









Released: 1976
Length: 4:58
Plays (last 30 days): 0
All our times have come
Here, but now they're gone
Seasons don't fear the reaper
Nor do the wind, the sun, or the rain (We can be like they are)

Come on, baby (Don't fear the reaper)
Baby, take my hand (Don't fear the reaper)
We'll be able to fly (Don't fear the reaper)
Baby, I'm your man

La la la la la
La la la la la

Valentine is done
Here, but now they're gone
Romeo and Juliet
Are together in eternity (Romeo and Juliet)
Forty-thousand men and women every day (Like Romeo and Juliet)
Forty-thousand men and women every day (Redefine happiness)
Another forty-thousand coming every day (We can be like they are)

Come on, baby (Don't fear the reaper)
Baby, take my hand (Don't fear the reaper)
We'll be able to fly (Don't fear the reaper)
Baby, I'm your man

La la la la la
La la la la la

Love of two is one
Here, but now they're gone
Came the last night of sadness
And it was clear she couldn't go on
The door was open and the wind appeared
The candles blew and then disappeared
The curtains flew and then he appeared (Saying don't be afraid)

Come on, baby (And she had no fear)
And she ran to him (Then they started to fly)
They looked backward and said goodbye (She had become like they are)
She had taken his hand (She had become like they are)
Come on, baby (Don't fear the reaper)
Comments (390)add comment
Whoah... Just like THAT I'm 14, in my new friend Gary's living room; windstorm raging outside; we're in front of the fireplace, his parents upstairs; we got this playing on his dad's hi-fi, as loud as we dare... 'T'was MAGIC!
 Pitjes wrote:

There Motörhead might get their -Ö- from. Must have been very funny as they established it. The pronouncing, I mean ;o}


The genesis of umlaut rock 😅🤘
MORE COWBELL
There Motörhead might get their -Ö- from. Must have been very funny as they established it. The pronouncing, I mean ;o}
 LaurieinTucson wrote:

it's symphonic
it's dramatic
it's poetic 
it has the whole cowbell history
it has everything 



hello, stefon!!
 musikluvr wrote:
COWBELL

{#Dancingbanana_2} Don't fear the Cowbell


Explore the space...
14 again in the hot sun at La Jolla Shores beach hearing this 
The vocals on this song are underrated - they literally make magic with these vocals…
its a really great song  it scared the hell out me the first time I heard it
How?
This is a singular piece🤘
 LaurieinTucson wrote:
it's symphonic
it's dramatic
it's poetic 
it has the whole cowbell history
it has everything 

Yes.
 LaurieinTucson wrote:

it's symphonic
it's dramatic
it's poetic 
it has the whole cowbell history
it has everything 



and that amazing guitar solo.  one of the best solos of the classic rock canon.
 HowieRoll wrote:


And ground-breaking use of the cow bell!


yeah! I got one an can play like that!
Come on baby...
take my hand
 Relayer wrote:

I find it fascinating that you can find a song like this where it is really far beyond most songs on many levels, but the band's other music never hit the mark again (mostly).  

This song just blows me away with:
- Great lyrics and concept
- Great music writing
- Great playing
- Excellent production



And ground-breaking use of the cow bell!
BillG ‘-“great segue!!
 vatt wrote:
There is a relatively new game called Subnautica. From Wikipedia: "Subnautica is an open-world survival action-adventure video game [...] Players are free to explore the ocean on the alien planet 4546b, after their spaceship, the Aurora, crashes on the planet's surface. The player must collect resources and face creatures to survive."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subnautica

The creatures mentioned are sea monsters, crawling and swimming in the deep.

One of those is a Reaper Leviathan, which looks like this:

I found this song to be very applicable, as the Reaper Leviathan has quite a reputation of jump-scaring players and give them a shot of adrenaline. Don't Fear The Reaper.


I love that you said "jump-scaring"...
 vatt wrote:
 There is a relatively new game called Subnautica. From Wikipedia...
 
Subnautica is an excellent game, start to finish.  If I were not so deeply into the 4th world of Ark Survival Evolved I would go back and check it out on my new HDTV.
I always come back to this page to see how many more cowbell references there are each time this is played on RP
 liveaudio608 wrote:

more cowbell...



Oooooh... the comment made only about 35,000 other times here. It's weird how one SNL skit kinda messed up a pretty decent song. It's a great skit, but c'mon...
more cowbell...
 grhorn wrote:

Buck Dharma was just guessing at the number of deaths- at the time the number was closer to 135,000.  Source-songfacts.com



would be harder to sing 135,000 men and women every day
This song was in the original insanely excellent “Halloween”.  
 pfreet wrote:

The writers intention doesn't change how people hear the song. However, as others have said, I don't think this song would affect anyone.

True, but a writer - or any artist - cannot really change how people (may want to) interpret their work.
 zenhead wrote:

Is this about hot peppers?




It is about 40,000 men and women every day.
There is a relatively new game called Subnautica. From Wikipedia: "Subnautica is an open-world survival action-adventure video game [...] Players are free to explore the ocean on the alien planet 4546b, after their spaceship, the Aurora, crashes on the planet's surface. The player must collect resources and face creatures to survive."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subnautica

The creatures mentioned are sea monsters, crawling and swimming in the deep.

One of those is a Reaper Leviathan, which looks like this:

I found this song to be very applicable, as the Reaper Leviathan has quite a reputation of jump-scaring players and give them a shot of adrenaline. Don't Fear The Reaper.
I need more cowbell!!!
Childhood soundtrack! Love it. And no it is not about or condone suicide. It is about love so strong it transcends death, basically they will always love each others, its about love...
The immediate transition from "La Boulange" to the opening notes of this was particularly clever.  Nice. 
Another song that got played to death back in the day, PASS
There is a game from 2006 called Prey which used this song to fantastic effect in its introduction.


You're in a bar on a native American reservation at around 02:00AM. As the place is closing after some "events", it suddenly starts splitting apart while beams of light tear through it. You and everything else are pulled slowly up into a MASSIVE alien spacecraft hovering above, all as this song starts playing on the old jukebox...
 Proclivities wrote:

The writer of this song (Buck Dharma) has always denied that allegation, which has been made since shortly after this song was released.


The writers intention doesn't change how people hear the song. However, as others have said, I don't think this song would affect anyone.
 jffhns wrote:
SNL totally ruined this song! I can't think of anything other than "More Cowbell"

I'm with you.. That skit is so obnoxious.
More Cow bell indeed...
Is this about hot peppers?
I gotta fever!
now I want to hear the version by the Caesars
More cowbell!
Anyone ever notice that the volume buttons on Sonos are the cowbell from Don't Fear the Reaper?! You can groove with the band for awhile by turning it up and down! ;)
 alisathegreat wrote:
Wikipedia says they were active 1967-present. Present? Not hardly. Even when you click their band link, the webpage appears to be frozen in 1992. At least we have the music!
 
They are still touring (well not now, of course) and releasing albums. Saw them a couple years ago, still a great show. Buck Dharma doesn't seem to have lost a step
We need more cow bell
Saw Dick Dale play at Catalina and the opening act was a young surf guitar band called Don't Fear The Reverb". Nowadays it's hard not to picture the SNL skit with Will Ferrel when this song comes on. BOC's Veteran of a Thousand Psychic Wars  brings to mind the animated movie "Heavy Metal". Had Extra Terrestrial Live on cassette when my parachute infantry battalion deployed overseas, whenever we were sent to the "rear", Veteran of a Thousand Psychic Wars lyrics would hold special meaning.   
I find it fascinating that you can find a song like this where it is really far beyond most songs on many levels, but the band's other music never hit the mark again (mostly).  

This song just blows me away with:
- Great lyrics and concept
- Great music writing
- Great playing
- Excellent production
 LaurieinTucson wrote:
it's symphonic
it's dramatic
it's poetic 
it has the whole cowbell history
it has everything 
 

"More Cowbell" so funny 
 wtango wrote:
Great song. 
But I always wondered what these lines mean:

"Forty-thousand men and women every day (Redefine happiness)
Another forty-thousand coming every day..."

Is the speaker saying that's how many people die every day?  If so, that seems low to me...
 
Buck Dharma was just guessing at the number of deaths- at the time the number was closer to 135,000.  Source-songfacts.com
 jffhns wrote:
 
Christopher Walken has the same problem, people quote the skit to him all the time. Like he's never done anything else...
Great song. 
But I always wondered what these lines mean:

"Forty-thousand men and women every day (Redefine happiness)
Another forty-thousand coming every day..."

Is the speaker saying that's how many people die every day?  If so, that seems low to me...
 hifigreg wrote:
Ummmm, more cowbell ?
 
SNL totally ruined this song! I can't think of anything other than "More Cowbell"
data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AA...
 musikluvr wrote:
COWBELL

{#Dancingbanana_2} Don't fear the Cowbell
 
I don't fear any cowbell but I  worry about all the lost cows.
I can't hear this song and NOT think of The Stand.
Checked a live Blue Oyster Cult arena show off the list back in 1992 - B.O.C. and Steppenwolf popped into town together. A Local Spokane Washington radio station ran a free ticket promotion, and my old pal and I skipped school and blasted down to the ticket location in his 1972 two door Pontiac "Green Machine".  Swamp green to be exact. I actually had low expectations as I wasn't a huge fan of either band, other then their radio hits. Pretty great show. Lots of a guitar shred! Good check off for the young 17 year old me.
 Art_Carnage wrote:
I can never hear this song without thinking about the original "Halloween" movie, and how it was perfectly used in the soundtrack.
 

For me it's Stephen King's "The Stand". First the book, then the 90's miniseries. I should probably check out Halloween though, seems I never got around to watching that one. :)
Ummmm, more cowbell ?
Wikipedia says they were active 1967-present. Present? Not hardly. Even when you click their band link, the webpage appears to be frozen in 1992. At least we have the music!
https://gph.is/1Szm7Z0
as I can see  - Rock Mix consists mainly from groups from the 80's.. why? There are no contemporary rock bands?

This is one of the few songs you can find on every digital music device I own. 
Iconic song.  'nuff said.
Plain and simple, I love this song.  The whole album is something that I can still listen to from beginning to end.  And they are a freaking hoot live.


{#Cowboy}
 Pjesnik wrote:
Which side you are on? That is,  Atlantic. :-)  
  Nomen Omen...  Scottish side

 ScottishWillie wrote:
Grossly overplayed (even on this side of the Atlantic) for 40 years but I still adore it every time I hear it!
 
Which side you are on? That is,  Atlantic. :-)  


 Aoxomoxoa wrote:


You don't have to agree, you could still afford to be a little sympathetic...
I see this as being overly sensitive to a non-issue (a misinterpretation as already discussed). I am puzzled as to why we expected to tread on eggshells these days for fear of exciting those who look for ways of being upset - usually and especially on behalf of others, who more likely aren't unduly bothered themselves?  

This came on when I was setting out for my Aunt's funeral. She would have thought it apt! But she was 90 and I'm 60 so we were both taught/have learnt how to deal with life, and to not fear the reaper...

On the other side of the discussion we have 'in your face' morally dubious drill music and others of that ilk. Certainly not my bag, but there's apparently a market for it. Music will always affect the listener - that's what its all about, but it's all part of free expression. I might not agree with it but can't see why I should try to stop it being heard - unless its being inappropriately forced into my ears! 

One man's fish is another man's poisson  
We need more cowbell...
 Kilroy wrote:

Should we also ban Romeo and Juliet or the poems of Sylvia Plath?
 

You don't have to agree, you could still afford to be a little sympathetic...
my kids complain that i had all the good bands when i was young,i don't argue that, just wish i had at that time the money and time to have seen more of them!!!!  i don't give them money to see current bands for the reason they gave above; LOL
 ziggytrix wrote:
This song has been used in EVERYTHING but for some reason my brain thinks it was used in one of those Supernatural "Previously On" weekly recaps and reality is just NOT backing me up on this one. 
 
Maybe you're thinking of "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas?  (I may be suggesting that only because it's the only song I can immediately think of used in those Supernatural "The Road So Far..." recaps)
This song's about a suicide pact?  Hmm ... I've never thought that, and do not see it even after your suggestion.

My brother committed suicide thirty years ago, and I can guarantee you this song had nothing to do with it.  Suicidal folks have far deeper problems than listening to classic rock, and to suggest that this song might motivate them to pull the trigger is oversimplification to the highest.
Less cowbell.

( Which doesn't mean I don't like the song - just being contrary ;) )
I'm with the guy who said Don't Fear the Reefer.
Grossly overplayed (even on this side of the Atlantic) for 40 years but I still adore it every time I hear it!
Redmark wrote: This is a song about a suicide pact. I wish you wouldn't play it. Right so no one should ever play this song again ever. Hmmm. Should we start burning books too
This song has been used in EVERYTHING but for some reason my brain thinks it was used in one of those Supernatural "Previously On" weekly recaps and reality is just NOT backing me up on this one. 
I had all of their Cd' at one time. Still 9ne of the best bands of the 70's and 80's.
Wins the Cowbell contest, again
 socalhol wrote:
"And Gene, explore the space.  Really - explore the space." 

You got it Bruce
 

More cowbell! Great tune!
 LizK wrote:
Redmark wrote:
This is a song about a suicide pact. I wish you wouldn't play it.
  


Proclivities wrote:

The writer of this song (Buck Dharma) has always denied that allegation, which has been made since shortly after this song was released.
 
Like claiming Donald never fibs.    {#Shhh}

You see, to me, as a teen hearing this song, it brought the thought of "40,000 men and women everyday" to a curious sadness. It's one of the first songs I could really hear the lyrics without mistaking words and phrases. As a bipolar who gets tired of being asked the question "do you ever think of hurting yourself or others," this song still makes my heart ache for those who do and attempt it or succeed (and their families too).
 LizK wrote:
Redmark wrote:
This is a song about a suicide pact. I wish you wouldn't play it.
  


Proclivities wrote:

The writer of this song (Buck Dharma) has always denied that allegation, which has been made since shortly after this song was released.
 
Like claiming Donald never fibs.    {#Shhh}
 
Nope, it's not like claiming that at all; it's quite different.  It is generally easy to find verifiable proof of Donald's lies, but difficult to find proof of what Dharma was thinking about when he wrote these lyrics, other than what he has said about them.  I was merely stating that he had always denied the "suicide pact" allegation, I was not defending his assertion.
Reminds me of watching "Stoned Age" with friends in college. Sounds sad, but it was a happy time...
 bobcouch wrote:
Needs more cow bell.
 
Personally, I think it has just the right amount. 
Back in the day when I first heard this I thought he was singing "Don't Fear the Reefer"
 idiot_wind wrote:
Play something from the "Tyranny and Mutation". That was their best guitar album. In their day, they were a very good guitar band.  

 
Yes. Much better than Agents of Fortune. The self titled first album and Tyranny and Mutation are really unique. T&M sounds like amphetamines. The first album sounds like something that if it is not illegal then should be. 
Jeez. This song has so much potential. I wish they had released more than the two songs - Reaper and Days of May. I bet BOC could have some really great other songs that could be played on RP, had they tried.
Redmark wrote:
This is a song about a suicide pact. I wish you wouldn't play it.
  


Proclivities wrote:

The writer of this song (Buck Dharma) has always denied that allegation, which has been made since shortly after this song was released.
 
Like claiming Donald never fibs.    {#Shhh}
I laugh every time...Will Farrell at his most inspired/crazed...
This song belongs on RP but me... just can't get into it.  
This song needs more cowbell. {#Roflol}
 rmastrion wrote:
Is this Classic Rock
from SiriusXM?
 
You're not really familiar with what Radio Paradise is about, are you?
 On_The_Beach wrote:
Don't reap der fuhrer.
 
{#Lol}
Is this Classic Rock
from SiriusXM?
Don't reap der fuhrer.
 idiot_wind wrote:
Play something from the "Tyranny and Mutation". That was their best guitar album. In their day, they were a very good guitar band.  

 
Agreed. Their black and white period was their best. My favorite is their first album. Reaper is a hit for sure but the Agents of Fortune album is pretty weak.
Yann Tiersen's La Boulange to this was a great transition {#Cheers}
Cowbill
Needs more cow bell.
Play something from the "Tyranny and Mutation". That was their best guitar album. In their day, they were a very good guitar band.  
 randyblew wrote:
This played a bunch on AM radio when I was in 7th grade, and I SO fell in love with it. It was dark and mysterious and quite cool and rockin. They usually cut out the middle 8 with the semi-classical arpeggios, but still, a good tune by an interesting 70's band. Haunting. I mean c'mon, Romeo and Juliet, man! What more do you want? To a teenager at that time first exploring different musical sounds, it really meant a lot. Particularly on those cold Sunday nights with school the next morning and you were worried about the next day and the girl you liked and you didn't do your homework.

 
Cheers Randyblew!!!  Sweet nostalgia, perfectly stated  (cool song, imagine Patti Smith singing it : )
When it's all said and done, this really is a creepy song.
needs more cowbell
 Redmark wrote:
This is a song about a suicide pact. I wish you wouldn't play it.

 
Should we also ban Romeo and Juliet or the poems of Sylvia Plath?
 divinemadness wrote:
You know, this song had its time and its place. it was Provo, Utah, for about ten minutes in the mid-70s, when disco was still a thing.

 
For me, this song was/is one of two classic "Get Psyched" songs  (the other being Locomotive Breath). In the late 70's as a college gymnast, I would play one of these two songs on my stereo in my dorm room at warp-volume 10 immediately before heading down to a meet - all in an effort to get psyched up for the competition!

One of the measures of great music is to be able to evoke emotions of times/places where the music was a significant part of our lives. This song was there for me....for a while.


 Redmark wrote:
This is a song about a suicide pact. I wish you wouldn't play it.
 
The writer of this song (Buck Dharma) has always denied that allegation, which has been made since shortly after this song was released.
 bitbanger wrote:
Cultural pinnacle of Lön Güyland from their golden age of the 1970's

 
Lawnguylin    : (     wicked tune though!!!
 raewah wrote:

I would think that would only be a problem if you were willing to join a suicide pact.  I, for one, am not so therefore I think of it as a work of art.  

 
{#Clap}

"....a work of art, or an effort to create beauty, will always be regarded by some people as a personal attack."


Why not ban the bible?

Full of murder, slaughter, incest, infidelity, child abuse....to name but a few!
 Redmark wrote:
This is a song about a suicide pact. I wish you wouldn't play it.

 
I would think that would only be a problem if you were willing to join a suicide pact.  I, for one, am not so therefore I think of it as a work of art.  
it's symphonic
it's dramatic
it's poetic 
it has the whole cowbell history
it has everything 
i can never hear this song the same since the SNL clip ripped it up!!! lol.  I can't find the full skit, but there are snippits in this excellent version... youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0ZQnfzIu8U  :) {#Bananajam}123K
Don't fear the Neeper indeed... sublime - heard it so many times
I get a fever every time I hear this song. :-)
 Redmark wrote:
This is a song about a suicide pact. I wish you wouldn't play it.

 
Even if that was the case, I feel like this is a real broad stroke of censorship and I don't vibe with it. I'm betting if there was no art made about suicide it would happen a lot more often.

"I felt that I had just achieved some kind of resonance with the psychology of people when I came up with that, I was actually kind of appalled when I first realized that some people were seeing it as an advertisement for suicide or something that was not my intention at all. It is, like, not to be afraid of it (as opposed to actively bring it about). It's basically a love song where the love transcends the actual physical existence of the partners."

 — Buck Dharma, lead singer
 michaelc wrote:
I can not hear this without thinking "morecow bells"

 

 4GibMe wrote:

I can not hear this without thinking of my youthful past, of being with my buddies, in smoke filled rooms, having the munchies, and not being able to walk more then five steps, before forgetting what was going for? Ahhh, those were the days.

 
I hear you! {#Lol}
 michaelc wrote:
I can not hear this without thinking "morecow bells"

 
I can not hear this without thinking of my youthful past, of being with my buddies, in smoke filled rooms, having the munchies, and not being able to walk more then five steps, before forgetting what was going for? Ahhh, those were the days.
I can not hear this without thinking "morecow bells"
Bill & Rebecca need to add E.T.I. from Agents of Fortune to the library. The guitar outro is flawless.
 Redmark wrote:
This is a song about a suicide pact. I wish you wouldn't play it.

 
bump
 Redmark wrote:
This is a song about a suicide pact. I wish you wouldn't play it.

 
Never made that association before, but I suppose it could be. I always thought of it as a song about immortal love.
Love it, but ruined forever by intrusive thoughts of Will and his cowbell....
I bet 80% of adults chuckle when this awesome song is played. I know I do