(Don't Fear) The Reaper

This article is about the song by the rock band Blue Öyster Cult. For the Clint Ruin and Lydia Lunch EP, see Don't Fear the Reaper (EP). For the Witchery album, see Don't Fear the Reaper (album).

"(Don't Fear) The Reaper"
Single by Blue Öyster Cult
from the album Agents of Fortune
B-side	"Tattoo Vampire"
Released	1976
Format	7" vinyl
Recorded	1976
Genre	Hard rock, psychedelic rock
Length	5:08 (Album version) 3:50 (Single/Radio edit)
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Buck Dharma
Producer	Sandy Pearlman
Blue Öyster Cult singles chronology
"Born to be Wild" (studio/live) "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" "Goin' Through the Motions" / "Searchin' for Celine"
Music sample "Don't Fear The Reaper"

"(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a song by the rock band Blue Öyster Cult from their 1976 album, Agents of Fortune. It was written and sung by the band's lead guitarist, Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser and was produced by David Lucas, Murray Krugman, and Sandy Pearlman.^[1] It is built around Dharma's guitar riff that opens the song and repeats throughout. The edited single version was Blue Öyster Cult's biggest US hit, reaching #12 on the American charts in November 1976,^[2] and is listed at #397 on the Rolling Stones list of the top 500 songs of all time. The song's popularity has been long-lasting. As of 2010 it has sold approximately 922,000 digital copies in the United States.^[3] It reached #16 on the UK pop chart in 1978.^[4] It is a perennial favorite on classic rock radio stations and is a concert staple for the band.

Theme

The song's appeal is due in part to its use of well-known archetypes in American culture. "The reaper" is a reference to the Grim Reaper, a traditional personification of death in European folklore. Also, songs and poetry pairing "Death and the Maiden" date back to before the Middle Ages.

Lyrics such as "Romeo and Juliet are together in eternity" have led many listeners to interpret the song to be about a murder-suicide pact, but Dharma says the song is about eternal love, not suicide:

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.^[5][6]

Later versions

The shortened single version of the song omits the guitar solo from 2:30 - 3:25. The 2001 remaster of Agents of Fortune includes Buck Dharma's original 4-track demo of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper." The length of the version on the 2002 live album A Long Day's Night is 8:14.

In popular media

Television

Main article: More cowbell

Selected cover versions

• The Goo Goo Dolls (1987) – Goo Goo Dolls album
• Clint Ruin and Lydia Lunch (1991) – Don't Fear the Reaper 12" EP
• Bridewell Taxis (1991) - UK Indie single - Stolen Records
• Thanatos (1993) – This Endless Night Inside album; Projekt Records
• Apollo 440 (1994) – single on Millennium Fever album
• Buck Dharma (1994) – Buck Dharma covers his own song as an "Acoustic" version on the various artists compilation Guitar's Practicing Musicians Vol 3
• The Mutton Birds (1996) – b-side of the 1996 single She's Been Talking, from the soundtrack to the film The Frighteners (1996)
• Gus (1996) – covered for the Scream soundtrack
• HIM (1997) – Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666
• Evanescence (1999) – Played live. Can be seen on the 'Live At Vino's' Footage on Youtube.
• Big Country (2001) – Undercover album of covers, includes picture of 'Agents Of Fortune', the original Blue Öyster Cult album with 'DFTR'. Also appears as a B-Side on the 1993 single "Ships (Where Were You?)".
• Elliott Smith - various shows in 2001
• Jec (2001) – Titled We can be like They Are
• Tenacious D (2002) – included in their medley, found on Tenacious D - The Complete Masterworks
• Unto Ashes (2003) – empty into white album
• The Beautiful South (2004) – Golddiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs album
• Wolf (2004) – Evil Star album
• Snuff (2005) – comedic cover on Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other double CD
• Heaven 17 (2005) – BeforeAfter album
• Alana Davis (2005) – Surrender Dorothy album (It is titled simply The Reaper)
• Caesars (2005) – track on the Six Feet Under, Vol. 2: Everything Ends soundtrack album
• Sever Your Ties did a cover in 2006 and then they recorded in (2008) -Safety in the Sea album
• Scooter (2007) – sampled on the 2007 single Behind The Cow
• The Blanks – Scrubs, 2009, My Lawyer's In Love
• Van She (2009) - for the Bacardi B-Live free downloads series
• Pierce The Veil (2010) - for the compilation Punk Goes Classic Rock in 2010
• L.A. Guns - Covered in Guns (2010)
• Dave Matthews Band - Dave Matthews Band Caravan Gorge 9/3/2011

References

1. ^ "500 Greatest Songs of All Time: #405, Blue Oyster Cult, 'Don't Fear the Reaper'". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407/blue-oeyster-cult-dont-fear-the-reaper-19691231. Retrieved May 30, 2011. 
2. ^ "(Don't Fear) The Reaper". Rolling Stone. Wenner Publishing. 2004-12-09. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6596242/dont_fear_the_reaper. Retrieved 2007-06-06. 
3. ^ "Chart Watch Extra: Halloween's Greatest Hits - Chart Watch". New.music.yahoo.com. 2010-10-29. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/68581/chart-watch-extra-halloweens-greatest-hits/. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 
4. ^ Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 89. ISBN 0-00-717931-6. 
5. ^ "Biography for Donald Roeser". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1325081/bio. Retrieved 19 November 2011. 
6. ^ "(Don't Fear) The Reaper by Blue Öyster Cult". Songfacts. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1607. Retrieved 19 November 2011.Songfacts says that it is quoting "a 1995 interview with College Music Journal." 

External links

• Don't Fear the Reaper – IMDB search results