When my dad passed, he insisted we all wear our favourite band tee shirts at his funeral. So, my young son insisted on wearing his Don't Fear The Reaper shirt. The old man would have loved that😂
I've noticed that most young people are very tuned in to the lyrics and want to know exactly what it's about. I think it's because Hip-Hop is primarily lyric driven, not instrumentally driven, and they grew up focused on lyrics over instruments. I think that's why they become fascinated with old-school music because the instruments can be epic and that's new to them. For most of us who grew up pre-Internet, the actual music was our primary focus and the lyrics were secondary to the music because, most of the time, we couldn't catch all the lyrics in a song. All of us listened to the radio and most of the time we were doing something else at the same time like driving, homework, working on the car, hanging out with friends, etc and if you missed a lyric, it was gone. You would have to wait to hear the song again unless you bought it. We would know the chorus and a few lines and that was it and that was often enough for us anyways. Unless the album came with lyrics, it was very difficult to track them down and you couldn't do it from home. You would have to go somewhere and try to find out. So, it could be difficult to know what the lyrics were or even what the song was about. Most of the time, many of us would know every note and chord in a song, but all the lyrics probably not. I grew up in the 70s and 80s and I'm still finding out what some songs were about.
Exactly how it was, unless as you say the lyrics came with the album you often didn't get all the lyrics and meaning by listening if they weren't clearly sung. Pre-internet you had little chance of finding the lyrics unless you had access to the sheet music. I've now learned the lyrics to many songs by these reactions and other on-line sites. Now we have both the complete lyrics and the wonderful music to better enjoy their artistic message.
Not a murder. She was despondent over the death of her lover, who came back for her. "It was clear she couldn't go on", when he appears to take her with him. In the end, she has no fear, and she runs to him and takes his hand, while they look backward and say goodbye to the world. It's all in the last verse,
It's about understanding and handling death when the time comes. Different viewpoints are offered here. First verse: "Seasons don't fear the reaper, nor do the wind, the sun or the rain. We can be like they are. For me, we are part of nature's circle of life , death and rebirth. The Reaper is not a killer but rather a symbolic guide. I Love This Song ! And Buck's guitar tone, the mood and feel, Wow.
This was very popular my senior year in high school in 1977. Blue Oyster Cult was very popular in the 70's. Need more cowbell!! This song promotes the idea that death is not bad and that there is an afterlife we shouldn't fear. When it's our time, we are escorted by the reaper to the spiritual world to join others who went before us.
It’s the reaper that appears. I am 60 and suffer from many ailments not the least of which is MS. I loved this song when I was young and I love it now. I imagine my death being like this in the comfort of deaths merciful arms as he flies me into the stars. It’s truly a beautiful song.
I take it as someone who is watching someone they care about, get sick, weak, and constantly told, don't fear the end ' The Reaper" like the song says in the end, " she couldn't go on" and like we all have to do someday, took the hand of the reaper and passed on , and was now like they are, like everyone else who passed into eternity.
That's pretty much how I see it too. I also infer though its not explicit in the lyrics that she might have lost her lover and couldn't go on and she was joining him like Julliet.
@@karengray662 Yup, the song reminds me of that very thing " which I have been thru" especially how he keeps saying, i'll be your man, that he will take care of her till she has to go on, and in the end, she goes, and becomes like they are, like Romeo and Juliet, in eternity,
She lived her life unafraid of death, and then peacefully passed away when she couldn't go on anymore. That's been my take on it since I first heard it on the radio when first released.
LOL… never heard anyone get murder from that! The reaper is the grim reaper…death itself. So don’t fear it when it comes, go peacefully, knowing your time here is done but more is to come. She’s taking death’s hand, and he guides her to the afterlife. Classic tune, for sure.
Buck has said it was a contemplation of death as something potentially to be embraced versus feared when one’s time had come. However, you can also see it as a sequel to their song I Love the Night, with an eternal love, vampire twist. They still are a very cool and spooky band from Long Island.
This is "YOLO" the song, it's about how thousands die every day, so make the most of every minute we have with one another. Live without fear of what is to come, for death comes for us all in the end. Why live fearing our death every moment, why not just enjoy every moment and face death when it comes.
Eric talked about it in an interview. He said "They got our look perfect, they probably took it from an album cover, but they just used made up names." I'd been saying the same thing all along, and Eric confirmed it on tv.
New Christmas song inspired by the Saturday Night Live "More Cowbell" Blue Oyster Cult "Don't Fear the Reaper" skit on your channel? ruclips.net/video/OvOwFc3tUvs/видео.htmlsi=jVw2NPMcWYltoT8G
My husband suffered a long illness and in the instructions he left me, he wanted this song played at then end of his memorial service! I just couldn't do it! I know he just wanted to shock and surprise everybody but that was a little too much for some! Hope he forgives me! Saw these guys in concert on July 4th 1976, Memphis, Tennessee!
When she had fought her illness for as long as she could, and it was clear that she couldn’t go on, the wind came up and blew out the candle and she took his hand. She died and flew away with the reaper. 🖖🏻🇨🇦
I knew this song before, but I heard this late on a summer evening playing on a jukebox in an empty bar while on holiday. As I passed I stopped to listen, knowing I was the only person listening and it felt quite magical. It was 1977 and I was about 14, about the right age to realise music was going to be a major part of my life.
I was 16 when this released. My thoughts then were this song was about a young girl who was or wanted to die, & the reaper tells her not to be afraid & she went with him. I thought it was tragically romantic as a troubled teen. Today I hear it differently. I hear it as someone dying coming to terms with their condition, & no longer being fearful.
I've loved this song every s ince it came out I always thought it was saying not to fear death as it is going to happen anyway and its a normal part of life😊
Cemented in pop culture by SNL even after being a massive hit, it had a renaissance in the early 00's due to Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken's skit.
I had seen the film “Love Story” which came out in 1970 and saw the Zeferrelli Romeo and Juliet when I was in high school a few years earlier. The 1970’s were a strange and wonderful time to be young and yet contemplate our own mortality, what with nightly news reels of the death and pain and destruction going on in Viet Nam. The 1970’s has great music because life was so compressed with every emotion and I certainly felt both the highs and the weight of life in those days. Thanks for listening to our music, trying to connect with our times.
My "take" on this one: her "significant other" has passed and is telling her not to fear death....and, MAY have come back to "take her to the other side" by reaching out for her - and, she had "become like they are". LOVE the voice / instrument mix on this tune - especially the instrumental break - SO GOOD!! SUCH A JAM!!!
I wasn't born until '89 but when I heard this on the radio as a kid, I wept at the beauty. (Tortured artist life, haha.) I love your reactions, so authentic. Feels like chillin' with a friend. 😊❤
My band used to cover this song back in the '80s. I sang backup on this one and I always thought it was about not fearing death. He points out that 40,000 men and women face it every day, making it seem more commonplace. I always liked the last verse, which, to me, meant that the reaper had come for the woman. "The door was opened and a wind appeared. The candles blew and then disappeared. The curtains flew and then he appeared. He said, 'don't be afraid' and she ran to him and they started to fly". Also, "she had become like they are".
I think you've got the best reaction channel going. Your reactions are genuinely authentic and I enjoy watching the rush of emotions and awe sweep you away as it did to me when these tunes were first released so long ago. Thanks for taking me back to a world gone away. If I get ever find a time-traveling DeLorean, I'm going back to 1976 and taking you with me! 😆
I wore out this 8Trak in my very very used beat up frequently running hand me down 1965 Oldsmobile as a goofy teen Still have the original vinyl and it really good
Check out, "I love the night" Such a beautiful song and it will lure you in. Don't fear the reaper to me was a man telling his sick loved one, Don't fear death, we will be together. the last verse when he stated HE came and took her hand ( the Reaper )..... baby Take my hand, and I will hold you as you pass. Eternal love.
First - bless you for playing the long-extended version and not the radio edit. its simply not fearing death itself as it happens to us all - even those we cherish. "He" was going back for his love, and coaxed her into joining him as she couldn't go on. Like Romeo and Juliet - they can be together forever.
I was 11 in 1976 when this song dropped and it was like wildfire and spread everywhere. This song had so much airplay on rock stations and I loved it and still do today. It brings back some memories for me for sure. I always thought the song was a bit creepy because it was about death.
BOC is very rich, deep hole of musical and lyrical genius; you'd get a great deal out of digging deeper. While "Godzilla" and "Burning For You" were big hits, "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" was cowritten with fantasy author Michael Moorcock and deals with PTSD and "Then Came the Last Days of May" narrates a dead-end story about guys the band knew.
If you've ever seen the movie "Scream" (the first one), in the scene where Billy climbs in Sidney's bedroom window, there's a really cool, almost haunting, acoustic cover of this song that gets a little cameo. Apparently it's by someone called "Gus".
I heard this when it first came out and loved it! I envision the back story as about a young couple in love, but the girl has a fatal illness of some kind, her final night of sadness ends when Jesus comes to her and holds out his hand to take her home to Heaven. That’s the promise in the lyrics, that one day her suffering will be over. So it’s a relief for her young man when she goes to be with the Lord. Or you might envision an Angel come to sweep her out of this painful misery to go to be with the Lord. As a Christian. That’s my interpretation.
love it cliff one of my favs from the 70s ...still needs more cowbell lol cheers all ..overgrow overshare overcare overseed everywhre worldwide ..cannabis is the way ..
Sometimes the words to a song are not as important as the feeling you get from the tune..... sometimes if you get a sense of the song from the lyrics and let the sound carry you, you'll enjoy the ride more than if you try to go word for word through the trip
Blue Oyster Cult have always been one of my favourite bands and don't fear the reaper, one of my favourite songs. This song was also featured in an episode of Supernatural.
Good Heaven's it's not a murder!!! She got too old and perhaps too ill, and her time to cross over had come. And I don't care how religious or spiritual a person may be, there Has to be at least One fleeting moment when you're about to die that you don't get scared. Unless you've already experienced near-death through illness or accident, there is always the fear of the unknown. I think what blows me away the most about this song is how profound the lyrics are for band members who were so young at the time.
This song might as well be the movie meet Joe Black. It's also quite interesting that this song was playing on the radio in the car in the movie Halloween while Jamie Lee Curtis and her friend were driving all around.
Buck wrote this for his wife at a point when they were fairly newly wed, IIRC. He had been diagnosed with a health condition, and this was his reflection that their love was immortal, like the story of old, and men and women faced this together and transcended mortality with each in the other's love. It's a love song that quite often gets missed. As far as the Öyster Boys go, Hands down, On Your Feet Or On Your Knees, they are at their best when live. Check out Veteran Of The Psychic Wars (Live '81) and be sure to have something strong to hold on to. Then do a deep dive and check out their first 3 albums, the black and white days trio. That'll tickle your Soft White Underbelly.
Also, I think the song focuses more on the idea of suicide and not to be afraid of death. Romeo and Juliet. The "vampire" imagery of appearing in a window with curtains flowing and such. Love this song so much.
The guitarist sings this one. The keyboardist usually sings most of the time, but I almost always like Don's songs the most. And Don has the biggest hits, though fewer in number than Eric. My favorite Don songs are this one, Harvest Moon, Burnin' For You, and Before The Kiss A Redcap. My favorite Eric songs are Veteran Of The Psychic Wars, Black Blade, Take Me Away and Godzilla.
I saw them live back in the early 80s and they blew me away! By the way, BOC had a lot of weird lyrics and they were considered "one of those" bands by parents at the time. You know, the devil worshipping, suicidal inducing lyrics that, we as kids could care less about, we just loved rockin' out. Meanwhile the media was blaming Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, etc. of being bad influences on kids.
"Romeo & Juliet are together in eternity." Read the play by William Shakespeare. How did they die? "40,000 men & women every day (like Romeo & Juliet). We can be like they are." Then in the last verse, "Came the last night of sadness, and it was clear she couldn't go on." "...The curtains flew and then he appeared saying don't be afraid." Who is "he"? I think it's the Reaper. "She ran to him (then they started to fly), She had become like they are." Who is "they"? "They" were Romeo & Juliet. I think this song is much darker than people think it is. I'll let you put it together on your own. The songwriter, Donald Roeser, says the song deals with eternal love & the inevitability of death. I think the lyrics say something else. I could be wrong.
The very first time I heard this song on the radio, I loved the music. I was learning to play the guitar, and wondered how tough it would be to learn this song. The lyrics, however, were another matter. Many people have mentioned the obvious references to depression (Came the last night of sadness; And it was clear she couldn't go on...) followed by suicide.
"Come on, baby (Don't fear the reaper) Baby, take my hand (Don't fear the reaper) We'll be able to fly" "40,000 men and women every day (Like Romeo and Juliet) 40,000 men and women every day (Redefine happiness) Another 40,000 coming every day" What? Like ODing on drugs or jumping out of a window? "Then 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)" Oops! Guess so. "they started to fly..." Dead. A long time ago I read the songwriter's denial that the lyrics were about not fearing death, and that suicide was an option (becoming like Romeo and Juliet - dead!) and his explanation of the real meaning of the lyrics. Eternal love. I wasn't buying it. On first listen, it's obviously about depression and "redefining happiness" by embracing suicide (don't be afraid...)
I saw these guys at a bar in Albuquerque years after this hit. They were very good! I always thought the song was about assisted suicide, but I didn't want to go too deep into it. It was just a hauntingly good song.
When my dad passed, he insisted we all wear our favourite band tee shirts at his funeral. So, my young son insisted on wearing his Don't Fear The Reaper shirt. The old man would have loved that😂
😂
Brilliant I love that. 🤘
Love your Dad🎉🤗
This is a FAN-tastic idea! I'm doing that. I'm already planning a party! :)
I've told my kids to play this at my memorial and make sure everyone has cowbell. 😂
I've noticed that most young people are very tuned in to the lyrics and want to know exactly what it's about. I think it's because Hip-Hop is primarily lyric driven, not instrumentally driven, and they grew up focused on lyrics over instruments. I think that's why they become fascinated with old-school music because the instruments can be epic and that's new to them.
For most of us who grew up pre-Internet, the actual music was our primary focus and the lyrics were secondary to the music because, most of the time, we couldn't catch all the lyrics in a song. All of us listened to the radio and most of the time we were doing something else at the same time like driving, homework, working on the car, hanging out with friends, etc and if you missed a lyric, it was gone. You would have to wait to hear the song again unless you bought it. We would know the chorus and a few lines and that was it and that was often enough for us anyways. Unless the album came with lyrics, it was very difficult to track them down and you couldn't do it from home. You would have to go somewhere and try to find out. So, it could be difficult to know what the lyrics were or even what the song was about. Most of the time, many of us would know every note and chord in a song, but all the lyrics probably not. I grew up in the 70s and 80s and I'm still finding out what some songs were about.
Great insight!
Bryan, you nailed it! I've been listening to music seriously since the late 1960s/early '70s and your take mirrors my experience exactly. Well done.
Profound observation!
Exactly how it was, unless as you say the lyrics came with the album you often didn't get all the lyrics and meaning by listening if they weren't clearly sung. Pre-internet you had little chance of finding the lyrics unless you had access to the sheet music. I've now learned the lyrics to many songs by these reactions and other on-line sites. Now we have both the complete lyrics and the wonderful music to better enjoy their artistic message.
As a young Gen X'er. I was both instrument and lyric driven. Still am in my 40's.
Not a murder. She was despondent over the death of her lover, who came back for her. "It was clear she couldn't go on", when he appears to take her with him. In the end, she has no fear, and she runs to him and takes his hand, while they look backward and say goodbye to the world. It's all in the last verse,
Nice explanation.
I was 15 when this was big. The 1970’s was the best time to grow up.
Most of the comments here are "More cowbell". There was a SNL skit with Christopher Walken about this song. Hilarious!! Must see TV!!
It's about understanding and handling death when the time comes. Different viewpoints are offered here.
First verse: "Seasons don't fear the reaper, nor do the wind, the sun or the rain. We can be like they are.
For me, we are part of nature's circle of life , death and rebirth. The Reaper is not a killer but rather a symbolic guide.
I Love This Song ! And Buck's guitar tone, the mood and feel, Wow.
This was very popular my senior year in high school in 1977. Blue Oyster Cult was very popular in the 70's. Need more cowbell!! This song promotes the idea that death is not bad and that there is an afterlife we shouldn't fear. When it's our time, we are escorted by the reaper to the spiritual world to join others who went before us.
I’ve always thought it was the reaper singing to the woman on her deathbed…
Because it is.
It’s the reaper that appears. I am 60 and suffer from many ailments not the least of which is MS. I loved this song when I was young and I love it now. I imagine my death being like this in the comfort of deaths merciful arms as he flies me into the stars. It’s truly a beautiful song.
I take it as someone who is watching someone they care about, get sick, weak, and constantly told, don't fear the end ' The Reaper" like the song says in the end, " she couldn't go on" and like we all have to do someday, took the hand of the reaper and passed on , and was now like they are, like everyone else who passed into eternity.
That's how I take it as well.
That's pretty much how I see it too. I also infer though its not explicit in the lyrics that she might have lost her lover and couldn't go on and she was joining him like Julliet.
Yes, that’s how I take it too. If you’ve ever sat with someone during their last days and hours, you’ll get it
@@karengray662 Yup, the song reminds me of that very thing " which I have been thru" especially how he keeps saying, i'll be your man, that he will take care of her till she has to go on, and in the end, she goes, and becomes like they are, like Romeo and Juliet, in eternity,
@@mytimetunnel I’m sorry you’ve been through that too
She lived her life unafraid of death, and then peacefully passed away when she couldn't go on anymore. That's been my take on it since I first heard it on the radio when first released.
LOL… never heard anyone get murder from that! The reaper is the grim reaper…death itself. So don’t fear it when it comes, go peacefully, knowing your time here is done but more is to come. She’s taking death’s hand, and he guides her to the afterlife. Classic tune, for sure.
The 60s had great music and great artists. But to me , the 70s had fantastic albums and groups, the best music came from the 70s . I love this song .
Buck has said it was a contemplation of death as something potentially to be embraced versus feared when one’s time had come. However, you can also see it as a sequel to their song I Love the Night, with an eternal love, vampire twist. They still are a very cool and spooky band from Long Island.
This exactly.
This is "YOLO" the song, it's about how thousands die every day, so make the most of every minute we have with one another. Live without fear of what is to come, for death comes for us all in the end. Why live fearing our death every moment, why not just enjoy every moment and face death when it comes.
Ty
There is an SNL skit about this song. It is a classic like this song is.
More cowbell!!! 😅😊❤😂
I hear the intro to this song and immediately my brain imitates Christopher Walken saying “more cowbell!”
Eric talked about it in an interview. He said "They got our look perfect, they probably took it from an album cover, but they just used made up names." I'd been saying the same thing all along, and Eric confirmed it on tv.
New Christmas song inspired by the Saturday Night Live "More Cowbell" Blue Oyster Cult "Don't Fear the Reaper" skit on your channel?
ruclips.net/video/OvOwFc3tUvs/видео.htmlsi=jVw2NPMcWYltoT8G
Best skit they ever did.
Next up:
Burnin' for you
Godzilla
My husband suffered a long illness and in the instructions he left me, he wanted this song played at then end of his memorial service! I just couldn't do it! I know he just wanted to shock and surprise everybody but that was a little too much for some! Hope he forgives me! Saw these guys in concert on July 4th 1976, Memphis, Tennessee!
This is one of those tunes that can net you a speeding ticket.
You bet it is! Caught myself going way too fast (90-100ish) listening to this song while going down the highway! 😂
I lost my husband 38 years ago. I want this played when I die. The last verse, it's all in the last verse.
When she had fought her illness for as long as she could, and it was clear that she couldn’t go on, the wind came up and blew out the candle and she took his hand. She died and flew away with the reaper. 🖖🏻🇨🇦
I knew this song before, but I heard this late on a summer evening playing on a jukebox in an empty bar while on holiday. As I passed I stopped to listen, knowing I was the only person listening and it felt quite magical. It was 1977 and I was about 14, about the right age to realise music was going to be a major part of my life.
Hands down! The greatest riff of all time. And it's from 1976.
One of the best rock-metal band🤘
Every time I hear this song I can't help but see the opening of "The Stand" (the late 90s miniseries).
Same here!
I was 16 when this released. My thoughts then were this song was about a young girl who was or wanted to die, & the reaper tells her not to be afraid & she went with him. I thought it was tragically romantic as a troubled teen.
Today I hear it differently. I hear it as someone dying coming to terms with their condition, & no longer being fearful.
We need more cowbell...
Hands down one of the best classics out there. Going back to every mixed tape, every burned CD to every Playlist this song has always been on them ❤❤❤
We spoiled in the 70s with music!
I took it for granted. I thought it would last for ever! But it didn't!!!
Loved the album back in the day.
There is an SNL skit about this song. It is a classic like this song is. Must react to it. MORE COWBELL!!!!!!!!!!!
He was contemplating his own mortality when he wrote this
I always interpreted this song as a call to carpe diem. Party your ass off and don’t worry about death because it’s inevitable. Live for today.
Blue Oyster Cult has a bunch of macabre lyrics. After all, it's a cult. Check out more of their hits.
I love the night is another great Blue Oyster Cult song. Along with about 50 others
Another huge 70s ROCK song
Rock poetry about life and death. Incredible musicianship. Outstanding. I got to see them live when this came out. So lucky!
I've loved this song every s ince it came out I always thought it was saying not to fear death as it is going to happen anyway and its a normal part of life😊
Cemented in pop culture by SNL even after being a massive hit, it had a renaissance in the early 00's due to Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken's skit.
One of the absolutely favourites of mine, I'd like this to be played when I'm gone.
I had seen the film “Love Story” which came out in 1970 and saw the Zeferrelli Romeo and Juliet when I was in high school a few years earlier. The 1970’s were a strange and wonderful time to be young and yet contemplate our own mortality, what with nightly news reels of the death and pain and destruction going on in Viet Nam. The 1970’s has great music because life was so compressed with every emotion and I certainly felt both the highs and the weight of life in those days. Thanks for listening to our music, trying to connect with our times.
More cowbell! 😂
ruclips.net/video/cVsQLlk-T0s/видео.html&pp=ygUQbW9yZSBjb3diZWxsIHNubA%3D%3D
One of the best songs written...
BOC...one of the best live bands ever. Buck Dharma kicks ass. Have seen them many times back to the 70s...last time in September.
Godzilla by them needs to be next!! And yes, its exactly what you think its about. 😂 Absolute banger!!!
Yes it is!
Go Go Godzilla!!! :)
When it's your time and there is pain, the Angel of Death can also by the Angel of Mercy. Live life to the fullest.
The guitar riff before the 3rd verse is meant to make you anxious, as the reaper arrives. A woman on her deathbed takes his hand and passes.
My "take" on this one: her "significant other" has passed and is telling her not to fear death....and, MAY have come back to "take her to the other side" by reaching out for her - and, she had "become like they are". LOVE the voice / instrument mix on this tune - especially the instrumental break - SO GOOD!! SUCH A JAM!!!
I wasn't born until '89 but when I heard this on the radio as a kid, I wept at the beauty. (Tortured artist life, haha.)
I love your reactions, so authentic. Feels like chillin' with a friend. 😊❤
Saw them in 1978 and it was one best concerts I ever saw!!
this song is legendary! much luv everyone!
There was a skit on SNL where a cover band was playing this song and they kept asking for “more cowbell!!” It was hysterical.
Such a great song. And i LOVE your reactions!! Thanks and keep up the awesome work!
My band used to cover this song back in the '80s. I sang backup on this one and I always thought it was about not fearing death. He points out that 40,000 men and women face it every day, making it seem more commonplace. I always liked the last verse, which, to me, meant that the reaper had come for the woman. "The door was opened and a wind appeared. The candles blew and then disappeared. The curtains flew and then he appeared. He said, 'don't be afraid' and she ran to him and they started to fly". Also, "she had become like they are".
Love this song! That last comment that you made here? To become like they are? I’ve been ready! To become like they are for a long time!
I think you've got the best reaction channel going. Your reactions are genuinely authentic and I enjoy watching the rush of emotions and awe sweep you away as it did to me when these tunes were first released so long ago. Thanks for taking me back to a world gone away. If I get ever find a time-traveling DeLorean, I'm going back to 1976 and taking you with me! 😆
I wore out this 8Trak in my very very used beat up frequently running hand me down 1965 Oldsmobile as a goofy teen
Still have the original vinyl and it really good
This is the song used in the SNL skit, that “I Need More Cowbell” originated. 😆
Check out, "I love the night" Such a beautiful song and it will lure you in. Don't fear the reaper to me was a man telling his sick loved one, Don't fear death, we will be together. the last verse when he stated HE came and took her hand ( the Reaper )..... baby Take my hand, and I will hold you as you pass. Eternal love.
To me it's about finding someone in life to hold back the fear together...
First - bless you for playing the long-extended version and not the radio edit.
its simply not fearing death itself as it happens to us all - even those we cherish.
"He" was going back for his love, and coaxed her into joining him as she couldn't go on. Like Romeo and Juliet - they can be together forever.
Love to hear guitar solos, my late husband was the lead guitarist in a local band, long, long time ago. Memories ( the best ❤️❤️) 👵🏼 Gmaw
I have huge admiration for anyone who plays live music which brings so much joy into our lives.
I was 11 in 1976 when this song dropped and it was like wildfire and spread everywhere. This song had so much airplay on rock stations and I loved it and still do today. It brings back some memories for me for sure. I always thought the song was a bit creepy because it was about death.
I can never hear this song without cowbells going off in my head
"Veteran of the Psychic Wars" and "Burnin' for You" are two more to check out.
Ahhh,..the smoothness of solid gold.I cant believe you got murder out of his beautiful song.
"Explain yourself!" 😂
BOC is very rich, deep hole of musical and lyrical genius; you'd get a great deal out of digging deeper. While "Godzilla" and "Burning For You" were big hits, "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" was cowritten with fantasy author Michael Moorcock and deals with PTSD and "Then Came the Last Days of May" narrates a dead-end story about guys the band knew.
Yasss, straight outta Stony Brook, Long Island! We are so proud of BOC!
Steven King basically wrote The Stand around this song.
My all time favorite movie!!!! It had a great soundtrack!
The song is very culty kind of theme. Great song!
such an amazing song
If you've ever seen the movie "Scream" (the first one), in the scene where Billy climbs in Sidney's bedroom window, there's a really cool, almost haunting, acoustic cover of this song that gets a little cameo.
Apparently it's by someone called "Gus".
Keep up the great work! Thanks for sharing!
I always took it that he was the Reaper.
This song was featured in the movie "Halloween Ends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I heard this when it first came out and loved it! I envision the back story as about a young couple in love, but the girl has a fatal illness of some kind, her final night of sadness ends when Jesus comes to her and holds out his hand to take her home to Heaven. That’s the promise in the lyrics, that one day her suffering will be over. So it’s a relief for her young man when she goes to be with the Lord. Or you might envision an Angel come to sweep her out of this painful misery to go to be with the Lord. As a Christian. That’s my interpretation.
YEA!!! BOC!!!! LOVE 'EM!!! ENJOY, CLIFF!!!
love it cliff one of my favs from the 70s ...still needs more cowbell lol cheers all ..overgrow overshare overcare overseed everywhre worldwide ..cannabis is the way ..
Blue oyster reminded me of the police academy movies the famous blue oyster Bar 🤣🤣 those who know know 🤣🤣🤣
Hilarious movies. The guy who made all the crazy sounds kills me 😅 Can't remember his name
@RockinMamaT old school comedy lol yeah his original name is Michael Winslow in the movie his name is Larvel Jones 🤣🤣 love the classics lol
Sometimes the words to a song are not as important as the feeling you get from the tune..... sometimes if you get a sense of the song from the lyrics and let the sound carry you, you'll enjoy the ride more than if you try to go word for word through the trip
Blue Oyster Cult have always been one of my favourite bands and don't fear the reaper, one of my favourite songs. This song was also featured in an episode of Supernatural.
Good Heaven's it's not a murder!!! She got too old and perhaps too ill, and her time to cross over had come. And I don't care how religious or spiritual a person may be, there Has to be at least One fleeting moment when you're about to die that you don't get scared. Unless you've already experienced near-death through illness or accident, there is always the fear of the unknown. I think what blows me away the most about this song is how profound the lyrics are for band members who were so young at the time.
The tv series The Stand ( Stephen King) wow ! Loved it.❤️👍
Yup - think of that opening every time! 😊
This song might as well be the movie meet Joe Black. It's also quite interesting that this song was playing on the radio in the car in the movie Halloween while Jamie Lee Curtis and her friend were driving all around.
Christopher Walken was a hoot it the SNL skit!
Love Christopher ❤️
@RockinMamaT ❤️
ruclips.net/video/cVsQLlk-T0s/видео.html&pp=ygUQbW9yZSBjb3diZWxsIHNubA%3D%3D
Buck wrote this for his wife at a point when they were fairly newly wed, IIRC. He had been diagnosed with a health condition, and this was his reflection that their love was immortal, like the story of old, and men and women faced this together and transcended mortality with each in the other's love. It's a love song that quite often gets missed. As far as the Öyster Boys go, Hands down, On Your Feet Or On Your Knees, they are at their best when live. Check out Veteran Of The Psychic Wars (Live '81) and be sure to have something strong to hold on to. Then do a deep dive and check out their first 3 albums, the black and white days trio. That'll tickle your Soft White Underbelly.
Killer live band as well!!!
Good bye to a loved one.
You could interpret this as an old woman in hospice with her her Husband who had passed previously speaking to her.
Also, I think the song focuses more on the idea of suicide and not to be afraid of death. Romeo and Juliet. The "vampire" imagery of appearing in a window with curtains flowing and such. Love this song so much.
One of my favorites! I still have this album. I want this played at my funeral.
The guitarist sings this one. The keyboardist usually sings most of the time, but I almost always like Don's songs the most. And Don has the biggest hits, though fewer in number than Eric. My favorite Don songs are this one, Harvest Moon, Burnin' For You, and Before The Kiss A Redcap. My favorite Eric songs are Veteran Of The Psychic Wars, Black Blade, Take Me Away and Godzilla.
You had to have grown up in the 70's driving around with your friends on a Saturday night listening to FM radio stoned :)
I always took this song as, " dont fear death." A reminder that, thats a part of this journey. Other than that, its a great song.
I saw them live back in the early 80s and they blew me away! By the way, BOC had a lot of weird lyrics and they were considered "one of those" bands by parents at the time. You know, the devil worshipping, suicidal inducing lyrics that, we as kids could care less about, we just loved rockin' out. Meanwhile the media was blaming Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, etc. of being bad influences on kids.
"Romeo & Juliet are together in eternity." Read the play by William Shakespeare. How did they die? "40,000 men & women every day (like Romeo & Juliet). We can be like they are." Then in the last verse, "Came the last night of sadness, and it was clear she couldn't go on." "...The curtains flew and then he appeared saying don't be afraid." Who is "he"? I think it's the Reaper. "She ran to him (then they started to fly), She had become like they are." Who is "they"? "They" were Romeo & Juliet. I think this song is much darker than people think it is. I'll let you put it together on your own. The songwriter, Donald Roeser, says the song deals with eternal love & the inevitability of death. I think the lyrics say something else. I could be wrong.
The very first time I heard this song on the radio, I loved the music. I was learning to play the guitar, and wondered how tough it would be to learn this song. The lyrics, however, were another matter. Many people have mentioned the obvious references to depression (Came the last night of sadness; And it was clear she couldn't go on...) followed by suicide.
"Come on, baby
(Don't fear the reaper)
Baby, take my hand
(Don't fear the reaper)
We'll be able to fly"
"40,000 men and women every day
(Like Romeo and Juliet)
40,000 men and women every day
(Redefine happiness)
Another 40,000 coming every day"
What? Like ODing on drugs or jumping out of a window?
"Then 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)"
Oops! Guess so. "they started to fly..." Dead.
A long time ago I read the songwriter's denial that the lyrics were about not fearing death, and that suicide was an option (becoming like Romeo and Juliet - dead!) and his explanation of the real meaning of the lyrics. Eternal love. I wasn't buying it.
On first listen, it's obviously about depression and "redefining happiness" by embracing suicide (don't be afraid...)
We had the best music 🎶
Godzilla
I saw these guys at a bar in Albuquerque years after this hit. They were very good! I always thought the song was about assisted suicide, but I didn't want to go too deep into it. It was just a hauntingly good song.