(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 is built around Dharma's guitar riff that opens the song and reappears throughout. The edited single version was Blue Öyster Cult's biggest US hit, reaching #12 on the American charts in November 1976.^[1] The song remains a staple tune on classic rock radio playlists. In 1997, Mojo magazine ranked "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" at #80 in the "100 Greatest Singles of All Time". Rolling Stone magazine voted the song "Best Rock Single" of 1976 and in 2004 the magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" ranked it at #397.^[2] The reaper is a reference to the Grim Reaper, a traditional personification of death in European-based folklore. 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 death:^[3]

“

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.

”

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.

1 Selected pop culture references
2 Selected cover versions
3 Chart performances
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Selected pop culture references

[edit] Saturday Night Live — "More cowbell"

Main article: More cowbell

The song was the focus of a 2000 Saturday Night Live sketch in which guest host Christopher Walken played "famed producer Bruce Dickinson", who repeatedly demands "more cowbell!" during the recording of the song. Though a producer named Bruce Dickinson (no relation to Bruce Dickinson, lead singer of Iron Maiden) is in charge of the production and remastering of BÖC's back catalogue, he actually had no connection with the 1976 production of Agents of Fortune. The sketch also includes a completely fictional member of the band, "Gene Frenkle" (played by Will Ferrell), whose sole function is playing the cowbell.

In reality, the song does include a faint cowbell, which is best heard during the opening and other instrumental segments.

In recent years, BÖC has embraced the publicity generated by the SNL sketch, and has one of their roadies appear on stage when they play the song to re-create the "Gene Frenkle" character by enthusiastically banging a cowbell.

[edit] Other television shows

The Stand - Theme for first episode (1994)
Grounded for Life – "Don't Fear the Reefer" (2002)
Six Feet Under - "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (2002)
Smallville – "Precipice" (2003)
Red vs. Blue - "Don't Ph34r the Reaper" (2003)
Veronica Mars - Pilot (2004)
The Simpsons – "Don't Fear the Roofer" (2005) It is also the song for the end credits of the episode The Parent Rap.
That 70s Show - Halloween Special
Supernatural – Played during a scene in the episode "Faith" in which Sam and Dean realize that a reaper is involved in the miracles performed by a faith healer.
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX – "Don't Fear the Reaper" (2007)
History Rocks: The Seventies - Played during the Jonestown segment in this 2007 The History Channel show.
Prison Break - Spanish version played in intro of "Bang & Burn" (2007)
Top Gear - Played during first part of tribute to the first Stig (Season 3 episode 2)
My Name Is Earl - Guitar section played during "The Professor"
Nip/Tuck - The Song can be heard in the background of the episode Rose & Raven Rosemburg during the scene where Christian and Sean are in the dorm room

[edit] Films & DVDs

Halloween (1978)
Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey (1991)
The Stoned Age (1994)
The Frighteners (1996) – cover version by The Mutton Birds
Larry The Cable Guy (2006)
Scream (1996)
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
The Complete Masterworks DVD by Tenacious D (2003)
Miracle (2004)
Nearing Grace (2005)
Halloween (2007)
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007) - Where Larry says that it is Chuck's favorite song.
The Stand (1994)

[edit] Books

The Stand by Stephen King – portion of lyrics at beginning of novel, as well as the beginning of the movie based on it
Gone For Good by Harlan Coben (2002) – song serves as part of the main plot
Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
The Carthage Chronicles by Marcus Mastin (2005)
Don't Fear the Reaper by Eddie Zipperer [1](Dramatic Publishing 2008)

[edit] Computer and video games

Ripper (1996)
True Crime: New York City (2005)
Prey (2006) - Played during the alien invasion in the beginning.
Guild Wars Nightfall – item upgrade titled "Don't Fear the Reaper"
Guild Wars Factions – a quest called "More Cowbell" involves blue oysters
Guitar Hero – The description of the unlockable guitarist Grim Ripper - A parody of the Grim Reaper and death metal - opens with the line "Do not fear the Ripper".
Guitar Hero II – The description of Grim Ripper's personal guitar - The Scythe - opens with the line "On second thought, maybe you should fear the Reaper."
Roadkill - Playable on a radio station in the game.
Rock Band – Playable song in game. and loading screen for any song could read, "Health tip: If you have a fever, the only prescription is more cowbell." Also, item "Casketcase" in Rings has the description "Don't fear the Reaper. Wear these rings instead."
SingStar Amped – Song available to sing in game.
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade – A quest titled "Needs more cowbell" is found in the netherstorm region of the game.
Everquest 2 – An item called Dawnfear, the Reaper can be acquired from one of the higher-level areas. Additionally, the item's description lists it as being used by a cult of aquatic shellfish.
AdventureQuest - A monster called a Giant Oyster appears. All of its descriptions make references.
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters - An earned cheat for the Mootator (turns enemies into cows) causes a cowbell to ring much more often when the resulting cow explodes. The cheat is aptly named, "More Cowbell!"

[edit] Selected cover versions

Music sample:

Blue Öyster Cult - "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"

21 seconds (of 3:46)

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

The Goo Goo Dolls (1987) – Goo Goo Dolls album
Clint Ruin and Lydia Lunch (1991) – "Don't Fear the Reaper 12" EP"
Thanatos (1993) – This Endless Night Inside album; Projekt Records
Apollo 440 (1994) – single on Millennium Fever album
Gus (1996) - covered for the Scream soundtrack
HIM (1997) – Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666
The Mutton Birds (1990's)
Jec (2001) - Titled "We can be like They Are"
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
Caesars (2005) – track on the Six Feet Under, Vol. 2: Everything Ends soundtrack album
Scooter (2007) – sampled on the 2007 single "Behind The Cow"