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"(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 continues 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, in 2004 the magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" ranked it at #397,[2] and in 2009 it was named the 55th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.[3]
Part of the song's appeal consists in its resonance with archetypal themes. The reaper is a reference to the Grim Reaper, a traditional symbol of death in European folklore. Moreover, songs and poetry pairing "Death and the Maiden" date back from 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 death:[4]
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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. |
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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.
[edit] Appearances in popular media
[edit] Television shows with references to Don't Fear the Reaper
[edit] Films & DVDs
[edit] Books and graphic novels
- "Fear The Reaper" is a part of the "Batman : Year Two" story arc.
- 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 character of Death's 'family' motto is 'Fear Not The Reaper'
- The Carthage Chronicles by Marcus Mastin (2005) - The second book of the Carthage series is entitled Don't Fear the Reaper.
- Don't Fear the Reaper by Eddie Zipperer [1](Dramatic Publishing 2008)
- The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson - played at the end of the book when Daniel is riding on his motorcycle.
- Unwind by Neal Shusterman - played by the band on top of the Unwinding clinic at the Happy Jack Harvest Camp.
[edit] Computer and video games
- Ripper (1996) - Used for the opening titles, as well as for the game's trailer.
- True Crime: New York City (2005)
- Prey (2006) - Played on the jukebox on the first level. It can't be selected normally but plays automatically when the alien invasion begins.
- 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. The game frequently aludes to the "More Cowbell" phenomenon; for example, some of the tips that appear in the loading screen for any song are "Health tip: if you have a fever, the only prescription is more cowbell" and "If you're on tour, don't bother visiting his grave - Gene Frenkle is fictional." 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!"
- RuneScape - In the quest "Cold War", the player must retrieve some penguin-friendly instruments for a pair of penguin bards to proceed. One of these instruments is a pair of cowbells. Once the penguin bards are brought the instruments, they start to play, but then stop, deciding the song needs "more cowbell".
- Spore (2008) - Two building elements in the vehicle creator portion of the game are called "Cowbell" and "More Cowbell".
- The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar - Two of the many instruments playable using the games music system are named "Cowbell" and "Moor Cowbell".
- Shaun White Snowboarding (2008)
- Grabbed by the Ghoulies - One of the challenged in the game where you must avoid three Reapers for as long as possibly is called "(Don't Fear) the Reaper".
- Dungeon Keeper 2 - A cheat code in-game is called "Don't fear the reaper". It summons Horny the devil.
[edit] Selected cover versions
[edit] Chart performances
[edit] References
[edit] External links
