# Does anyone know what "Don't Fear the Reaper" is ABOUT? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 18, 2000, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-dont-fear-the-reaper-is-about/29882 "2000-08-18T18:17:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Boris\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@Boris\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boris_B)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2000, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-dont-fear-the-reaper-is-about/29882/21 "2000-08-19T08:20:42Z")
This song came out in 1976 on the LP _Agents of Fortune_. One of the most inconsistent of Blue Oyster Cult’s efforts, this album has some excellent songs and an unusually weak coda, even for B.O.C., which always seems to pack in mediocre songs toward the end of their albums. I could never tell exactly what the song was about. The lovers’ suicide thing is plausible, but I think suicide might be too direct and too active. I think this might be a more passive, placid, symbolic sort of death. Obviously, if you choose to die voluntarily _in reality_, that is suicide, but in the Gothic fantasy context of the song, I think it’s more about accepting inevitable change gracefully. Say, if two lovers were going to be killed for continuing their illicit affair, but couldn’t bear to stay apart, they’d sort of be accepting the reaper by continuing their affair. Or, if one of them had a terminal disease and the other decided to join her or him, they would be going to the reaper hand in hand. Yeah, it’s sort of a creepy song. In a way, it super-creepily anticipates a number of HIV infections which are speculated to have been voluntary. Suicide by biotoxin. Some person has an HIV+ partner and can’t bear to be on the other side of the HIV divide from him. Even more plausible considering the depression which presumably follows from having all your friends die in their twenties and thirties. I don’t know how often it really happens, but I think it’s really scary and sad and fascinating if it does at all. ---
**Author:** ![irish\_bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ac91a4/32.png) [@irish\_bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irish_bill)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2000, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-dont-fear-the-reaper-is-about/29882/22 "2000-08-19T09:32:12Z")
The BOC have always been one of my favourites, but to state that this song is about suicide is way wide of the mark. The notion of death is often used in poetry to represent change. I have no doubt that Donald Roeser, or Buck Dharma as he is better known, would be familar with this idea. As for the 40,000, have you ever seen footage of the mass weddings that take place? (In Asia?) As for ‘controversy’ remember that in the 70’s there was far more latitude given to music and it’s content. The PRMC(?) and Tipper Gore became a plague in the 80’s. I read somewhere that Buck is a big fan of the Kingster. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2000, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-dont-fear-the-reaper-is-about/29882/23 "2000-08-19T12:34:28Z")
I remember back in the 70’s hearing that the ‘40,000 men and women everyday’ was a reference to people who actually WRITE to Romeo and Juliet (c/o Shakespeare in England). Kind of silly, when I look back on it now. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2000, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-dont-fear-the-reaper-is-about/29882/24 "2000-08-19T13:47:09Z")
> [@](#): > > The PRMC(?) and Tipper Gore became a plague in the 80’s. PMRC. Parent’s Music Recources Committee. Don’t worry about Tipper Gore. Once she becomes First Lady she’ll forget all about meddling with our First Ammendment rights. Back on-topic, I think the suicide thoery makes sense; but when I first heard it I thought of vampires. The imagery of > [@](#): > > Then the door was open and the wind appeared > The candles blew then disappeared > The curtains flew then he appeared…saying don’t be afraid reminds me of the classic vampire films where Dracula appears in Mina’s bedroom. ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2000, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-dont-fear-the-reaper-is-about/29882/25 "2000-08-19T14:16:41Z")
**techchick** said: > [@](#): > > If I remember correctly, the reference to the song is on the first page of the book. King nearly always starts his books, and often his chapters, with rock-and-roll quotes. He’s a big rock fan, so he uses it literally. The “Reaper” quote does indeed appear on the page prior to the prologue, along with quotes from Springsteen’s “Jungle Land” and Country Joe & The Fish’s “Fish Cheer.” > [@](#): > > Later on in the movie, one of the other characters was a singer and his first hit was Baby I’m Your Man/i] which incidentally is a line from Don’t Fear the Reaper. Actually, Larry Underwood’s hit single (the title track from his debut album) was “Baby, Can You Dig Your Man.” ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2000, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-dont-fear-the-reaper-is-about/29882/26 "2000-08-19T18:42:49Z")
You folks are reading wwwwaaaayyyy too much into that song. It’s about farm machinery. It was rejected by the John Deere company, so the band took out the trademark and released the song anyway. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2000, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-dont-fear-the-reaper-is-about/29882/27 "2000-08-19T19:45:40Z")
AskNott, you are my new hero. ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2000, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-dont-fear-the-reaper-is-about/29882/28 "2000-08-19T20:02:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KneadToKnow \* > \*\*AskNott, you are my new hero. \*\* Ditto. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2000, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-dont-fear-the-reaper-is-about/29882/29 "2000-08-20T02:23:56Z")
If I recall (an old flame of my ran off with the book), the lines in _The Stand_ were: Came the last night of sadness And it was clear that she couldn’t go on Then the door was open and the wind appeared The candles blew then disappeared The curtains flew then _he_ appeared Which I guess in the context of the book could refer to the Reaper, the Walkin’ Dude, or both – depending on how you want to view the whole mess. For the record, BOC appeared at my old hometown summertime jubilee thingie a few years back in a free concert. How the mighty have fallen 😉 On the other hand, after seeing Godzilla 2000 the other day, I restarted listening to _Godzilla_. ---
**Author:** ![Poto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ab992/32.png) [@Poto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poto)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2000, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-dont-fear-the-reaper-is-about/29882/30 "2000-08-20T04:39:32Z")
I’m glad I don’t make out half the lyrics of most songs. I think that Jamie’s Got A Gun has some sick stuff, but that’s as far as I got. Why don’t you tackle that. I won’t read the interpretation cause I’m out of town and will forget this thread by tomorrow. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-dont-fear-the-reaper-is-about/29882.md?page=1)