The Deconstruction of the Reaper- A Study of the Perfect Song

(Don't Fear) The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult is a great song. Great enough that it deserves to be analyzed and appreciated for all the large and small things that it does to engage the listener. I turned this paper into my Popular Music in America class, but I wrote it just for fun really. A copy of the song can be found on iTunes. Here is The Deconstruction of the Reaper:

“I got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell.” These immortal words were spoken by Christopher Walken on Saturday Night Live in 2000. Little did he know a phenomenon was created centered around the need for “more cowbell.” More importantly however, he introduced a new generation to the song (Don’t Fear) The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult. This song is not the best song ever; everyone has their own opinion about that. But it is the archetype all rock songs should be measured against. Each part of the song plays its role perfectly and the production of the song is flawless. In this paper I will analyze each section and its musical significance. It is deceptively complex and it deserves to be examined for its musical significance. Blue Oyster Cult recorded it in July, 1976 on their album Agents of Fortune. (Don’t Fear) The Reaper is written and sung by the lead guitarist Donald Roeser, otherwise known as “Buck Dharma.”

The intro is a simple riff based around an A chord, G chord, F chord, then another G chord with a G that rings out at the end of each chord. It is a simple progression that starts with A and goes down a whole step to G, then another whole step to F, creating a progression of conjunct sounding chords. Technically this is an Am chord, but because we never hear the third note in the opening riff, we don’t know it an Am yet. This progression puts the song in the key of C. Each note is spaced exactly the same with an unrelenting 4/4 rhythm. The introduction riff plays twice and then the drums join in. This is the perfect intro. It wastes no time saying what the artist wants to say. It is a little mysterious the first time, coming from just the right channel, but then the second time around the left channel is added to complete the sound, creating a little tension and then releasing it by completing a stereo sound. It really foreshadows how the song plays with tension the whole time. On the 7th and 8th beats of the song the drum enters with a little break to lead into the song. Therefore, the drum isn’t surprising when it enters, but it is just the right addition to the riff. So far, the song has built up with each measure. The first measure started with the left channel guitar riff, then built with two channels, then added the drums as well as the bass, gaining momentum. The bass has a simple entrance too. Hidden under the drums, it enters doubling the guitar part, almost unnoticed, yet crucially supporting. The whole band plays two more measures, at which point another addition needs to be made. This is where the vocals come in. The introduction only lasts four measures, but they are four interesting measures, entering quietly but deliberately and accelerating very fast, utilizing each instrument. It is also the entrance of the famed cowbell, changing the connotations of the cowbell forever. With the entrance of the lyrics, everything that has been built up through the guitar riff played on the lead setting, the channel mixing, and the momentum of the drums and bass get released with sweet, harmonized lyrics. Nothing else changes; the momentum keeps going. This build and release makes this introduction perfectly crafted, yet nothing is lost in the seamless transition into the first verse.

Two lines into the song, the mold is setting fast. That is when the verse kicks it up a notch. By not settling into the groove, BOC catches the attention of the listener by confusing him or her slightly. With the line “Seasons don’t fear the reaper,” the riff disappears and a similar but slightly altered chord progression enters. Instead of the Am, G, F, G progression, it changes to F, G, Am, F, E. It is a subtle change, but the addition of the new E chord is very interesting. It is a major chord, but not one the listener is accustomed to hearing. And more strangely, the E does not appear again. It adds complexity to what appears to be a simple chord structure. There is more complexity hidden in the chord progression pointed out by Maximummetal.com columnist Nailer: “Musically, each line of the song usually ends with an A minor chord. In simple terms, major chords are usually happy sounding and the minors are the sad ones. Thus, the space between lyrical lines is occupied by the depressing last note. It's an unconscious effect that brings the listener down after each line ends.” This up and down effect that BOC is unconsciously creating sets the tone for the lyrics.

The lyrics are open to interpretation. According to Buck Dharma, the song is about eternal love and accepting death. He states: “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 Romeo and Juliet references really deal with how they are free from their bodies, not free from life. Dharma estimated that 40,000 people died everyday and “refine happiness” not “become happy.” Dharma’s lyrics deserve the deep interpretation he intended. Despite the heavy meaning behind his lyrics, he still sings “La…la-la…la…la” in lullaby fashion. The Am sets a depressing mood, but the la’s let the listener know that everything is going to be okay. It’s an inspiring song written about a solemn moment in someone’s life when the lyrics and music are combined.

At the first “Come on baby” the riff returns on the guitar, but the bass continues to play the chord roots. This is the next section where Dharma builds the tension again. This gets combines with the melody that moves from low to high repeatedly. The repetition of the rising melody is like Dharma keeps trying to reach something he cannot, over and over and over. By the “Baby I’m your man” you are rooting for him to take her hand and have no fear. This section represents the continuing attempts and failure to overcome the fear of death. Then the guitar break comes in with an E Phrygian scale that starts high to pick up the tension where the lyrics left off and then dispels it by descending and leading into the smoothing lullaby section. But Dharma decides not to kill all of the tension and uses his miniature solos and the driving force behind the main riff to keep some of the momentum and tension alive. At the end of this section, approximately 1:11 into the song, Dharma has taken us far off course. We don’t know if we should expect a new section or a reprise or back to the verse. It goes right back into the introduction. Now the song has started over again and the listener is tricked into feeling like the first verse was just an aberration and the song is really starting now. The same intro riff reminds us the song we got distracted from but the bass drum beats are letting us know that we’re going straight into a more intense version of what we’ve already heard. Basically, BOC is layering a thicker version of the first verse on us. This is part of the build and release theme. The second verse is not just a copy of the first, but a heavier one that builds on top of the first, not continues it. This is accomplished with the lead guitar part.

Then the lyrics in the second verse ends but the riffs continues and then mysteriously ends while the lead part lets an A ominously hang over the ringing G, creating a perfect 5th while the final Am chord leaves the listener unsatisfied and waiting for more. This is right where Dharma wants the listener.

Instead of coming back with a familiar part of the song, Dharma comes back with a brand new section. The trick with this section is that although it is different, it has the ghost of the previous sections. The triplet introduced is F, G#, C. The F was a common chord and the song is in C, but the G# throws a winkle into the G that was common in the beginning. There is no chord constructed around these three notes, creating a mysterious triad in a triplet meter different from the previous 4/4 section. It comes in very softly, unlike the introduction of the primary riff in the beginning. Then the three notes change to F, C, and B, much more harmonic notes. The break on the listener’s ears disappears as the F, G#, C returns and but then reverts back to the F, C, B. It engages the listener because they are being toyed with by the alternating unpleasant and pleasant triplets. What it really does is draw the listener closer to the speaker to try to figure out what is going on with this strange alternation. What Dharma is doing is setting up the listener for the explosive guitar solo. He did a masterful job as the light cymbals create a haze around the triplets and the one second volume swell gives an ever so slight warning.

The solo is where in the story the fear of death is overcome. The acceptance of death occurs in a rebirthing in a dark chord progression and solo in the dark sounding E Phrygian. The E Phrygian, the same mode used in the original lead part, is part of the key of C major. It portrays a darker, more exotic, and typically middle-eastern sound. The Phrygian mode to me is the sound of the reaper coming, forcing submission to him, which is why it is commonly used in dark movies and modern heavy metal solos. This was the first heavy metal guitar solo to use the Phrygian mode, which is now an integral part of the heavy metal culture. But the dark solo is not to be the end of one’s experience of earth. His message is not to fear the reaper. At around the 3:23 mark, he sustains the final note of his solo and leads it right into the reprise of the primary riff and the verse. But instead of separating the solo from the third verse, he leaves the last note hanging, symbolizing how the lesson learned about death and eternal love is carried into the third verse, all for the wiser. The third verse is the application of the lesson learned by the woman. She has no more fear and is free and there is resolution. Despite all of the ups and downs and tension and releases, there is a happy ending to this story and song. There is a catharsis that occurs as all of the tension that has been built up is finally released as the riff, chord progression, lead guitar, and lyrics all tell us everything is okay, almost in a Return of the Jedi Ewok party way.

Blue Oyster Cult was one of the pioneers of heavy metal and (Don’t Fear) The Reaper one of their greatest achievements. It is a song that played an important part in the creation of heavy metal with Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. It also was one of the greatest written, recorded, and produced songs of the last 40 years and deserves to be analyzed and recognized for its deceptively complex attributes and musical significance.

Works Cited

Analysis of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper.” http://www.maximummetal.com/columns/tales/11.asp.

(Don’t Fear) The Reaper. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6596242/dont_fear_the_reaper.

Buck Dharma Interview by James Lien, College Music Journal, November 6, 1995. http://www.learningfromlyrics.org/Don'tfear.html.

(Don’t Fear) The Reaper. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/(Don't_Fear)_The_Reaper.

(Don’t Fear) The Reaper guitar tab. http://www.guitaretab.com/b/blue-oyster-cult/1923.html.

Phrygian Mode. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrygian_mode.

The Modes of the Major Scale. http://chrisjuergensen.com.hosting.domaindirect.com/modes_2.htm.

Blue Oyster Cult. (Don’t Fear) The Reaper. Agents of Fortune, 1976.

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