Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c(Don’t Fear) The Reaper\u201d is about death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it isn’t telling people to die.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Songwriter Donald \u201cBuck Dharma\u201d Roeser wrote the song while thinking about mortality and the possibility that love could continue beyond death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, decades later, Saturday Night Live turned the recording into the most famous cowbell joke in music history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those are two extremely different legacies for one song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That interpretation has followed the recording because death sits at the centre of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Buck Dharma has repeatedly explained that the idea was acceptance of mortality rather than encouraging anybody to accelerate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Death comes for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being terrified of that fact doesn’t prevent it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The song imagines love existing beyond that boundary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because they represent lovers connected through death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That doesn’t mean the song endorses their actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reference is romantic symbolism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Love becomes larger than an individual lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Very 1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Very dramatic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perfect for a rock song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That guitar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The repeating riff feels hypnotic rather than aggressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then the vocals arrive almost calmly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The recording doesn’t sound frightened of death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It sounds strangely comfortable around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That makes it considerably creepier than a singer screaming about the Grim Reaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There really is cowbell in the recording.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it wasn’t considered particularly remarkable until 2000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then Saturday Night Live happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken appeared in a sketch parodying the recording session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ferrell played fictional cowbell player Gene Frenkle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walken played producer Bruce Dickinson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The producer demands increasingly excessive cowbell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The result became one of SNL’s most famous sketches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Completely fictional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is important because the sketch became so culturally powerful that people started assuming Gene Frenkle must have existed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He didn’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There wasn’t a legendary forgotten cowbell player desperately demanding recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Comedy created him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Generally, yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Buck Dharma has said he found it funny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although he also noted that the sketch temporarily damaged the song’s creepy atmosphere because audiences started waiting for the cowbell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imagine writing a serious meditation on mortality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then 24 years later Will Ferrell arrives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now everybody shouts \u201cmore cowbell\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Popular culture doesn’t ask permission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hard rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Classic rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Psychedelic rock elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blue \u00d6yster Cult could be considerably stranger than conventional arena rock, and \u201cReaper\u201d captures that beautifully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is catchy enough for radio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Odd enough to feel unsettling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Films.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Horror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The song’s title makes it extremely attractive to directors whenever death appears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has also become permanently attached to the SNL sketch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stephen King even cited the song as an inspiration connected with The Stand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Try:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blue \u00d6yster Cult \u2013 Burnin’ for You<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fleetwood Mac \u2013 Rhiannon<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eagles \u2013 Witchy Woman<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Black Sabbath \u2013 Planet Caravan<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Doors \u2013 Riders on the Storm<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Donovan \u2013 Season of the Witch<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Electric Light Orchestra \u2013 Evil Woman<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Steely Dan \u2013 Do It Again<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jefferson Airplane \u2013 White Rabbit<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cliff Richard \u2013 Devil Woman<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Death is unavoidable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Love makes mortality less frightening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s the serious answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The internet’s answer is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
cowbell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both are now correct.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Yes. \u201c(Don’t Fear) The Reaper\u201d is about death. But it isn’t telling people to die. Songwriter Donald \u201cBuck Dharma\u201d Roeser wrote the song while thinking about mortality and the possibility that love could continue beyond death. Then, decades later, Saturday Night Live turned the recording into the most famous cowbell joke in music history. Those are two extremely different legacies for one song. Is \u201cDon\u2019t Fear the Reaper\u201d a suicide song? No. That interpretation has followed the recording because death sits at the centre of it. But Buck Dharma has repeatedly explained that the idea was acceptance of mortality rather…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4449,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2701,2703,2702],"coauthors":[2],"class_list":["post-4448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-cowbell","tag-saturday-night-live","tag-the-reaper"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n