
The song is about the inevitability of death and the foolishness of fearing it, and was written when Dharma was thinking about what would happen if he died at a young age. It's basically a love song where the love transcends the actual physical existence of the partners." It is, like, not to be afraid of (as opposed to actively bring it about). "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. Critical reception was positive and in December 2003 "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" was listed at number 405 on Rolling Stone 's list of the top 500 songs of all time. Released as an edited single (omitting the slow building interlude in the original), the song is Blue Öyster Cult's highest chart success, reaching #7 in Cash Box and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1976. Dharma wrote the song while picturing an early death for himself. The song, written and sung by lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, deals with eternal love and the inevitability of death.

" (Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a song by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult from the band's 1976 album Agents of Fortune. For the album by Witchery, see Don't Fear the Reaper (album).

For the EP by Clint Ruin and Lydia Lunch, see Don't Fear the Reaper (EP). This article is about the song by Blue Öyster Cult.
