Talk:(Don't Fear) The Reaper

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needs more cowbell
(preceding unsigned comment by Christopher Walken User:132.241.245.49 20:58, July 20, 2005)


Contents

[edit] 40,000 men and women everywhere?

This is just something I'm curious about...the lyrics say '40,000 men and women everywhere'. What does this mean? I'm guessing that there a statistic that 40k people die per day, but that's just a guess. Does anybody know the answer to this?

Thanks, --Ericcjensen 02:32, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

I wondered that myself. "40,000 men and women every day". My guess is that 40,000 men and women every day commit suicide ("like Romeo and Juliet"). That fits with the general meaning of the song: don't fear "the reaper"/death and according to Suicide 10 to 20 million people attempt suicide each year, that works out at about 27,000 to 55,000, so the figures fit. I'd like to know for sure though (and maybe add something to the article?). Alex9788 20:19, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] 40,000

In an interview (don't have cite, but I think it was a cover story in a record collector magazine, article was called "then came the last days of may" I think) Donald Roeser said the "40,000" was just a guess on how many people die every day. It wasn't based on anything other than a completely random guess.Aapold 14:03, 28 October 2007 (UTC)


[edit] not about suicide?

That blew my mind (no pun). I always thought "40,000 men and women everyday" was an implied estimate on suicide rate. So if it's not really about suicide, what does the number refer to? — FREAK OF NURxTURE (TALK) 14:07, August 25, 2005 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure it just means 40,000 people die every day. I doubt 40,000 people kill themselves every day. --Richy 09:42, 26 August 2005 (UTC)

As stated in the article, the song is about eternal love. The second voice gives the answer perhaps:

40,000 men and women evrywhere (redefine happiness)

That is what these 80,000 people do, redefining happiness.

BK

This statistic and lyric can be in the article. Must be more than 40,000 though.Book M 09:50, 8 November 2006 (UTC) I read somewere that buck dhurma just liked the way it sounded cbsavage_99@yahoo.com

[edit] Another cover of that song

I hope it might fall in consideration since it's adding another cover version of that Song by The Mutton Bird featured in the Motion Picture "The Frighteners".

"Don't Fear The Reaper"
Written by Donald Roeser
Performed by The Mutton Birds
Courtesy of Virgin Records Australasia

- found at the internet movie data base - imdb.com if I may mention this source?

[edit] Single?

This url from Allmusic seems to indicate that DFTR was not released as a single. That being the case I was thinking about changing it to this. — FREAK OF NURxTURE (TALK) 23:11, Jan. 10, 2006

Allmusic doesn't know what it is talking about. The BÖC FAQ does. All hail the BÖC FAQ! 203.49.247.77 05:06, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

It certainly was released as a single in the UK. The single doesn't have the guitar break in the middle. Candy 08:33, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] 13 note count?

What is a 13 note count? I didn't find any reference.

I couldn't either. Let's hope this {{fact}} wil do its job.Image:Weather rain.pngSoothingR 06:45, 14 February 2006 (UTC)
I think this is indicating that the song is written in 13/4 time signature. If this is what it is referencing, that is an incorrect piece of information. I believe the song is written in 8/4 time or 4/4 time. Listening to it and counting will make it apparent that it is not written in 13/4 time.


[edit] Clean up the covers

What's with the hanging Oingo Boingo ref? Did they do a cover? I'm gussing it was something they might have played in concert at some point, not a studio recording? (Although I'm quite familiar with Oingo Boingo, I'm probably not expert enough to fix this.) The same with The Goo Goo Dolls: where is the cover, so readers can find it?

Along those lines, Wilco also covered it. According to Wilcobase.com ([1]), they played it live 14 times overall: 9 times in 2004 (October 31, November 10, November 11, November 14, November 15, November 19, November 20, November 22, December 31) and 5 times in 2005 (February 08, February 15, February 24, March 19, June 30.) If I can find more information on any of other the covers, I'll post it here. - Square pear 05:11, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

There is a version floating around P2P networks claiming to be "Oingo Boingo". Doesn't sound anything like them, and is not live.--193.195.185.254 00:42, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

Also, there seems to be a great deal of confusion regarding the cover by HIM (His Infernal Majesty). The "Nick Cave and Enya" version seems to be the HIM track renamed. Probably by someone confused and unfamiliar with the band. 68.39.205.67 04:49, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

I removed the reference to Nick Cave doing a cover of this, as he hasn't; as said above, it's a renamed version of the HIM cover. Burnage13 20:41, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] The Stand

An instrumental version was used in the opening sequence of the mini-series adaption of Stephen King's The Stand

I'm pretty sure the version in The Stand has lyrics.

I am too. In fact, the book quotes part of the lyrics at the beginning of one of the chapters, which, I'm sure is a big reason why they chose that song for the movie.Super_C 21:09, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

The Stand actually misqouted the lyrics in the preface.Aapold 14:03, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] What's the Deal With the Cowbell

Okay, I know everyone likes the SNL skit but there's way too much reference to cowbell in this article. It seems like it should be mentioned once in reference to the skit. For instance, saying that the original demo recording didn't have any cowbell in it is almost entirely irrelevant. --Animatorgeek 20:41, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

So... LESS cowbell?? ;-) Super_C 21:11, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
Guys, you're gunna want that cowbell in there!216.234.58.18 20:02, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Needs a clean up

This article really needs a clean up. It reads like a fan wrote it using their own interpretation of the song. It needs more references and sound information.

I added the fact that the version on the album is not the same as the one released as a single (at least not in the UK). I removed the reference:

Although not a cover version, the 1979 hit "Message in a Bottle" by The Police bears a definite similarity to "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", most notably in the main guitar riff and in some of the solo guitar parts. But it has no cowbell.

This is tenuous at best (the chord structure is certainly different to DFTR as is the chorus as well). As a musician who has played both live many times I wouldn't have even considered them "similar" songs. Candy 14:43, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Brilliance

"Altough he mightof claimed this because of worrys at the time about links between songs and suisides."

Wikipedia at its best. This truly shows that it is a "serious project." 64.252.160.114 20:49, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

It certainly is. In fact, it's even got worse than when I made a comment to this effect above. Now, the article is 90% trivia, 5% speculation and <5% fact. The artcile needs a lot of fluff blown away and some serious research made. Where was it recorded? What does the writer claim it means (if anything)? Who engineered it? Differences between single and album versions. Producer, engineer, musicians ... Live performances, Song structure etc. In addition, moist of the trivia can be condensed to a couple of lines and the rest blown away. If no objections within a few days I will do the hack job myself. Candy 10:20, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] History Channel

During a documentary which was about the 70's, the History Channel played "Don't Fear The Reaper" in its' entirety while going over the Jonestown incident, that should be mentioned in the section about TV shows featuring the song

Yeah, I saw that to. However, I don't beleive this is that important to place. HOWEVER, Jim Jones did say over the loudspeaker "Don't fear the Reaper!" during the mass-suicide/mass-murder. I think this should have a minor subnote.Oldking5 (talk) 03:49, 2 March 2008 (UTC)