Chords for Creating (Don't Fear) The Reaper

_ _ [G] _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
[F] _ _ _ [Am] _ _ _ _ _
The [Em] whole Reaper [G] part came from [F] a [C] basic worry that _ [G] I might be mortal, I might not have a long life.
[Am] I had a heart rhythm _ _ diagnosis and [G] didn't know where that was going.
I [G] _ _ _ [Am] wound up to [G] be not at all life threatening, [Em] but it got me [Am] thinking about it.
The story of [D] _ _ [Am] two lovers that are separated by the death of [G] one of the partners.
_ Miraculously, the guy comes back and they just go to some [Em] place, some other [G] place.
It's not here, not our [C] reality.
[G] It was the first [F] song I wrote after [Am] getting the multi-track tape recorder, [G] the T-AC _ _ [C] 3340S four-track tape [Em] recorder.
Everybody in the band had [Am] bought either a Dockorder or a T-AC _ [G] 3340S.
You can actually work on material by yourself in your own house.
That's how Buck wrote Reaper.
[F] _ _ [Am] Just like a clean sheet of paper, _ [B] the [Am] _ _ [Gb] guitar riff came out.
I put that down and then I started writing around the [G] guitar riff.
Lyrically, the first two lines of the song sort of just wrote themselves.
[Am] It [Em] took another about six weeks to come [Am] up with the rest of the [G] story, to figure out where [C] it went, get the right words in the right places.
I [F] was able to [Em] take the original guitar lick and then [G] record the other parts against it, sort of right that way.
And then I made a proper demo where I recorded everything [A] again in order with the arrangement in mind.
So that's the way that [Em] went.
If you had a song demo, [Am] you just distribute it to [Fm] the rest of the band on cassettes.
[G] So the band heard my concept of the arrangement, which is, if you listen to the compare the demo [Am] to the release version, it's [G] very close.
He laid that song on everybody.
[Bm] And I'll be honest, I thought it [Em] was a little light for us because we [C] were sort of a heavy band.
[F] _ _ _
_ But everybody liked it.
Not that I didn't like it, I just thought it was a little light.
[B] It doesn't really sound like B [F].O.C.
His [G] demo was [Am] pretty awesome.
[G] And some people in the band _ thought it was too much of a pop song.
I didn't.
[A] I actually thought it was a hit when I heard it.
I'm no expert on [C] hits.
I don't want to pretend [F] that I am.
But I heard it and I was like, [Am] wow, the [C] riff is good, but the song itself is great.
[G] Yeah.
And then he was going [C] to change the lies, [F] put some [Em] words in there and [A] no, no, [G] no, leave the lies.
[G] Yeah, leave that.
Leave the lies.
It was recorded at the New York record plant.
We recorded the basic track of my guitar and bass and [Am] drums.
Then the other parts were [G] layered on afterward.
Then the vocals came.
_ Then I think the guitar lead came [C] after the vocals.
_ And the last thing to go on was the caba.
The chords are magic chords. _
[Am] You know, the sound is [D] glorious.
It [G] is, it's something that you can't [D] do on a digital basis.
[C] There [G] are all sorts of acoustical [F] ambiences, [G] you know, [A] that were mixed [F] into the song and recorded [B] into the song.
[Am] People are controlled [G] by that very strange, very angular [G] solo. _
[B] _ _ _ _ _ [Gb] _ _ _
_ Rock and roll bands [Abm] are designed, created for concerts [Gm] with fireworks and lasers and [Abm] energy.
_ _ The solo's job [Bb] is to give a taste of that. _
_ [Ab] _ _ [B] _ _ [Eb] _ _ [Abm] _
_ [Bb] _ _ _ _ [Bb] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [Abm] _ _ _
_ [Fm] Of course, [Ab] it was a hit.
And we were [C] not used to having a [G] hit.
We were always like [Ab] a _ [G]
scrabbling band trying to inch its way [F] up.
And all of a [B] sudden, here's an album with [Ab] a hit on it.
Yeah, we [Fm] were very comfortable being sort of like an album-oriented, _ [G] semi-underground band.
[A] When Agents of Fortune came out, and of course, Don't Fear the Reaper became a good hit [B] for us,
[A] _ the venues [B] got larger [A] and _ the touring got more [Bm] fun.
There's no doubt about that.
_ No doubt at [D] all.
I [E] never envisioned it to be [G] what was then known as an AM hit, [Am] AM radio.
But [A] I definitely thought it would be an album-cut hit.
[G] _ It just sounded really good.
So [Am] [Em] I was [Ab] confident that it was going to get [G] a lot of [Am] FM airplay, _ _ _ which it did.
But then [G] when it started to climb the pop charts, that was kind of a surprise.
_ [Bb] _ _ [C] _ _
Eric [Gb] Bloom has always sang the harder material [Em] in our band.
I would write songs that would [G] fit the way I sang, which tended to be the [Am] _ [G] more _ mellowish stuff,
the more [Am] introspective stuff.
And [G] when The Reaper became a hit, that was [C] odd, because then it was like there's two _ _ [C] axes of vocals in the [G] band.
And I thought we juggled that pretty well. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _
[C] _ One of David Lucas's suggestions was to add a cowbell,
_ which kind of like everybody looked at David and said, _
_ are you out of your mind?
[Em] Really?
[G] A cowbell?
I just felt it needed _ [G]
four on the floor.
It needed [Em] _ a linear _ _ drive.
[C] _ And the cowbell is not particularly loud on the actual [F] mix.
The cowbell is really loud on the [Am] radio.
_ And the [E] radio compressors _ [Am] bring the cowbell to the forefront.
It's an [G] artifact of the radio compressors.
[G] It's not particularly loud [F] _
[G] on the actual mix.
Definitely taking on a philosophical reference.
[C] _ Rising above your problems.
Like you have a problem and [Gb] you resolve it by [Em] the cowbell.
It means that you overcome your problems.
So I'm like, wow, that's cool.
[G] Yeah, we didn't know that was coming.
But _ [C] I got a phone call, turn on Saturday night, right now.
I saw like the [Em] last 20 seconds of it.
And then I can't remember how I saw it again.
I guess it was rebroadcast.
[A] Anyway, [G] it's [Am] hilarious.
_ _ And my first feeling was [Am] relief that [G] they didn't savage us somehow. _
[C] The whole idea that the cowbell was going to be _ _ pivotal
[Em] to Don't Fear the Reaper is such a ridiculous [G] concept
that it's [Em] actually really funny.
And _ _ Christopher Walken was just amazing.
_ [F] _ _ _ [G] _ _ _ [D] _ _ [F] _ _ [G] _ _
[Am] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [F] _ _ _ [Fm] _ _ _ _