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Everyone has a life to live, but everything must end.
Personification
Again, this line is repeated
Parallel Structure
The "last nights of sadness" are the last moments of life.
Inclusive Language delivers the message to everyone
Love of two is one
Here but now they're gone
Came the last night of sadness
And it was clear she couldn't go on
Then the door was open and the wind appeared
The candles blew then disappeared
The curtains flew then he appeared, saying Don't be afraid
All our times have come
Here but now they're gone
Seasons don't fear the reaper
Nor do the wind, or the sun, or the rain, We can be like they are
Come on baby, don't fear the reaper
Baby take my hand, don't fear the reaper
We'll be able to fly, don't fear the reaper
Baby I'm your man
La, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la
Repetition "don't fear the reaper"
Imagery
Personification
The main message is to not be afraid of death and to accept death when the time comes.
Talking of the reaper
Notice wind and candlelight. These can be linked to the wind and sun from the first stanza. They are unafraid of death, and now they are present with the woman to comfort her in her time of dying.
Some believe the song is written from the woman's partner's point of view and that he wants them to die together. Others believe the reaper is telling the story speaking of himself in the third person.
Acceptance of death
Valentines symbolizes life in this stanza
Liberation in death
Same as the second line in the first stanza. Repetition of everything coming to an end
Come on baby, and she had no fear
And she ran to him, then they started to fly
They looked backward and said goodby, she had become like they are
She had taken his hand, she had become like they are
Come on baby, don't fear the reaper
Literary Illusion. The couple's story/life solely based on love
Repetition
Biblical symbolism of number 40
Letting go=happiness
In the chorus closer to the beginning, it says "Baby take my hand" and "we'll be able to fly". Now, the woman takes "his" hand and "they started to fly". "My hand," to some, is once thought of as her partner's. Because of parallels in this stanza, focused completely on the reaper, and the chorus, the hand being referenced is the reaper's. Now it is clear that the reaper, only ever using his title in third person, is the narrator of the song. The purpose behind his song is to show he doesn't want to be seen as evil and doesn't want people to fear death.
Repetition of the last line in the first stanza
Valentine is done
Here but now they're gone
Romeo and Juliet
Are together in eternity, Romeo and Juliet
40, 000 men and women everyday, Like Romeo and Juliet
40, 000 men and women everyday, Redefine happiness
Another 40, 000 coming everyday, We can be like they are
Come on baby, don't fear the reaper
Baby take my hand, don't fear the reaper
We'll be able to fly, don't fear the reaper
Baby I'm your man
La, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la
Chorus repeats to deliver the message
In the end of the song, the woman overcomes her fear of death. In saying goodby, she accepts that her life has ended in the same way everything will end some day; therefore, there is no need to fear the reaper.
Here, some believe the song is about a man who wants to die with the love of his life because of the allusion to Romeo and Juliet, but others argue that the reaper is speaking, and the purpose behind telling the story of star crossed lovers is to show that there is happiness and love in the afterlife.
Don't Fear The Reaper: Blue Oyster Cult