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Chart History
From the album Agents of Fortune,
(Don't Fear) the Reaper was a
#12 hit for Blue Oyster Cult in 1976.
Songwriter:
Donald Roeser
J's Journal:
One of the all-time favorite parodies of ApologetiX band members and fans alike is a song called “People,” on our “Ticked” CD, which discusses the apostles and their willingness to be martyred for the cause of Christ. Our song “Don’t Fear the People” is also about martyrdom and the willingness to stand up for your faith. I just noticed while typing this that both parodies use the word “people” in their titles and the original versions of both these songs were about people who weren’t afraid to die, even though they had nothing to die for. Our parodies are about people who are willing to die only because they know the one Person who died and brought Himself back to life and is able to resurrect everyone who believes in Him. (John 11:25,26).
The key scripture verse for this song is this quote from Jesus in Matthew 10:28: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” In other words, Jesus is telling us that the only person we need to fear is God. And if you have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, you don’t fear Him in the sense of being afraid of Him; in this case, that fear is a reverential respect and awe for God, knowing that He is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing) and omnipresent (all places). In that sense, the Bible says “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7).
I got the lyrics for this song in the mid-1990's, and I got chills while singing the lyrics, even back then. I couldn't wait to do it someday. It was worth the wait, though. At the time we recorded it, I had never seen the famous Saturday Night Live "Behind the Music" skit about "more cowbell," yet I distinctly remember telling Karl to make sure that the cowbell was very prominent in the mix.
Stats:
Genre: Classic Rock
Length: 3:48
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Don't Fear the People
Parody of "(Don't Fear) the Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult
(Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:4,5)
Fallen times have come. We can't turn and run
Stephen didn't fear the people,
Not even when they stoned him to death
We can be like he was
C'mon, baby
(Don't fear the people)
Baby, take your stand
(Don't fear the people)
And be ready to die
(Don't fear the people)
Baby, they're just men
When the fire was done, Nero burned Christians
Rome of old was full of men
Martyred for their Christianity
(Rome of old was full of men)
Although they tried they couldn't kill them anyway
(Rome of old was full of men)
The more that died the more that came to take their place
(Read in your history book)
And now the Coliseum is an empty place
(We can be like they were)
CHORUS
Harken to the one -- who was God's own Son:
Fear not man in his madness
Who if he killed your body couldn't go on
The Lord's the only one that you should fear
The person who first put you here
Who can certainly do something more severe
(When you're thrown in the grave)
C'mon baby
(That's the one to fear)
Defend the faith
(Like the martyrs who died)
Let's get back to the faith they had
(We can become like they were)
They had taken a stand
(We can become like they were)
C'mon baby
(Don't fear the people)
©2010 Parodudes Music, Inc.
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