Blue Öyster Cult have been described as heavy metal, light metal, psychedelic rock, occult rock, acid rock, and progressive rock. They have also been recognized for helping pioneer genres such as stoner metal and speed metal.
The band is influenced by artists such as Alice Cooper, Grateful Dead, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, MC5, The Blues Project, Jimi Hendrix, and Black Sabbath.
While Blue Öyster Cult has been noted for heavy rock, they would often add their own tongue-in-cheek style. Keeping with their image, the band would often include out-of-context fragments of Pearlman’s The Soft Doctrines of Imaginos into their lyrics, giving their songs cryptic meanings. Additionally, the band would keep a folder of Meltzer’s and Pearlman’s word associations to insert into their music.
Blue Öyster Cult's longest-lasting and most commercially successful lineup included Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (lead guitar, vocals), Eric Bloom (lead vocals, "stun guitar," keyboards, synthesizers), Allen Lanier (keyboards, rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Joe Bouchard (bass, backing vocals), Albert Bouchard (drums, percussion, backing vocals). The band's current lineup includes Roeser and Bloom, as well as Danny Miranda (bass, backing vocals), Jules Radino (drums, percussion) and Richie Castellano (keyboard, rhythm guitar, backing vocals).
Career of Evil
Blue Öyster Cult Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I want your wife to be my baby tonight
I choose to steal what you chose to show
And you know I will not apologize
Your mine for the taking
I'm making a career of evil
I'm making a career of evil
I'm making a career of evil
Pay me I'll be your surgeon, I'd like to pick your brains
Capture you, Inject you, leave you kneeling in the rain
I choose to steal what you chose to show
And you know I will not apologize
Your mine for the taking
I'm making a career of evil
I'm making a career of evil
I'm making a career of evil
I'd like your blue eyed horseshoe, I'd like your emerald horny toad
I'd like to do it to your daughter on a dirt road
And then I'd spend your ransom money, but still I'd keep your sheep
I'd peel the mask your wearing, and then rob you of your sleep
I choose to steal what you chose to show
And you know I will not apologize
Your mine for the taking
I'm making a career of evil
I'm making a career of evil
I'm making a career of evil
I'm making a career of evil
I'm making a career of evil
I'm making a career of evil
I'm making a career of evil
The lyrics of "Career of Evil" by Blue Öyster Cult are dark and unsettling. It speaks of someone who wants to steal and control everything that belongs to someone else. The song starts with lines that show the singer’s thirst for power and control. "I plot your rubric scarab" implies that they want to take away something important from the target, leaving them vulnerable. The following two lines, "I steal your satellite, I want your wife to be my baby tonight" show the extent of their desire to control everything - even a person's wife. By choosing to steal what the target chose to show, the singer is almost mocking their target: they believe the target is foolish enough to give them a glimpse of what they own, and they can take it all away.
The song continues with the singer talking about their desire to be paid to be a surgeon, but to pick their target's brains instead. They want to capture, inject and leave the target kneeling in the rain - something that sounds incredibly painful and torturous. The lyrics suggest that the singer enjoys causing harm to other people. The chorus "I'm making a career of evil" is a repeated reminder that their actions are not just a one-time thing. They take pleasure in causing harm and causing destruction. The song's final lines suggest that the singer is someone who is ruthless and has no qualms about doing whatever it takes to get what they want.
Line by Line Meaning
I plot your rubric scarab, I steal your satellite
I plan to steal valuable items from you, including a scarab beetle and a satellite
I want your wife to be my baby tonight
I desire to have a romantic encounter with your wife
I choose to steal what you chose to show
I deliberately take what you reveal to others as valuable and worthy of attention
And you know I will not apologize
I am unapologetic about my intentions and actions
Your mine for the taking
You are my target to be taken advantage of
I'm making a career of evil
I am intentionally pursuing a path of wrongdoing as a means of gaining wealth or power
Pay me I'll be your surgeon, I'd like to pick your brains
I offer my questionable services, hoping to benefit from exploiting your thoughts and knowledge
Capture you, Inject you, leave you kneeling in the rain
I aim to subjugate you through force, biological manipulation, and disregard for your wellbeing
I'd like your blue eyed horseshoe, I'd like your emerald horny toad
I crave your treasures, no matter how bizarre or valuable they may be
I'd like to do it to your daughter on a dirt road
I express desires to engage in non-consensual sexual activity with your underage daughter, and in a violent or disadvantaged setting
And then I'd spend your ransom money, but still I'd keep your sheep
After forcibly taking your property as a ransom, I would use it to pursue my evil interests, but would still maintain and exploit your assets
I'd peel the mask you're wearing, and then rob you of your sleep
I plan to strip away any false facades or protection you may have and cause you fear or discomfort
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOUCHARD, SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
SamFreedom
I remember first getting this on vinyl and I played the **** out of it!!!! BOC was one of the few groups of which I loved every song -- I just wanted to sit through each one, get my "me" out of the way and just let my brain/mind explore each, figuring out, and appreciating how and why they did it, and who and what they did it with! I WILL NOT... APOLOGIZE!
JORGE ENRIQUE ZARATE GOMERO
The intro of Secret Treaties Album is amazing, awesome tunes like Career of Evil and Subhuman. BOC is one of the Greatest seventies American Rock bands
Larry Parker
Don't have a clue what Subhuman is about but still great
Justin Mathewson
Subhuman is a story from The Soft Doctrine of Imaginos. Poem by Sandy Pearlman, BÖC manager in the 70s
Bobby P
Many thanks to Patti & Al for a truly awesome opener to what I think is their best album - this week....
bluenoter
One of the real great hard-rock albums ever. The best one from böc at all.
Holly W
I'm torn between this and Agents. Agents is so damned fine, especially the Revenge of Vera Gemini. This was the first album of theirs I ever heard. I was twelve. My friend's older brother was playing it one night when I was staying overnight at their house, and I was, immediate, "Oh my God who is this? I love it!!" Yes, I was an odd twelve year old.
Larry Parker
Absolutely....although I really like On Your Feet
Imouto
These guys really knew how to play their instruments to their fullest potential.
Skycladatdusk78
From blue-eyed horse shoes to emerald horny toads to spent ransom money, this is my favorite Blue Oyster Cult song to dance like a mystic to at wedding receptions and night clubs.🤘🔥