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).
Quicklime Girl
Blue Öyster Cult Lyrics
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Where the plants grow strong and tall
Behind the bush there lurks a girl
Who makes them strong and tall
The villagers call her
Quicklime girl behind her back
Quicklime girl behind the bush
Quicklime girl
Quicklime girl
Quicklime girl
Quicklime girl
In the fall when plants return
By harvest time she knows the score
Ripe and ready to the eye
Yet rotten somehow to the core
And they call her
Quicklime girl behind her back
Quicklime girl behind the bush
Quicklime girl
She's the mistress of the salmon salt
Quicklime girl
Quicklime girl
Quicklime girl
A harvest of life a harvest of death
One body of life one body of death
And when you've gone and choked to death
With laughter and a little step
I'll prepare the quicklime, friend
For your ripe and ready grave
For your ripe and ready grave
It's springtime now and cares subside
And the plannings almost done
And fertile graves it seems exist
Within a mile of that Duke's joint
Where Coast Guard crews still take their leave
Quite listless in the sun
And the Quicklime girl still plies her trade
Reduction of the many from the one
And they call her
Quicklime girl behind her back
Quicklime girl behind the bush
Quicklime girl
Well she's the mistress of the salmon salt
Quicklime girl
Quicklime girl they call her
Quicklime girl
A harvest of life a harvest of death
Resumes its course each day
It comes as if by schedule
A harvester lifts his arms to the rain
The toes that crawl
The knees that jerk
The necks like swans that seem to turn
As if inclined to gasp or pray
The lyrics to Blue Oyster Cult's song "Mistress of the Salmon Salt" are cryptic and open to interpretation, but they paint a vivid image of a mysterious woman known as the Quicklime Girl. The song takes place in a garden district where the Quicklime Girl is said to make the plants grow strong and tall, though the villagers whisper behind her back about her true nature. She is called the mistress of the salmon salt, and as the seasons change and the fall harvest approaches, the lyrics suggest that something rotten lies beneath the surface of the plants she tends to. The final lines of the song suggest an ominous fate for those who cross the Quicklime Girl as the cycle of life and death resumes.
The lyrics of "Mistress of the Salmon Salt" are steeped in symbolism, and much of their meaning is left up to interpretation. Some have suggested that the eponymous Quicklime Girl is a metaphor for a femme fatale or a seductive force that leads people to ruin. The use of the phrase "mistress of the salmon salt" has led some to speculate that the song is about the ancient Japanese practice of curing fish with salt and fermenting it with rice, known as "salmon salt". Others have noted the references to harvesting and the cycle of life and death, suggesting that the song is about the natural order of things and the ways in which humans try to control it.
Line by Line Meaning
In the garden district
The story takes place in an area with lots of vegetation
Where the plants grow strong and tall
The vegetation in this area is very healthy and sturdy
Behind the bush there lurks a girl
There is a girl hiding behind a bush
Who makes them strong and tall
The girl is responsible for the healthy plants in the area
The villagers call her Quicklime girl behind her back
The townspeople have given her a nickname, which they only use when talking about her behind her back
Quicklime girl behind the bush
This is a description of where she hides
Quicklime girl
This is the nickname for the girl
She's the mistress of the salmon salt
She has some sort of power or control over the salmon salt
In the fall when plants return
The story takes place over the course of a year. This line indicates that it is now fall again
By harvest time she knows the score
She is aware of how well the harvest went
Ripe and ready to the eye
The crops look good
Yet rotten somehow to the core
Despite looking good, there is something wrong with the crops
A harvest of life a harvest of death
This is a metaphor for the cycle of life and death
One body of life one body of death
Another way of expressing the metaphor from the previous line
And when you've gone and choked to death
This line is addressed to someone who has died
With laughter and a little step
This person died while laughing and taking a step
I'll prepare the quicklime, friend
The girl will prepare the quicklime to use in a burial
For your ripe and ready grave
The burial is for the person who died while taking a step
It's springtime now and cares subside
The story has now progressed to the following spring
And the plannings almost done
Preparations for another harvest are almost complete
And fertile graves it seems exist
There are many good places to bury someone in this area
Within a mile of that Duke's joint
There is a location nearby called 'that Duke's joint'
Where Coast Guard crews still take their leave
Coast Guard personnel often gather here
Quite listless in the sun
They are relaxed and inactive in the sunny weather
And the Quicklime girl still plies her trade
The girl is still making and using quicklime for burials
Reduction of the many from the one
This line seems to refer to the process of turning a human body into ashes using quicklime
A harvest of life a harvest of death
This line is repeated, emphasizing the cyclical nature of life and death
Resumes its course each day
The cycle of life and death continues without interruption
It comes as if by schedule
The process of life and death seems to be happening on a predetermined schedule
A harvester lifts his arms to the rain
Someone is farming in the rain
The toes that crawl
A creepy description of something that is moving
The knees that jerk
Another creepy description of something that is moving
The necks like swans that seem to turn
This is another creepy description. The first two lines probably refer to bugs or other small creatures, and this line might be referring to people watching them
As if inclined to gasp or pray
This provides some insight into why people might be watching the creepy scene described in the previous line
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOUCHARD, PEARLMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind