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).
Shooting Shark
Blue Öyster Cult Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And he laid some tricks for me
He said you do need help my friend
I whispered, obviously
He laid a spread of Jacks and Queens
And he begged me take my pick
But every face that had your face
[Chorus]
Sick of hauling your love around
Want to run my train alone
But the engine tracks straight through your heart
And weighs me like a stone
Oh it's a hard love to love you it takes up all my time
Having you so familiar like past lives and nursery rhymes
So I gave away the pictures and your golden ring
And the phone calls you sent me and the silver birds that sing
Then the man he told me something that really brought me down
Your things were blown away it's true but you were still in town
[Chorus]
The magician left a message, it flashes when I hide
Accept the chains of loving,
Accept the rails remove yourself from her side
Do without her love
As I lay back in the speeding train, I keep it by my side
I could mail a letter to you but I still have my pride
"Shooting Shark" by Blue Oyster Cult tells the painful story of a man who feels suffocated by a relationship he is in. He talks about seeking help from a wise man, who lays out cards for him, indicating that he has to choose between his present love interest and an uncertain future. He slowly realizes that he is sick of hauling his love interest's love around, and he wants to run his train alone. He talks about how he tried to get rid of all the things that reminded him of her, including her pictures, golden ring, phone calls, and even the silver birds that sing, but still felt weighed down by her memories.
The song highlights how the person is familiar with his current love interest to an extent that it feels as if they have known each other from past lives and nursery rhymes. However, the person realizes that he needs to accept the chains of loving before he can remove himself from her side. The song ends with the person accepting that breaking up would not be easy because he still had feelings for her; rather his only option would be to live his life without her.
The lyrics of "Shooting Sharks" are characterized by vivid metaphors, symbolism, and surreal imagery. The song captures the emotional trauma of a one-sided love relationship that seems to have come to a deadlock. It is a classic example of BOC's music that transcends entertainment and delves deep into the realms of human emotions and experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I'm up there beside the magic man
I'm next to someone who performs amazing tricks.
And he laid some tricks for me
He showed me some of his magic tricks.
He said you do need help my friend
He told me that I needed help.
I whispered, obviously
I whispered back that it was obvious.
He laid a spread of Jacks and Queens
He spread out the cards with face cards in front of me.
And he begged me take my pick
He pleaded with me to choose a card.
But every face that had your face
Every card with a face had your face on it.
I cried out, I am sick
I yelled that I was sick of seeing your face everywhere.
Sick of hauling your love around
I'm tired of carrying the weight of our relationship.
Want to run my train alone
I want to be independent and not rely on you.
But the engine tracks straight through your heart
My train of thought always leads back to thoughts of you.
And weighs me like a stone
It feels heavy and burdensome.
Oh it's a hard love to love you it takes up all my time
Loving you is difficult and time-consuming.
Having you so familiar like past lives and nursery rhymes
Being with you feels like a familiar story or memory.
So I gave away the pictures and your golden ring
I got rid of all the things that reminded me of you.
And the phone calls you sent me and the silver birds that sing
I even got rid of the things that brought me joy in our relationship.
Then the man he told me something that really brought me down
The magician I was with told me something that made me feel sad.
Your things were blown away it's true but you were still in town
All the things I got rid of are gone, but you're still here and I still have feelings for you.
The magician left a message, it flashes when I hide
The magician left me a message that I can only see when I'm alone.
Accept the chains of loving,
Accept the fact that loving someone means being tied down.
Accept the rails remove yourself from her side
Be away from this person and try to remove yourself emotionally.
Do without her love
Try to move on without her love.
As I lay back in the speeding train, I keep it by my side
As I sit on this train, I'm still thinking about you.
I could mail a letter to you but I still have my pride
I could reach out to you, but I'm too proud to admit that I still care.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DONALD ROESER, PATTI SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Cansinza
Letra:
Well I'm up there beside the magic man
And he laid some tricks for me
He said you do need help my friend
I whispered, obviously
He laid a spread of Jacks and Queens
And he begged me take my pick
But every face that had your face
I cried out, I am sick
Sick of hauling your love around
Want to run my train alone
But the engine tracks straight through your heart
And weighs me like a stone
Oh it's a hard love to love you it takes up all my time
Having you so familiar like past lives and nursery rhymes
So I gave away the pictures and your golden ring
And the phone calls you sent me and the silver birds that sing
Then the man he told me something that really brought me down
Your things were blown away it's true but you were still in town
Sick of hauling your love around
Want to run my train alone
But the engine tracks straight through your heart
And weighs me like a stone
Oh it's a hard love to love you it takes up all my time
Having you so familiar like past lives and nursery rhymes
The magician left a message, it flashes when I hide
Accept the chains of loving,
Accept the rails remove yourself from her side
Do without her love
As I lay back in the speeding train, I keep it by my side
I could mail a letter to you but I still have my pride
Matheus Costa
Well I'm up there beside the magic man
And he laid some tricks for me
He said you do need help my friend
I whispered, obviously
He laid a spread of Jacks and Queens
And he begged me take my pick
But every face that had your face
I cried out, I am sick
Sick of hauling your love around
Want to run my train alone
But the engine tracks straight through your heart
And weighs me like a stone
Oh it's a hard love to love you it takes up all my time
Having you so familiar like past lives and nursery rhymes
So I gave away the pictures and your golden ring
And the phone calls you sent me and the silver birds that sing
Then the man he told me something that really brought me down
Your things were blown away it's true but you were still in town
Sick of hauling your love around
Want to run my train alone
But the engine tracks straight through your heart
And weighs me like a stone
Oh it's a hard love to love you it takes up all my time
Having you so familiar like past lives and nursery rhymes
The magician left a message, it flashes when I hide
Accept the chains of loving,
Accept the rails remove yourself from her side
Do without her love
As I lay back in the speeding train, I keep it by my side
I could mail a letter to you but I still have my pride
J.D. Gothard
Worked on this video back in the 80's as a Production Assistant. The cave/dream scenes were actually shot inside Bronson Cave which was "the Bat Cave" (from the TV Show version of BatMan). The band members were fun to work with and not snotty or stuck up and the girls/dancers were all fabulous and 80's hair beautiful. I was 20 or so and amazed by the whole music video biz, I really learned so much. Good times in 80's Hollywood!! I miss those days.
Donathon
You are without a doubt 1 lucky person
joe deboever
thanks for sharing, decent song, n good opinion of one of my favoriterock bands , thank you J D ;)
Streamlyne316
Do you remember the name of the actress who played the girl he was chasing after?
Marc Hughes
Wow 🎉brilliant
Mongo
80`s chick`s hair? hehehe.....was there ever anything better???? I think NOT!!!
7piecebucket
Lyrically, the song is about a romantic couple in a dysfunctional relationship, in which keep breaking up and getting back together again. The couple breaks up and gets back together 3 times. Every time they break up, a "shooting shark" lights up the sky. It is not entirely clear exactly what that is, but it seems to be some sort of celestial event, like a meteor shower. The "magic man" is a fortune teller/tarot card reader who advises the protagonist to finally let go of the relationship and move on.
When the couple breaks up for the 4th time at the end of the song, "the 4th time around is the last time around, there is nothing else to say". The cycle has been broken. Buck releasing the dove at the end of the video symbolizes him finally finding peace.
Thanks to Patti Smith for writing the poem that went on to became the lyrics.
couscous clan
i think that blue oyster cult is the most underrated band on rock history
Carmen R-Dino
Correct. And still on tour, still putting out great music.
dnd_dave
@Toyota Kawasaki what do you mean they have countless bangers 😂