(Don't Fear) The Reaper Trivia Quiz

Answer: Queen

"Who Wants To Live Forever" was written by Brian May for the soundtrack of the 1986 film "Highlander." The song plays in the scene where Connor Macleod (Christopher Lambert) holds his dying wife Heather (Beatie Edney) in his arms. In the soundtrack it is performed with the backing of an orchestra. It has been covered many times by various artists and, like other songs in this quiz, it is a favorite melody as a funeral song, especially among the British.

"But touch my tears with your lips
Touch my world with your fingertips
And we can have forever
And we can love forever
Forever is our today
Who wants to live forever?
Who wants to live forever?
Forever is our today"

Answer: Eric Clapton

This beautiful acoustic ballad was written in 1991 by Eric Clapton as a tribute to his four year old son Connor who died tragically when he fell to the street below from a 53rd floor apartment in New York. It appears in the album "Rush: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack." The song is among the most popular funeral songs because of its solemn melody and emotional lyrics.

"Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong and carry on
'Cause I know I don't belong here in heaven"

Answer: The Beatles

"Eleanor Rigby" was created by Paul McCartney (mainly) and John Lennon and it appears in the Beatles' 1966 album "Revolver." It is a very poignant song which talks about loneliness, broken dreams and wasted lives. In the song's final verses, the two lonely people, Eleanor Rigby and Father McKenzie, come together, if only very briefly, at Eleanor Rigby's funeral. Paul McCartney chose the name from the name of actress Eleanor Bron and the name of a store in Bristol "Rigby & Evens Ltd, Wine & Spirit Shippers." In a 1984 interview he commented: "I just liked the name. I was looking for a name that sounded natural. Eleanor Rigby sounded natural."

"Eleanor Rigby
Died in the church and was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie
Wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved
All the lonely people (ah, look at all the lonely people)
Where do they all come from?"

Answer: Eurythmics

"Angel" was written by Annie Lennox and David Stuart, the two members of "Eurythmics" in 1988. It was written as a tribute to Annie Lennox's aunt who had committed suicide at the age of 57 in 1987. Also, at the time, Annie Lennox had given birth to a stillborn child. She has mentioned in interviews that singing the song is hard for her. The song appears in the 1990 album "We Too Are One."

"Well she's gone to meet her maker
Back to where she came from
Come to save her soul
(Come to save her soul)
Come to take her home
'Cause it's late and past
Your bedtime, well past bedtime
Angel
My angel
Fly over me
Angel"

Answer: Iron Maiden

"Hallowed Be Thy Name" is a classic and very popular song by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was written by Steve Harris and it appears in the 1982 album "The Number of the Beast." It narrates a man's final thoughts before he is taken to the gallows to be executed, a reflection on his past life, his terror before death and the final acceptance of his immortal soul. The popularity of the song has made it an excellent cover song by other heavy metal bands. It is also used in the funerals of heavy metal lovers.

"Mark my words, believe my soul lives on
Don't worry now I have gone
Gone beyond to seek the truth, yeah, yeah
When you know that your time is close at hand
Maybe then you'll begin to understand
Life down here is just a strange illusion
Yeah, hallowed be thy name"

Answer: Neil Diamond

"Done Too Soon" is a song written and sung by Neil Diamond. It appears in his 1970 album "Tap Root Manuscript." The song is a long list of historic personalities, good and bad, all of whom, according to the artist, share the same characteristic, gone too soon.

"And each one there
Has one thing shared:
They have sweated beneath the same sun,
Looked up in wonder at the same moon,
And wept when it was all done

For being? Done too soon,
For being? Done too soon.
For being? Done."

Answer: King Crimson

"Epitaph" is a song by British progressive rock band King Crimson for their 1969 album "In The Court Of The Crimson King." The very profound lyrics are written by Peter Sinfield, one of the most noted lyricists of his time. The song describes the agony and despair of an individual facing the destruction of the world in a nuclear holocaust.

"The wall on which the prophets wrote
Is cracking at the seams
Upon the instruments of death
The sunlight brightly gleams
When every man is torn apart
With nightmares and with dreams
Will no one lay the laurel wreath
When silence drowns the screams"

Answer: Franz Ferdinand

Alex Kapranos wrote this song for the 2013 Franz Ferdinand album "Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action." Even though it is a song that talks about death, it is refreshingly funny and witty. A man gives instructions to his friends as to how he wants his funeral to be held and how he expects to be farewelled by them, not as a holy man, glorified in their eulogies, but as the man he was when he was alive with all his faults and idiosyncrasies.

"So don't play pop music, no
You know I hate pop music
Just sing amazing godless grace

So goodbye lovers and friends
It's so sad to leave you
When they lie and say
"This is not the end"
You can laugh as if
We're still together
But this really is the end"

Answer: Calexico

"Flores y Tamales" is a song entirely in Spanish by Arizona-based Tex-Mex or desert rock band, Calexico. It translates as "Flowers and Tamales," tamales being a Mexican dish. It talks about a man who hasn't reconciled with the fact that he has crossed over to the next world and he still talks to his beloved about the everyday things he would like to do together like eating, laughing and dancing.

"And let's wake up together with flowers and tamales
Y amanezcamos juntos con flores y tamales

Celebrating with your laughter every time, every dance
Festejando con tus risas cada rato, cada baile"

Answer: Blue Öyster Cult

The song that is the title of my quiz was written in 1976 by the lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser of hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult. It appears in the 1976 album "Agents of Fortune." Donald Roeser was inspired by his personal thoughts as to what it would be like if he died young, the certainty of death and the fact that since it is something inevitable we shouldn't be afraid of it. His mention of Romeo and Juliet initially led people to believe that he was talking about suicide but he explained that he was talking about happiness and being together in the afterlife.

"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.."