The spirit of rock ‘n’ roll has always laughed in the face of rigidity, convention, and, in some cases, even mortality. In the earliest iterations of rock music, from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, much of the genre was dominated by songs about dancing, making love, and being really, really good at playing guitar.
In the 1970s, poetry reminiscent of the previous decade’s folk music and counterculture movement began seeping into rock ‘n’ roll lyrics. This emphasis on moving lyricism turned rock ‘n’ roll into a vehicle for larger-than-life concepts, from religion to the passing of time to different ways of living life.
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These three 1970s rock songs are well-known by their sound. But when’s the last time you really sat down to ponder the depth of their lyrics?
“After Forever” by Black Sabbath
For a band led by someone called the Prince of Darkness and whose name comes from nocturnal gatherings of witches, Black Sabbath had some surprisingly Christian lyrics. “After Forever” from the band’s 1971 album, Master Of Reality, has quite the heavy message interspersed between Tony Iommi’s blistering guitar.
“Could it be you’re afraid of what your friends might say if they knew you believe in God above? / They should realize before they criticize that God is the only way to love. / Is your mind so small that you have to fall in with the pack wherever they run? / Will you still sneer when death is near and say that you may as well worship the sun?”
“(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” by Blue Öyster Cult
Of all the songs that romanticize death, Blue Öyster Cult’s 1976 track, “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”, is one of the most well-known. While Will Ferrell’s iconic Saturday Night Live cowbell sketch has made it hard to hear this track and not giggle at least a little bit, the lyrics are offering a powerfully profound message about accepting death.
“All our times have come / here, but now they’re gone / Seasons don’t fear the reaper / Nor do the wind, the sun, or the rain.” The classic rock track reminds listeners that death is a natural part of life and shouldn’t be feared, even continuing the Romeo and Juliet narrative by describing the star-crossed lovers meeting in the afterlife.
“Time” by Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd’s catalogue boasts some of the most profoundly deep lyrics in 1970s rock, especially thanks to monumental albums like Wish You Were Here from 1975 and Dark Side Of The Moon from 1973. The latter album features a track called “Time”, which is one of their more popular tracks from that chart-topping release. And in just a few phrases, Roger Waters managed to describe growing old in painstaking clarity.
“Well, you run and you run to catch up to the sun, but it’s sinking / racing around to come up behind you again. / The sun is the same, in a relative way, but you’re older, / shorter of breath, one day closer to death.”
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