Blue Öyster Cult – Godzilla

I thought it was time to include some arena rock since I haven’t posted any for a long time. The band will always be connected to the Cowbell because of Saturday Night Live…but this is a fun song. It helps that I’m a huge fan of Godzilla.

This song was obviously inspired by a series of Japanese films from the 1950s featuring the one and only Godzilla.  The song lyrics depict famous scenes from Godzilla films. The band didn’t understand why the 2014 movie didn’t use the song but…in Godzilla The King of The Monsters…it was used but it was a remake…not the original version…they should have used the BOC version.

The song appeared on the album Spectres. The album peaked at #43 on the Billboard Album Charts, #58 in Canada, and #60 in the UK in 1977. The song didn’t chart and wasn’t a hit but lives on and on….on classic radio.

The band’s guitarist, Buck Dharma, wrote this song and shared lead vocals on the track with Eric Bloom. Dharma loved monster movies, and when he came up with the guitar riff, it made him think of Godzilla, which gave him the concept of the song.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Blue Öyster Cult – 'Godzilla' - Spotlight Sony Music UK | Official Website - Official Website

In concert at one time, a smoke-spewing animatronic Godzilla with flashing eyes would appear on stage when the band performed this song. Buck Dharma would give it a convincing introduction, often referring to recent newsworthy catastrophes. In later years, the stage Godzilla was retired, but the band still used a barrage of sound effects to start the song

According to the book Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years Of Rush, while opening on tour with Blue Öyster Cult, Rush members replaced a sound recording that queued up with a video of Godzilla at the opening of the set with a recording of “Hello, My name is Mister Ed.” The two bands often played pranks on one another during the tour.

The tune has been used in the soundtracks of numerous other movies, such as “Detroit Rock City,” “Dogtown” and “Z-Boys,” as well as in television shows, commercials, video games, and compilation recordings. It has been covered by bands like Racer X and the Smashing Pumpkins. It also has been parodied by several artists, most notably Blue Oyster Cult members Eric Bloom and Donald Roeser, who released “NoZilla” in response to their song not appearing in the 1998 “Godzilla” film soundtrack.

Buck Dharma:  “The story of the tune was, I just came up with the parallel fifths guitar riff in a hotel room in Dallas, Texas back in the day, probably about 1975. And it immediately made me think of Godzilla, like the plodding, you know, guy-in-a-suit monster. And I started writing the lyrics from what happened in the movie. Like, the high-tension wires are a big part of that movie.”

The NEW version

Godzilla

With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound
He pulls the spitting high-tension wires down

Helpless people on subway trains
Scream, bug-eyed, as he looks in on them

He picks up a bus and he throws it back down
As he wades through the buildings toward the center of town

Oh, no, they say he’s got to go
Go, go, Godzilla (yeah)
Oh, no, there goes Tokyo
Go, go, Godzilla (yeah)

Oh, no, they say he’s got to go
Go, go, Godzilla (yeah)
Oh, no, there goes Tokyo
Go, go, Godzilla (yeah)

Godzilla!

臨時ニュースを申し上げます
臨時ニュースを申し上げます
ゴジラが銀座方面に向かっています
大至急避難してください
大至急避難してください

Oh, no, they say he’s got to go
Go, go, Godzilla (yeah)
Oh, no, there goes Tokyo
Go, go, Godzilla (yeah)

History shows again and again
How nature points out the folly of man
Godzilla!

History shows again and again
How nature points out the folly of man
Godzilla!

History shows again and again
How nature points out the folly of man
Godzilla!

History shows again and again
How nature points out the folly of man
Godzilla!

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

27 thoughts on “Blue Öyster Cult – Godzilla”

  3. ‘Hello, I’m Mr Ed’ – that’s funny! I would’ve loved to see the band’s reaction! I didn’t think I actually knew the song, but listening to it I do though I never heard it much on radio.

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    2. I loved that prank! Those guys back then had so much fun…it was more about fun at that time.
      Yes I did! I love it and I’m looking forward to it. I wonder what the pinkish glow is about on Godzilla though.

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  8. This song stands alone, just like Godzilla does. It has a lot going for it. Hey did you hear that Toho Studios has a new Godzilla movie coming out and my buddy Keith at Keithandthemovies says it is friggin awesome.

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    1. I have heard they do have one! I want to see it…there is also another one coming out with him and King Kong next year I believe….so I will get my fill of Godzilla!

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    1. Well of course I had to hear it! Of course I like it…they kinda cleared it up and got to the root of the song…and I love the FUZZ!

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  10. Initially knowing Blue Öyster Cult only from the cool “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”, I’ve also come to like some their other music including “Godzilla”.

    I ended up seeing them in December 2016 at a midsize local theatre. Ticket prices were very reasonable. It was a last-minute decision, and it turned out to be a good one. Even though Buck Dharma was the only remaining original member, they sounded really great.

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    1. They do have some good songs…glad they were good when you saw them. Some of their guitar parts are not easy…they had some talented musicians.

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