Dominance and Submission by Blue Öyster Cult

Album: Secret Treaties (1974)

Get the Sheet Music License This Song

Songfacts®:

Sandy Pearlman, who was Blue Öyster Cult's producer, wrote the lyrics for this song, which he composed with lead singer Eric Bloom and drummer Albert Bouchard. Pearlman was a writer for the music magazine Crawdaddy, and in this song, he explores music and its impact on a higher consciousness. In a 1975 talk with NME, Pearlman said of this song: "In 1963 I was being driven back from a New Year's Eve party when The Beatles came over the airwaves for the first time. It seemed so revolutionary in terms of consciousness that what is represented was a new factor in mass culture and '63 was the watershed. The song reflects the parallelism between revolutionary consciousness in the mass and how it affects the individual. The sublimated heat of rock 'n' roll, so, long suppressed, and driven underground, was being revealed and no one could stop it."

Comments: 6

Donald from Edinburg, TxFive man guitar attack! Lasers projected into the audience's eyes before they knew what lasers could do to one's sight! General admission shows! 70s, baby. Those were THE DAZE!!
Mike M from San DiegoYou all have excellent taste ! The first 3 BOC albums ( yes, he said 'albums' ) were some of the best rock albums ever made, in particular Tyranny & Treaties. Buck's solo at the end of this song is still one of my very favorite all-time ! I still see them in concert from time to time and it gratifies me to no end that they largely play songs off these first 3 LP's during their shows.
Tom from Pinellas Park, FlThis is probably my favorite song on my all time favorite album. This album still gets my heart pumping every time I listen to it. I love everything about this album, especially Buck's totally awesome guitar. This band was way ahead of their time!
Ross from Brooklyn, NyAh, happy to be in the company of those (few) who get it. Ruing BOC's lack of mass popular success (which us hard core Oyster Boys do) may be missing the point. It means something to dig and understand (partially anyway!) these guys. And yes the sum etc. What a motherlode of great work to go back to. Still worth seeing live btw though it really is pretty much Buck and hired guns (Eric virtually sits in a lawn chair and watches). Saw them 3 years ago and they smoked.
Drkrunk from Nyc, NyTotally agree with all points @MarHam. In fact, I registered here just to agree with you ;-) . Most people just never "got it". BOC like so many great bands was more than the sum of the parts - I was looking back through stuff the Bouchard brothers wrote separate from the band and none of it is anywhere near as inventive. Ditto post-Bouchard post-Pearlman BOC. And that final solo still stands up both structurally and technically almost 40 years later. It was recorded 10yrs before anyone was "shredding" as we know it today, but it's more than just speed and noise - it's totally musical and propels the song out of earth orbit. The fact that it's at the END of the song was,and still is creative and while not totally unheard of, is certainly creative. And the entire LP is on even keel - IMO "Secret Treaties" was one of the best - if not THE best alternative rock LPs recorded, period, and the record still stands up today as BOC's Magnum Opus. An "absolute masterpiece"ndeed -well said. A few years ago, while flying home from a client I met a buttoned-down white-haired ad executive from the Midwest, the last person in the world you'd think would be into BOC who was also addicted to Secret Treaties - we spent an hour dissecting ME-262 , another excellent example of BOC's lyrical songwriting prowess.
And then of course there is "Astronomy".
Margret Hamilton from St. Paul, MnThis song is great representation of the complexity and intrigue of Blue Oyster Cult's song writing talents. The lyric, more than the music, begins the journey. Then we see we are on a New Year's Eve trip and what's it all about. Morphing into this creepy yet alluring dominance and submission exchange. What a build up! Listen to all the musical sounds going on via head phones. The crescendo is a lightning explosion solo by Buck Dharma -- an absolute masterpiece, no doubt whatosver! By the end of the song it has everyone's attention.in the room. Blue Oyster Cult --- forever misunderstood by the masses.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Another Brick In The Wall (part II)Pink Floyd

Producer Bob Ezrin convinced Pink Floyd to put a disco beat and children's chorus on "Another Brick In The Wall (part II)," which started out as a short interstitial for their album The Wall.

When Doves CryPrince

Prince kept doves at his Paisley Park mansion. And yes, sometimes they did cry.

Where It's AtBeck

The sample in Beck's song "Where It's At" that says "What about those who swing both ways: AC-DC" came from a 1969 sex-ed album for middle schoolers.

Cigarettes And Chocolate MilkRufus Wainwright

"Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk" describes a time in Rufus Wainwright's life when he found himself hungover and pounding chocolate milk to feel better. It didn't work, so he smoked a cigarette, which is when he realized his addictive personality could be a problem.

Fallin'Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys got a huge break when Oprah had her perform her debut single "Fallin'" on her show.

Giving You The Best That I GotAnita Baker

Before the game when he hit a famous shot to win a playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Michael Jordan was listening to Anita Baker's "Giving You The Best That I Got."