I met Mr. Death this morning He offered me a ride I said I think I'm not quite ready yet To travel by your side "Practice what you preach" Then said the count of shadowlands "It doesn't hurt to take a peek" He grinned and grabbed my hand I sat in the leather seat of his Chevy van The motor screamed like a pack of rats In a frying pan The headlights where shooting sparks And the tyres spinning flames "Well, allrighty then" He said and opened up his case The grim reaper played guitar His bony fingers cold and stiff The sonic thunder froze my heart As he cranked out the riff Oh yeah, the riff Then his song was over And he asked me not to lie I felt a bit uneasy But I dare to criticize I told him, "Man, the riff is a killer But the rest is a throw-away" His face looked disappointed But he said "Ah, it's ok" I asked him, has he shown The devil what he's got "He's written hits But lately he has not" So the devil's out of touch And he cannot smell a hit "Cuz he has lost his mind With all that hip-hop shit The grim reaper played guitar His bony fingers cold and stiff The sonic thunder froze my heart As he cranked out the riff Oh yeah, the riff I woke up and the van was upside down My body bleeds We must have crashed right off the road And Death could varely speak He said, "Listen you'd gottas take my place I'm leaving office soon" I said, "I'm sorry dude, I'm kinda busy. But tell you what: I'll take the tune" And it goes like this... The grim reaper played guitar His bony fingers cold and stiff The sonic thunder froze my heart As he cranked out the riff The grim reaper played guitar His bony fingers cold and stiff The sonic thunder froze my heart As he cranked out the riff He cranked out the riff He cranked out the riff He cranked out the riff