Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll

{{Infobox song

| name = Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll

| cover = File:Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll.png

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Blue Öyster Cult

| album = Blue Öyster Cult

| B-side = "Before the Kiss, a Redcap"[https://img.discogs.com/4e1lCai8NIv0oxcmjfmUfg0Mvas=/fit-in/469x449/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-4830354-1376838389-7088.jpeg.jpg Discogs]

| released = April 21, 1972

| recorded = October 1971

| studio = The Warehouse, New York City

| venue =

| genre = {{hlist|Heavy metal|hard rock{{cite web|last=Swanson|first=Dave|date=February 7, 2017|title=Blue Oyster Cult Albums Ranked Worst to Best|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/blue-oyster-cult-albums-ranked/|access-date=August 4, 2021|website=Ultimate Classic Rock}}|blues rock{{cite web |last1=Horowitz |first1=Hal |title=Cities on Flame with Rock & Roll by Blue Oyster Cult - Track Info {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/cities-on-flame-with-rock-roll-mt0011916685 |website=allmusic |access-date=13 March 2023 |language=en}}}}

| length =

• {{Duration|m=3|s=14}} (single edit)
• {{Duration|m=4|s=03}} (album version)

| label = Columbia

| writer =

• Sandy Pearlman
• Donald Roeser
• Albert Bouchard

| producer =

• Murray Krugman
• Sandy Pearlman

| next_title = Hot Rails to Hell

| next_year = 1973

}}

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = Rolling Stone

| rev1Score = (favorable){{cite magazine|last=Bangs|first=Lester|title=Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll' is triumphantly sociopathic|url=https://img.discogs.com/3zd_lvH4PnqIX8tTlSMA2nuaNKQ=/fit-in/466x451/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-4830354-1376838400-7230.jpeg.jpg|access-date=April 9, 2018|magazine=Rolling Stone}}}}

"Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" is the debut single by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult from their eponymous debut album Blue Öyster Cult. Despite not charting, it has become a staple in the band's live show.{{cite web|last=Monaco|first=Rachael|date=July 6, 2015|title=More cowbell needed: Blue Öyster Cult's top 5 lyrics|url=https://axs.com/more-cowbell-needed-blue-yster-cult-s-top-5-lyrics-60252|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914024054/https://www.axs.com/more-cowbell-needed-blue-yster-cult-s-top-5-lyrics-60252|archive-date=September 14, 2016|access-date=April 4, 2018|publisher=AXS}}{{cite web |url=https://www.musiconvinyl.com/catalog/blue-oyster-cult/blue-oyster-cult#.WsWWiy4bM2w |title=BLUE ÖYSTER CULT |access-date=April 4, 2018 |publisher=Music On Vinyl}} Its demo is credited with getting the band signed with Columbia Records.{{cite web|title=Blue Oyster Cult - Cities On Flame With Rock 'n Roll|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/08/blue-oyster-cult-cities-on-flame-with-rock-n-roll.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143653/https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/08/blue-oyster-cult-cities-on-flame-with-rock-n-roll.html|archive-date=June 12, 2018|access-date=April 4, 2018|website=Paste}} Lead vocals were performed by drummer Albert Bouchard. The lyrics describe the devastation of nuclear war with metaphors likening the destruction to rock and roll music.

Cash Box called it a "hard driving, heavy metal rocker will be immediately attractive to both AM and FMers looking to put some life into their playlists."{{cite news|title=CashBox Record Reviews|date=November 24, 1973|page=31|accessdate=2021-12-11|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1973/Cash-Box-1973-11-24.pdf|newspaper=Cash Box}}