Composers are influenced and inspired by literary works as much as musical works. Bands like the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, and artists like David Bowie wrote many hit songs dedicated to some of their favorite books. In this list, you’ll find references to literary classics like Wuthering Heights and 1984, and tributes to poets like Edgar Allen Poe. If you’re a bookworm, you’ll love this playlist of songs about books.
wuthering heights – kate bush
before taylor swift released her musical version of shakespeare’s classic romeo and juliet through her hit song ‘love story,’ songwriter kate bush released ‘wuthering heights’ on her album the kick inside in 1978. bush usa the song to reimagine the emotional romance of the main characters heathcliff and catherine in the classic novel wuthering heights by emily bronte.
You are reading: Songs about reading books
Related: Check out our list of Taylor Swift songs to hear “Love Story”.
1984 – david bowie
In the 1970s, a musical adaptation of George Orwell’s dystopian, futuristic classic novel 1984 was in the works. Composer David Bowie was busy developing his “plastic soul” sound and took the opportunity to write the music for the work. Although the play would never come to fruition, Bowie included the play’s title song on his album, Diamond Dogs.
lucy in the sky with diamonds – the beatles
john lennon’s son julian brought home a class picture he drew that inspired the title of this beatles hit. ‘Lucy in the sky with diamonds’ was the title Julian gave to his drawing, a sketch of one of his classmates. Lennon used the title and used images from the Alice in Wonderland sequel Through the Looking Glass as inspiration for the song’s verses.
related: see more songs with girl names.
digress – led zeppelin
band member and songwriter robert plant’s admiration for lord of the rings writer j.r.r. tolkien is well known. ‘ramble on’ contains quite a few references to tolkien’s series of books. he would later admit that he was embarrassed because the references in the song did not match tolkien’s story. Although this was a popular song, Led Zeppelin never played the song from start to finish live as a band.
who wrote holden caulfield? – green day
holden caufield is the main character of j.d. salinger’s book, the catcher in the rye. the general theme of it is about disaffected youth. surprisingly, when he was commissioned to read it in high school, green day leader billi joe armstrong hated reading it. later, however, he revised it because of its “punk rock” themes and developed a new appreciation for the American classic.
scentless apprentice – nirvana
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this nirvana collab was inspired by the dark novel, perfume, written by patrick suskind in which an apprentice at a perfume shop starts taking women’s lives for their scents (the apprentice has a keen sense of smell , but does not have its own smell). ). All three members of Nirvana are credited with writing this track. a nine-minute version is included on one of their compilation CDs.
don’t stand so close to me – the police
Police leader Sting wrote this secret love song about one of the most controversial novels of all time, Lolita, by Russian author Vladimir Nabokov. the story revolves around the infatuation of an older man with a young girl. Before joining the police, Sting was a teacher. when the song came out, there was speculation that it was autobiographical until he set the record straight. In the UK, this was the best-selling song of 1980.
porcelain in your hand – t’pau
lead singer carole decker watched a documentary about frankenstein author mary shelley and other popular writers during shelley’s time. Although Shelley was younger, she outsold many of her friends of her writers after the release of her gothic novel. This created a lot of resentment both in her marriage to fellow writer Percy Bysshe Shelley and with other professionals. the song echoes shelley’s story and a line from the book, “don’t push too hard, your dreams are porcelain in your hand.”
wrapped in books – belle and sebastian
Detailing two lovers’ intimate thoughts about each other and where they’re headed, belle and sebastian draw on literary metaphors to tell this demure and romantic story. Nods to poet Robert Frost’s path not taken are hidden in the lyrical story. references are also made to literary genres such as fantasy to represent the illusions of the characters in the song.
paperback writer – the beatles
paul mccartney wrote this song with the writing industry in general in mind. He had just finished helping set up the Indica Bookstore, and his bandmate, John Lennon, had two published books to his credit. the idea behind the song is a writer pitching a story idea to an editor. paperbacks were once considered of lower quality than hard copies because they were written for mass consumption. thus, in the song about a profession, it is hinted that the author is not so good.
book club – arkells
A metaphorical story of friendship, the Arkells’ ‘Book Club’ song reveals how “women and music” can help two people bond. the song’s lyrics are about two friends exchanging so many books that it felt like a library, driving around listening to music, and growing up with all these artistic influences that greatly affected their lives well into adulthood.
flow like poe – mc lars
mc lars tackles the complicated world of poetic meter with this rap, referencing writers like poe and shakespeare, who had a particularly melodic feel to their writing. The rapper goes over the definitions of phrases and words like iambic pentameter and tetrameter, and relates them to the way he flows when he’s on the mic. the song is a great lesson and represents the often overlooked poetic nature of the spoken word and rap.
the book i read – talking heads
This peculiar melody takes on a double meaning when you listen to the lyrics. Told from the perspective of a man who has fallen in love, the listener wonders as he scans the lines if he is a person he has fallen in love with, a book, or both. he listens to ‘the book i read’ from the talking head and see what you think it is about.
venus with fur: the velvet subway
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Underground rock band the velvet often loved to record music that would surprise listeners, and ‘venus in furs’ did just that. written in honor of an illicit novel popular among the counterculture at the time, it brings together taboo themes meant to arouse buttoned-down audiences upon its release in the late ’60s.
rocket man – elton john
space exploration was huge during the launch of elton john’s ‘rocket man’. Naturally, due to its space-themed title and lyrics, many assumed composer Bernie Taupin was inspired by the timely Apollo missions. However, Taupin wrote the lyrics for ‘Rocket Man’ after reading the short story by science fiction writer Ray Bradbury. the rocket man the short story tells the story of the emotional departure of a father who is an astronaut and is sent on a mission to space.
pet cemetery – ramones
Two Ramones songs were featured in the 1989 movie Pet Cemetery, a film adaptation of Stephen King’s popular and creepy novel of the same name. In addition to Ramone’s “Pet Sematary”, her song “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” also became the soundtrack for the film. Though they didn’t get much airplay on MTV at first, their creepy music videos caught the channel’s attention and began to feature more of the band.
related: This features in our list of halloween songs.
yertle the turtle – hot red chili peppers
lyrics by anthony kiedis for his song dedicated to dr. suess book came directly from the book itself. based on story lines, the moral is that all creatures should be free. dr Suess wrote the book in a post-World War II era that was still reeling from the consequences of various despotic rulers. the stories of dr. seuss didn’t just rhyme, they had a specific poetic style known as “meter.” in his case, he wrote in anapestic tetrameter.
the book of love – peter gabriel
Often used as a wedding song over the years, ‘The Book of Love’ is different from much that Gabriel has recorded before. is a deeply romantic melody that bridges the long journey of love between two people and the metaphorical book they write over the years together.
Related: This brilliant piece is featured on our romantic songs playlist.
black leaf – blue Öyster cult
Eric Bloom, a member of the cult band Blue Oyster, developed a close relationship with science fiction writer Michael Moorcock, who had a major impact on Bloom’s songwriting. ‘black blade’ is inspired by one of moorcock’s fictional characters who wielded a large sword that grew stronger as it took lives. Bloom and Moorcock became so close that the science fiction writer helped Bloom write lyrics through postal correspondence in the 1970s and 1980s.
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