Songs Inspired by Books

Got into a discussion about this with my daughter and we couldn't come up with many right then, but I know there are more I just couldn't remember! Here's what we've got:

Resistance by Muse 1984
Go Ask Alice by Jefferson Starship Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
that one Led Zeppelin song (sorry!) The Lord of the Rings
La Belle Dame Sans Merci by Sting Complete Works Tennyson

I think the Led Zeppelin song you mean is "Misty Mountain Hop."

Several songs by Meg & Dia are based on books:

"Monster" based on East of Eden
"Rebecca" based on Rebecca
"Indiana" based on Indiana
"Hug Me" based on Brave New World
"Tell Mary" based on Mary

The Led Zep song is "The Battle of Evermore". Not one of their best, if you ask me.

Blue Oyster Cult did four songs based on Moorcock's Elric series.

Hawkwind did an album based off of the Elric series.

All the above were co-written by Moorcock.

Alan Parsons Project did an album called I, Robot inspired by Asimov's book of the same name. They also did Tales of Mystery and Imagination based on Poe's writings.

ETA: Got this info from MrMorphy.

Thee are all awesome - I've never heard of any of them! (Agree about the Led Zep song. Before I read LOTR, I used to try to figure out what "Mordor" really meant, because I mean, it couldn't be a word, right?)

Oh, forgot Taylor Swift's Love Story song based on Romeo and Juliet. That was what really prompted the discussion.

Romeo and Juliet by Mark Knopfler. Dire Straits and Indigo Girls both recorded it.

"Sympathy For The Devil" by the Rolling Stones - The Master and Margarita
"Pull Me Under" by Dream Theater - Hamlet

"Nightfall in Middle-Earth" by Blind Guardian is an album inspired by the Silmarillion.

"The Science of Fiction" by Fiction is an album inspired by The Magicians by Lev Grossman.

And I'm not sure if it really fits, but the lead singer of the Steampunk band Abney Park wrote a novel about their fictional backstory as airship pirates.

The Golden Palaminos did a whole CD based on Graham Greene's End of the Affair, This Is How It Feels. That is one of my favorite books and one of my favorite CDs.

When it comes to that, if you'll allow a bit more time for the telling/singing, you could mention
Leonard Bernstein's 'West Side Story', a retelling of the Romeo and Juliet story
Rossini's 'Barber of Seville and Mozart's 'Nozze di Figaro', both from the same story by Beaumarchais
A long series of operas by Verdi on Shakespearian themes
Wagner's 'Ring' Cycle: the whole of Norse mythology compressed into four interminable evenings
and so on, for a very long list

Sexcrime - Eurythmics - 1984 again

Adam Raised a Cain. Partially based on East of Eden. And the Bible.

Of Mice and Men by Megadeth

Varg Vikernas was heavily inspired by Tolkien, his original stage name was Grishnok, but I don't know about names of songs.

http://narnia.wikia.com/wiki/Music_Inspired_by_The_Chronicles_of_Narnia:_The_Lio...

The above link is a whole CD of songs inspired by Narnia.

The Human Abstract has a song called Faust.

Amon Amarth has songs about Norse mythology and Nile's songs are about ancient Egyptian mythology.

I just looked these up on Google search: Songs inspired by books. I'm only listing books I'm familiar with.
1984 by David Bowie
Seven Chinese Brothers by R.E.M.
Around the Universe in 80 Days by Klaatu Around the World in 80 Days
Avalon by Professor Green (King Arthur)
Big Brother by David Bowie
Brave New World by Iron Maiden
Bright Eyes by Art Garfunkle Watership Down
Catcher in the Rye by Guns and Roses
Crown of Creation by Jefferson Airplane The Chrysalids
Circle VII: Sins of the Lion by Alesana The Inferno
Dustbowl Dance by Mumford and Sons The Grapes of Wrath
they also have an album of literary inspired songs called Sign No More from Much Ado About Nothing
Ender Will Save us All by Dashboard Confessional from Enders Game
Eveline by Nikel Creek from Eveline, a short story by James Joyce
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Metallica
Galadriel by Barclay James Harvest - LotR
The House at Pooh Corner by Loggins and Messina
In Like a Lion (Always Winter) by Reliant K-Chronicles of Narnia
Is That all There is? by Peggy Lee -Thomas Mann's short fiction story Disillusionment.
Islands in the Stream by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton
Lily of the Valley by Queen
Lord of the Flies by Iron Maiden
Lovesick for Mina by Cradle of Filth Dracula
Man of Constant Sorrow by The Soggy Bottom Boys Odyssey
Misty Mountain Hop by Led Zeppelin
Moon over Bourbon Street by Sting Interview with a Vampire
Narnia by Steve Hackett
New Frontier by Iron Maiden Frankenstein

I'm gonna do another post so touchstones can catch up.

Martin Pearson has a cycle of songs based on LOTR (books and movies together). His idea is that it should have been a musical (tongue firmly in cheek). He wrote the songs to go with it.

The Balrog Song

The Legolas and Gimli Song

More from this page: http://www.songfacts.com/category-songs_inspired_by_books.php

One by Metallica Johnny Got his Gun
Over the Hills and Far Away by Led Zeppelin from a poem by Tolkien
Ramble On by Led Zeppelin inspired by Frodo Baggins LotR
Riki Tiki Tavi by Donovan
Rivendell by Rush - LotR
Rocket Man by Elton John
Scentless Aprentice by Nirvana Perfume: the Story of a Murderer
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son by Iron Maiden Seventh Son
Sign of the Cross by Iron Maiden The Name of the Rose
Sunburned Country by Keith Urban and Olivia Newton John
The Call of Ktule by Metallica The Call of Cthulhu
The Evil that Men Do by Iron Maiden Julius Caeser
The Ghost of Tom Joad by Bruce Springsteen The Grapes of Wrath
The Invisible Man by Queen
The Phantom of the Opera by Iron Maiden and Andrew Lloyd Webber *pauses a moment to consider that combo*
The Piper by ABBA The Stand
The Thing that Should not Be by Metallica, short story by H.P. Lovecraft The Shadow Over Innsmouth.
The Trooper by Iron Maiden The Charge of the Light Brigade
The World as I See it by Jason Mraz
To Live is to Die by Metallica Lord Foul's Bane
Tom Sawyer by Rush
We Are the Dead by David Bowie 1984
When the Wild Wind Blows by Iron Maiden When the Wind Blows
When Two Worlds Collide by Iron Maiden
Where Have all the Flowers Gone by The Kingston Trio And Quiet Flows the Don
White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane Alice in Wonderland
Yertle the Turtle by Red Hot Chili Peppers

This has been fun. I think I need to listen more to Iron Maiden and Metallica.

Hand of Sorrow by Within Temptation about Fitz from Assassin's Apprentice

A couple I can think of

Strange Little Girl by Sad Cafe The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane by Laird Koenig
Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush

Iron Maiden has loads of songs inspired by classic science fiction. Brave New World comes to mind, but a lot of the references are in the lyrics.

The song that references Alice was Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit.

The Police -- Synchronicity -- Carl Jung of the same name
The Police -- Don't Stand So Close to Me -- Lolita
Sting -- St.Agnes and the Burning Train -- Keats
Sting -- Christmas at Sea -- Robert Louis Stevenson
Sting -- Gabriel's Message -- traditional Bible hymn
Sting -- Like A Beautiful Smile -- Shakespeare
Sting -- The Mighty -- Freak The Mighty

Jeff Wayne's musical version of War of the Worlds is wonderful. I have a crap cassette tape version - must buy a better copy.

War of the Worlds is one of my favourite albums and I completely forgot it (senior moment obviously). I saw the live concert tour in Cardiff a few years ago which was fantastic.
And of course if you think about it many many musicals are based on books - Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables etc etc.

Tons of songs with references to things/books in the Bible as well, from all types of artists.

What a great idea for a thread! I came over to mention Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights but I see calm beat me to it. Now I'm going to spend all day mentaly going through every song I've ever heard (a good few billion, I'm sure) looking for literary connections. Gee thanks, cmbohn ;-)

ETA - Just thought of another - 'Avalon' by Roxy Music - based on the King Arthur/Camelot stories.

And 'Don't Stand So Close to Me' by the Police has a somewhat gratuitous reference to Nabakov's Lolita though it's a pretty tortured rhyme and always sounded to me a bit as if it was just thrown in to prove the writer (Sting) had read a book.

How could I forget Rick Wakeman's Journey to the Center of the Earth?

#24 A good album, except when the vocalist opened his mouth.

A couple more instances of Mr. Sumner being literary:

in Jeremiah Blues he sings "Everybody wants to run the other way when something wicked this way comes." Could be a reference to Bradbury, but more likely to Macbeth.

In Sister Moon he says "My mistress's eyes are nothing like the sun," which comes straight from sonnet 130.

Way back in the 60s, Leonard Nimoy recorded a "Ballad of Bilbo Baggins." One of those things that was so bad it was hilarious. Wish I still had a copy!

In addition to all the references to 1984 that have been cited, Spirit had a song by that name.

Then there's all the "wizard rock" inspired by the HP series.

And there is the name of the band Uriah Heep, from David Copperfield.

As to the vocals in "Journey"--word.

>26 Jim53: Leonard Nimoy recorded a "Ballad of Bilbo Baggins.

You could always watch the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGF5ROpjRAU

And 'Don't Stand So Close to Me' by the Police has a somewhat gratuitous reference to Nabakov's Lolita though it's a pretty tortured rhyme and always sounded to me a bit as if it was just thrown in to prove the writer (Sting) had read a book.

It's not gratuitous because the song is about flirtation between teacher and student. As a former English teacher, Sting's read a few books…

A voice in the Dark by Blind Guardian - ASOIAF

A quest for Tanelorn by Blind Guardian - Michael Moorcock'sElric

Lord of the Rings by Blind Guardian

Blind Guardian and Demons and Wizards are responsible also for quite a few songs about the Dark Tower series.

Wishmaster by Nightwish - assumed to be about the Dragonlance series.

A group called Chain of Dogs has recorded a song called "Coltaine" from House of Chains of The Malazan Book of the Fallen, plus there are a few tributes to other books of the series on Youtube. Here are the links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plmaU-l-hjA - still for House of Chains
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYfq4pYwpjI&feature=related - about Apsalar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrWv0v5mRT8&feature=related - Midnight Tides
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjEZSV50DDI&feature=relmfu - Memories of Ice

The Christmas Shoes

Oh, wait...just checked a source (Nostalgia Chick), and it's the other way around.  The book is inspired by teh song.  *sigh*  Well, for those who have no idea what I'm talking about, here's her take on it.

Siouxsie and the Banshees' Christine, and its B-side Eve White/Eve Black were both inspired by The Final Face of Eve the autobiography of Christine Costner Sizemore (writing as Evelyn Lancaster. An earlier version of her story was filmed as Three Faces of Eve.

Picked up through the joys of Mastermind on BBC today, apparently Duran Duran's Wild Boys is based on a William S Burroughs novel of same name.