The doorbell rings, and you scramble out of bed. You run down the stairs to open the door. The wait is finally over. You skip a few stairs on the way up so you go faster and get back to your cozy room. You tear up the envelop and take out your precious gift. You open the book you ordered weeks ago, and you skim through its pages to delight yourself with its smell.
Whether it is for educational purposes or to serve as a depository of emotions, literature has the power to transform the world. Writers who excel in their profession are capable of touching the most sensitive fibers of our hearts and transport us to unimaginable places. The beauty of literature consist precisely in their ability to delight every person, regardless of their social and economic background. Musicians are not the exception; the stories and poems written on the pages of books have inspired songs and even the names of their bands.
After reading The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley, Jim Morrison suggested to his bandmates to name their group The Doors. The essence of Huxley’s book has been recreated by Morrison, Manzarek, Densmore, and Krieger. The writings of Huxley justify the use of drugs to achieve a more profound comprehension of the universe. This level of understanding wouldn’t be possible if the person tried to comprehend the world in a sober state.
On the other hand, Lou Reed and Tony Conrad found a copy of The Velvet Underground abandoned on the sidewalk. They picked it up and read it, only to discover that the content of the book was similar to the song Reed had already written: “Venus in Furs.” Sadomasochism as a subject of inspiration remains in other songs from the band.
Like The Doors and The Velvet Underground, these musicians found inspiration by skimming through the pages of novels, poems, and short stories.
The Cure – Killing an Arab
Robert Smith was influenced by Albert Camus’ The Stranger. The album was released in 1980 and was subject of multiple criticism, and even described as racist. Like Camus’ story, an Arab dies in a shooting on the beach. The name of the album comes from a chapter in the novel, “Standing on a Beach.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdbLqOXmJ04
“I’m alive
I’m dead
I’m the stranger
Killing an Arab”
Bloc Party – “Song For Clay (Disappear Here)”
The novelist Bret Easton Ellis wrote the character of Clay in his book called Less than Zero. The protagonist shares with us his perspective on the world, as well as his reflections on the meaningless and empty acts of his life after experimenting with drugs, sex, and disaffection.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkplhXJgC5I
“Bubbles rise in champagne flutes,
But when we kiss I feel nothing”
Bad Religion – “Honest Goodbye”
The lyrics talk about Perry Smith, the killer described in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. Bad Religion questions how it is possible for a man with such artistic skill and intelligence be capable of committing a terrible crime.
“That sick brass boy day dreamin’
Cry baby convict demon
Hands so clean, a sympathetic, cold-blooded, killing machine
How did you get so mean? I want to know what it means”
A Perfect Circle – “Orestes”
Billy Howerdel and Maynard James Keenan’s band took Aeschylus’ Oresteia and wrote a song that describes Orestes pain and torment before killing his mother to avenge his father, Agamemnon.
“Gotta cut away, clear away
Snip away and sever this
Umbilical residue that’s
Keeping me from killing you
And from pulling you down with me in here
I can almost hear you scream”
David Bowie – “1984”
This reference is obviously based on George Orwell’s book, where the author describes a gloomy London, controlled by the “Thought Police.” Bowie’s song was originally conceived for a musical under the same title.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KByxC7B9WH0
“They’ll split your pretty cranium, and fill it full of air
And tell that you’re eighty, but brother, you won’t care
You’ll be shooting up on anything, tomorrow’s neverthere
Beware the savage jaw
Of 1984″
Metallica – “For Whom the Bell Tolls”
The famous metal band is known for getting inspiration from books in order to compose their songs. The band wrote a single named “The Call of Ktulu,” which is based on the work of H.P. Lovecraft. In 1984, they chose For Whom the Bell Tolls by Hemingway to speak of the horrors of war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jcyju0IGijM
“Make his fight on the hill in the early day
Constant chill deep inside
Shouting gun, on they run through the endless grey
On they fight, for they’re right, yes, but who’s to say?
For a hill, men would kill, why? They do not know
Stiffened wounds test their pride
Men of five, still alive through the raging glow
Gone insane from the pain that they surely know”
Klaxons – “Gravity’s Rainbow”
Klaxons took the title of Thomas Pynchon’s book for their song.
“Come on with me through ruined lipglock
Across Tangian deserts, we’ll flock
Madcap Medusa, flank my foghorn
We’ll change four seasons with our first born”
Nirvana – “Scentless Apprentice”
In order to write “Scentless Apprentice,” Kobain read Patrick Süskind’s The Perfume.
“Like most babies smell like butter
His smell smelled like no other
He was born scentless and senseless
He was born a scentless apprentice”
Rush – “Tom Sawyer”
Once again, another reference that is obvious. Rush, like Mark Twain did in his time, tell us the story of an individual avid to learn. The musicians have also made albums where they thank Ayn Rand for inspiring them with his philosophy.
“A modern day warrior
Mean, mean stride
Today’s Tom Sawyer
Mean, mean pride”
The Offspring – “Get It Right”
In the process of writing this song, The Offspring quoted The Catcher in the Rye by Salinger.
“Like Holden Caulfield, I tell myself
There’s got to be a better way
Then I lay in bed and stare at the ceiling
Dream of brighter days”
The Alan Parsons Project – “I Robot”
If the name of this song sounds familiar to you it’s because it’s based on Isaac Asimov’s book which shares the same title. To avoid being sued for copyright, the band only removed the comma.
Radiohead – Banana Co.
After reading One Hundred Years of Solitude, Tom York wrote Banana Co. This single depicts the arrival of a factory to a small town and the way it transforms it.
“Oh, Banana Co.
We really love you, and we need you
And oh, Banana Co.
We’d really love to believe you”
Don’t forget to share other songs inspired by books.
