If you're like me, and you love books and music, you probably get the same unique thrill in hearing a favourite book or author woven into a song lyric. It's like a secret handshake between readers and musicians. Whether it’s a simple name-drop or a full-on homage, these songs remind us that the worlds of music and literature are always in conversation.
Here are twenty-two songs that celebrate books and writers, featuring artists such as Kate Bush, Vampire Weekend, Nirvana, Radiohead, the Smiths, and Black Star.
1. Wuthering Heights – Kate Bush
Starting with a classic. Kate Bush’s debut single is a swirling, ethereal tribute to Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. Bush was only 18 when she wrote this, channelling the wild, haunted spirit of Cathy Earnshaw as she wails, Heathcliff, it’s me, I’m Cathy, I’ve come home. The song captures the gothic passion of the novel and turns it into a ghostly anthem—proof that literature can inspire art that feels just as timeless.
2. Wrapped Up in Books – Belle & Sebastian
This one’s for the romantics who’ve ever fallen in love in a library. Belle & Sebastian’s gentle indie-pop track is a love letter to the bookish, with lyrics like, Our aspirations are wrapped up in books / Our inclinations are hidden in looks. The song captures that feeling of being young, shy, and a little bit lost among the stacks, where every dog-eared page is a possibility.
3. Oxford Comma – Vampire Weekend
No one saw this coming. A song about the mighty Oxford Comma. Vampire Weekend’s Oxford Comma is a playful ode to the quirks of language and the people who care about them. The song’s title refers to that famously controversial piece of punctuation, but the lyrics also wink at English majors and literary snobs. Who gives a f** about an Oxford comma? It opens, setting the tone for a witty, irreverent track that proves grammar can, in fact, rock.
4. Scentless Apprentice – Nirvana
Kurt Cobain was famously inspired by Patrick Süskind’s novel Perfume: The Story of a Murderer when writing this grunge anthem. The song’s raw, abrasive energy mirrors the book’s dark tale of obsession and alienation. I lie in the soil and fertilise mushrooms, snarls Cobain, channelling a character both repulsive and mesmerising.
5. Calypso – Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Vega’s Calypso retells a slice of Homer's The Odyssey from the perspective of the nymph who loved Odysseus and let him go. Vega’s gentle, poetic lyrics give voice to a character often sidelined in the original epic: I let him go, I let him go. It’s a reminder that every story has more than one side, and that sometimes, the most powerful tales are the quietest.
6. Cemetery Gates – The Smiths
Morrissey’s lyrics are a treasure trove for literature lovers, and Cemetery Gates is perhaps his most overtly bookish song. With lines like Keats and Yeats are on your side, but you lose / Because Wilde is on mine, Morrissey turns a stroll through a graveyard into a witty debate about poetry, plagiarism, and literary legacy.
7. Banana Co. – Radiohead
Radiohead’s "Banana Co." is a lesser-known B-side that takes aim at corporate greed and colonialism, with a nod to Joseph Conrad’s "Heart of Darkness." Thom Yorke’s lyrics evoke the rot at the heart of modern life: Oh, Banana Co., we really love you and we need you / And oh, Banana Co., we’d really love to believe you.
8. The Ballad of Dorothy Parker – Prince
Prince’s lyrics are famously enigmatic, but in The Ballad of Dorothy Parker, he name-checks the legendary writer and wit. Dorothy was a waitress on the promenade. She worked the night shift, and this jazzy narrative begins, transforming a diner encounter into a surreal homage to sharp-tongued women.
9. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea – Neutral Milk Hotel
Jeff Mangum’s cult classic is steeped in literary inspiration, most notably Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl. Frank’s story haunts the album’s surreal lyrics. What a beautiful face I have found in this place / That is circling all around the sun. It’s a song about longing, loss, and the power of words to transcend time.
10. Book Club – Arkells
Swapping in something a little more modern, Arkells’ Book Club is a charming, upbeat track about the joys (and pitfalls) of trying to impress someone with your reading habits. You’re in the book club, I’m in the book club too. It’s a wink to anyone who’s ever joined a club just to get closer to someone, or to the books themselves.
11. Sylvia Plath – Ryan Adams
Ryan Adams’ Sylvia Plath is a melancholic, reverent ode to the poet whose work has haunted generations. I wish I had a Sylvia Plath / Busted tooth and a heart-shaped tattoo. The song captures both the darkness and the beauty of Plath’s legacy.
12. Rattlesnakes – Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
Few songs wear their literary heart on their sleeve quite like Lloyd Cole’s Rattlesnakes. The song is based on Joan Didion's novel Play it as it Lays. The song also incorporates elements from Didion's character Eve from A Book of Common Prayer, placing her within the landscape of Play It As It Lays. Lloyd Cole is said to have drawn inspiration from Didion's characters and their portrayal of a particular type of fragility. Rattlesnakes features lyrics like She's got cheekbones like geometry and eyes like sin, which can be seen as reflecting the aesthetic and character traits found in Didion's writing.
In addition to Didion references, the song name-drops Simone de Beauvoir: She looks like Eva Marie Saint in On the Waterfront / She reads Simone de Beauvoir in her American circumstance. It’s a bittersweet anthem for anyone who’s ever fallen for someone with a bookshelf full of classics.
13. Love Story – Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift’s Love Story brings Romeo and Juliet into the world of modern pop. Swift reimagines the star-crossed lovers with a happier ending, singing, You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess / It’s a love story, baby, just say yes. It’s proof that even the oldest tales can find new life—and new hope.
14. Paperback Writer – The Beatles
This upbeat, catchy tune tells the story of an aspiring author eager to see their work in print. It’s the dirty story of a dirty man / And his clinging wife doesn’t understand. The track is a celebration of storytelling itself.
15. Thieves in the Night – Black Star
Black Star’s Thieves in the Night draws directly from Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye. Not strong, only aggressive; not free, only licensed, the chorus begins, lifting Morrison’s critique of internalised oppression into a powerful meditation on modern identity.
16. Hey Jack Kerouac – 10,000 Maniacs
Natalie Merchant’s song is a heartfelt homage to the Beat generation. Hey Jack Kerouac, I think of your mother / And the tears she cried, she cried for none other, she sings, invoking Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Cassidy with nostalgia and a tinge of melancholy.
The bonus tracks to round out your playlist:
17. Books Written for Girls – Camera Obscura
A bittersweet indie track that gently references the influence of books and authors on young love and longing.
18. The River – PJ Harvey
Haunting and lyrical, this song blends biblical and mythological imagery in a way that echoes literary traditions and incorporates direct lines from Flannery O'Connor's short stories. Specifically, the song references the character Joy from O'Connor's story "Good Country People".
19. Young and Beautiful – Lana Del Rey
Featured in the film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the lyrics evoke Daisy Buchanan’s dilemma and timeless themes of beauty, decay, and desire.
20. Catcher in the Rye – The Dandy Warhols
With its dreamy psychedelia and sardonic tone, the song's themes and the video, featuring Duke Nicholson (Jack Nicholson's grandson) feature J.D. Salinger's character from Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, inna scene at a zoo, mirroring a pivotal moment in the novel where Holden and his sister Phoebe ride a carousel.
21. A song for Clay (Disappear here) – Bloc Party
The song name references a character from Bret Easton Ellis's Less Than Zero. Specifically, the lyrics "People are afraid, are afraid/To merge on the freeway" are the opening lines of the book. The song's title also draws on the novel, with "Disappear Here" referencing a billboard featured in the story.
22. Patrick Bateman – Manic Street Preachers
Another entry for Bret Easton Ellis, this one name-checking the main character from the 1991 book American Psycho.
Why Literary Songs Matter
Songs about books aren’t just clever references. It's more than that. They’re invitations. They remind us that stories are everywhere, waiting to be discovered in a lyric, a melody, or a passing mention of a favourite author. They’re a celebration of the way books and music can both shape who we are.
Here's the playlist of all twenty-two songs on Spotfiy.
What are your favourite bookish songs? Did I leave out a must-listen? Share your picks in the comments. I’d love to get some more on this playlist.
No comments:
Post a Comment