Words about words: songs inspired by books and novels

Words hold immense power, and they often inspire and influence each other over time with the multitudes of organizations and contexts they combine to form. All writings, from lyrics, to poetry, novels, plays, speeches, and simple conversation, play a magnificent role in shaping the creation and significance that they forge. Words can even be welded into tools that invoke crucial change and emotion in the world. That is why I think that it is important to learn about the remarkableness of either renowned or unfortunately generally unknown songs that are explicitly or implicitly inspired by books and novels. To begin, Nirvana’s “Scentless Apprentice” off of their 1993 album, In Utero is based off of Patrick Süskind’s 1985 book, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. Kurt Cobain was profoundly motivated to write this song after reading what he claims to be his favorite book and the tragic story of an orphan named Jean. It is revealed that Jean is born with an exceptional sense of smell and the emotional connotations that attach with it. It is devised in his plan to use this skill to control humanity, and mystery and murder unfold. Perfume explores power and control and the lengths people are willing to go to sustain it. Cobain writes about these ideas and describes the events that lead Jean to stalk and kill virgins in the lyrics of his song. He guides us on the search for the murderous “perfect” scent and even cleverly states that he was “born senseless and scentless”. He even makes references in the chorus to represent Jean’s fear of towns and crowded places. Dave Grohl stated in 2010 that this song holds some of his very favorite Nirvana lines. “Perfume” is a very heavy read as “Scentless Apprentice” is a heavy song, nonetheless both extremely thought-provoking. 

Another example of this pattern of inspiration is seen and heard with King Princess’s song “1950” from her 2018 EP called, Make My Bed.  Mikaela Straus, who uses the “King Princess” stage name, was uniquely able to utilize the common themes of the book, The Price of Salt (1952) by Patricia Highsmith, to relate to real struggles and situations in her own life. The novel depicts a 1950s queer love story and the tribulations that coincide. Straus wrote the song with the idea of expressing a queer romance in private and the beautiful pain of having to hide your love for someone. The lyrics claim, “I love it when we play 1950” to display the development of cold relationships that are born in hiding. It is a very interesting and tragic take on the reality of love written in colorful coded art forms and the black and white world that existed in 1950. 

Another instance is with Lorrain Hansberry’s play script called A Raisin In the Sun that made it to broadway in 1959. Hansberry was a close friend of Nina Simone and this play directly influenced Simone’s song, “To Be Young, Gifted and Black,” from her 1970 album titled Black Gold. A Raisin In The Sun exhibits a young African American family in Chicago facing the obstacles of the time period. The father passes away and the aftermath involves a mysterious insurance payout on top of the struggles of racial discrimination, the unjust housing market, and assimilation as a black family from the South. Simone, with high admiration for the play and her friend’s work, wrote this song with the goal of rising above the discrimination and strife unfairly placed upon her as a talented black woman in America. With her words she inspires herself and others to take pride in themselves and challenge systematic oppression of racism and sexism. 

Speaking of powerful words, the critically acclaimed novel, 1984 by George Orwell in 1949 has caused more than a ripple in the world of music lyricism. It is most likely due to the mind boggling concepts threaded in and out of the timeless cautionary tale. The book explores themes of brainwashing and complacency in the society offered to you which has many parallels our reality. It delves into the harms of ignorance, propaganda, censorship and the strive for liberty, truth, and freedom. Radiohead has a song called “2+2=5” on their 2003 album, Hail The Thief  that explores these themes in their lyrics. “2+2=5” is a reference from 1984 that expands on the fictional brainwashing in the nation of “Oceania” that can blend and change truth and fact. The protagonist, Winston ponders and stumbles through the differentiation of the two throughout the story as he is a victim to this conceptual world. Thom Yorke croons, “You have not been paying attention,” to exemplify this corruption of society and mind control. Stevie Wonder also has a song called “Big Brother,” off of his 1972 album, Talking Book. Wonder speaks and sings of integral issues with modernity and the comparisons to the fictional novel. “Big Brother” is a reference to the totalitarian government within Oceania. David Bowie follows this influence with his song, “1984” on the 1974 album, Diamond Dogs with a direct title quote of Orwell’s book. He focuses on the dangers of living in ignorance. 

Neutral Milk Hotel also employs lyricism through writing about societal issues. The group lays bare this idea on many occasions, but especially “Holland ” on the 1998 album, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, delves into The Diary of a Young Girl (1947) by Anne Frank.  The song expresses and obsesses with their infatuation and love for Anne Frank. The lyrics tell the story of Frank and her family’s deportation to Auschwitz and the horrors of the Holocaust. It muses over everything lost, loved, and taken as if they were hiding away with Frank herself. As the book discusses the road to unnecessary devastation, Neutral Milk Hotel dwells on their own demise for much of the album. On the topic of uncomfortably vivid relation and fixation of a young girl’s innerworkings, Lana Del Rey’s Lolita obsession must be mentioned. Lana Del Rey has time and time again referenced Vladimir Nabokov’s 1955 novel, Lolita in her songs. The book depicts the abuse and sexualization of a young girl by her step father and it displays the twisted psychology of captivation, desire, and maltreatment. Strangely, Lana Del Rey often reverses the roles and paints the young girl as the one with power and romanticizes her disposition. She has a direct reference to the book title with her song, “Lolita” off of the 2012 album, Born To Die and states, “Could be kissing my fruit punch lips in the sunshine.” This alludes to the loss of innocence and oversexualization of a girl of intense vulnerability and helplessness due to her age. She also makes references within her song “Carmen” which is also derives from Born To Die. One of the most prominent references belongs to “Off To The Races” which coincides on the same record. It describes the same troubled young girl often put in the position of abuse and being taken advantage of, but instead triumphs in inserting her power over her loving oppressor. She even quotes directly from the book, “Light of my life, fire of my loins.” She writes with a controversial intellect that sustains her magnetizing individualism. Peter Gabriel finds himself enthused to write his 1980 song, “Family Snapshot” by the inevitably dark An Assassin’s Diary of 1973 by Arthur Bremer. This song belongs on Gabriel’s album, Peter Gabirel III or Melt  and follows the bizarre first hand account of Arthur Bremer’s attempt to assassinate the US Democratic Presidential Candidate, George Wallace, in 1972. Gabriel writes about the experience of being a cameraman whose purpose is to stalk and follow a renowned politician. He is able to glamorize the murderous desire to gain fame through having famous victims.

“Blacker The Berry ” off of Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 album, To Pimp A Butterfly derives its title from Wallace Thurman’s 1929 novel, The Blacker The Berry: A Novel of Negroe Life. The book describes the escapades and struggles of a black woman in America who attends USC. It delves into her discrimination with not only racism, but also lighter skinned African Americans. Lamar takes these themes and intertwines with profound call outs on racism, discrimination, and violence in the United States today. He even slips into W.E.B. Du Bois’s idea of “double consciousness” and the way he views himself, his success, and his culture in a playing field that is designed against his power. He beautifully and ironically conveys these concepts on what I think subjectively is one of the most well done albums of the 2010s. Lastly, Elton John’s celebrated “Rocket Man,” off of the 1972 album, Honky Château was inspired from a short story called “Rocket Man” from The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury in 1951. This was a science fiction horror story that details the image that all good things someday come to an end. John takes these themes and creates his chart climber song out of the idea that in the future, astronauts become a regular occupation. An interesting concept was created into one of the biggest hits of the decade. Time and time again, words affect and shape each other, but significantly literature changes the thought process, passion, and art of songwriters. It can make one wonder where music would be without the massive creativity and infectious passion that is siphoned from the bliss and discipline of reading. Words inspire, copy, bend, and change thoughts, hearts, and minds. It is incredibly intriguing and beautiful to acknowledge and pass on.