How to use this Page

Lisa Chellman pointed me in the direction of Artists for Literacy in the comments the other day. They have more than 300 songs inspired by books that you can search through. How cool is that? I love it!

Apprently there’s 700 plus songs inspired by books, and they have two CDs with them on it–Songs Inspired By Literature: Chapter One
and Songs Inspired By Literature - Chapter Two, but it seems that all the songs aren’t yet listed on their site.

I’ve been going through the list, looking for children’s and YA books. Some of the ones I found are:

Song: Prince Caspian
by Phish in the album Billy Breathes
based on the book: Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis

Song: Narnia (Steve Walsh Vocal Version)
by Steve Hackett in the album Please Don’t Touch
based on the Narnia Series by C. S. Lewis

Song: Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?
by: Green Day in the album Kerplunk!
based on the book: The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

Song: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
by: Elton John in the album Good Bye Yellow Brick Road
based on the book: The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Song: White Rabbit
by Jefferson Airplane in the album Surrealistic Pillow
based on the book: Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Song:I Am The Walrus
By: Beatles in the album Magical Mystery Tour
based on the book: Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Song: Mock Turtle Song
by Steely Dan in the album Catalyst
based on the book: Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Song: Alice
by Tom Waits in the album Alice
based on the book: Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Song: Barefoot Children
by Jimmy Buffett in the album Barometer Soup
based on the book: The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Song: Return To Pooh Corner
by Kenny Loggins in the album Return To Pooh Corner
based on the book: The House At Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne

Song: House At Pooh Corner
by Loggins & Messina in the album Sittin In
Based on the book: Winnie The Pooh by A.A. Milne

Song: Charlotte Sometimes
by The Cure in the album Staring At The Sea: The Singles
based on the book Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer

Song: Tom Sawyer
by Rush in the album Moving Pictures
based on the book The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Song: Bucking Bronco
by Scarth Locke
based on the poem “Bucking Bronco” by Shel Silverstein



Know another? Let me know.

Did you know that there are a number of songs inspired by books? Yep, there are! How cool is that? Josh over at Brews and Books has posted about a few songs that refer to books–modern and classics–as well as plays. Some of the books I didn’t know and wouldn’t have recognized, but others I did. (Now give me children’s and YA books, and I could do a lot better. Speaking of which, the title of “Green Eggs & Hamlet” seems to me to refer to the Dr Seuss book as well as Shakespere’s play Hamlet. What do you think?)

Since I read Josh’s list and saw his mention of Batman, I can think of another comic-related song right away (what can I say–I also love comics!):

Superman (It’s Not Easy) by Five For Fighting
“I can’t stand to fly
I’m not that naive
I’m just out to find
The better part of me

I’m more than a bird…I’m more than a plane
More than some pretty face beside a train
It’s not easy to be me”

The whole song is clearly about Superman. I found myself grinning delightedly the first time I heard it. There are also quite a number of other Superman songs, according to Wikipedia.

Do you know a song that’s inspired by a book or play? If you do, head on over and leave a comment.

And hey, if you know of songs inspired by or that include references to children’s or YA books, let me know! I love the idea.

I wonder if anyone’s created a Harry Potter song, or a Twilight inspired song? I bet they have!