Literary Allusions in Music

Charles Gounod's opera 'Roméo et Juliette' was first performed in 1867 and is considered one of the most popular adaptations of Shakespeare's play.

In the song 'A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall', Bob Dylan sings, 'I'll follow you down to the Golden Gate / I'll follow you down to the deep blue sea.' This is a reference to the Pequod's journey to hunt Moby Dick in the novel.

Genesis's concept album 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway' was released in 1974 and is based on Golding's novel about a group of boys who are stranded on a deserted island.

David Bowie's song 'Space Oddity' features the character of Major Tom, who is an astronaut on a mission to space. The song was released in 1969, shortly before the Apollo 11 mission to the moon.

Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' is a four-opera cycle that tells the story of the cursed ring of the Nibelung, based on the 'Nibelungenlied'.

In the song 'Thunder Road', Bruce Springsteen sings, 'I'll take you away from here / We'll leave this town behind.' This is a reference to the novel's protagonist, Jay Gatsby, who tries to recreate the past by throwing lavish parties in an attempt to win back his lost love, Daisy Buchanan.

Franz Liszt's 'Dante Symphony' was composed in 1857 and is based on Dante's epic poem 'Divine Comedy'.

In the song 'Candle in the Wind', Elton John sings, 'Goodbye, Norma Jean / Though I never knew you at all.' This is a reference to Marilyn Monroe, who was often compared to Ophelia due to her tragic life and death.

The Beatles' album 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' was released in 1967 and features several references to Edgar Allan Poe's works, including 'The Raven' and 'The Tell-Tale Heart'.

In the song 'Subterranean Homesick Blues', Bob Dylan sings, 'Johnny's in the basement / Mixing up the medicine.' This is a reference to the novel's protagonist, Holden Caulfield, who spends time in the basement of his school mixing up pills.

Charles Gounod's opera 'Faust' was first performed in 1859 and is based on Goethe's play about a scholar who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power.

David Bowie's song '1984' is a direct reference to George Orwell's novel of the same name. The song was released in 1973, just two years before the novel's setting.

Pink Floyd's album 'The Wall' was released in 1979 and is based on Orwell's novel about a group of animals who rebel against their human farmer.

In the song 'The River', Bruce Springsteen sings, 'I'm a man of the land / I'm a man of the soil.' This is a reference to the novel's protagonist, Tom Joad, who is a farmer who is forced to leave his home during the Great Depression.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's 'Romeo and Juliet' fantasy overture was composed in 1880 and is based on Shakespeare's play.