Songs named after literary works

There are quite a few. Some of them actually draw on the theme of the story, while others simply carry that name because presumably the writer thought it was a cool sounding name.

How many examples can we think of?

Steven Wilson has written at least three:

- Great Expectations (novel by Charles Dickens)
- A Door Marked Summer (from the book "The Door Marked Summer" by Michael Bentine
- People Who Eat Darkness (from the factual book of the same name by Richard Lloyd Parry)

Others:

- All You Zombies (short story by Robert Heinlein, song by The Hooters)
- 1984 (book by George Orwell; several different songs, some of which are related to the story and others not, by artists including Rick Wakeman and David Bowie)

Others?

 

Metallica - For Whom The Bell Tolls

 

not named after the book, the Cure's "Killing an Arab" is based on Camus' novel The Stranger.

 

Rush - Tom Sawyer

 

One of the most obvious

Wuthering Heights
- a novel by Emily Brontë
- a song by Kate Bush

 

Yes - Starship Trooper (taken from Robert Heinlein's novel)

 

East of Eden
- a novel by John Steinbeck
- a song by Big Country

 

Iron Maiden - Rime of the Ancient Mariner (poem by Coleridge)Mariner

 

Romeo Had Juliette / Lou Reed off his awesome album New York

 

Iron Maiden - Where Eagles Dare (Alistair McClean novel)

 

Angel Clare, an album by Garfunkel.
The title comes from the name of a character in Thomas Hardy's novel, Tess of the d'urbervilles.

 

Iron Maiden - The Wicker Man (Novelisation of the film by Robin Hardy and Anthony Shaffer which might be pushing it a bit...)

 

Led Zeppelin - Moby Dick

 

The Alan Parsons Project, all the songs from "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" are retellings of stories and poetry by Edgar Allan Poe.

 

The Alan Parsons Project "I Robot" by Asimov.

 

...and of course their second album "I Robot" begins with the track of the same name, and takes its name from the anthology by Isaac Asimov.

 

SNAP!

 

Listening to that right now.

 

Jamaica Inn - novel by Daphne du Maurier, song by Tori Amos
The Myth of Sisyphus - book by Albert Camus, song by Stephen Stills
The Sirens of Titan - novel by Kurt Vonnegut, song by Al Stewart

'Tea in the Sahara' by the Police is based on Paul Bowles' 'The Sheltering Sky'

 

"House At Pooh Corner" (Naturally based on the famous Winnie The Pooh stories, with the song written by Kenny Loggins and brought to life on tape by "The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band")

 

"I Sing The Body Electric" from "Fame" was most likely named for the Walt Whitman poem, but also shares a title with a Ray Bradbury novel.

This song had a big afterlife on college campuses in the 1980s and 1990s when it became a favorite of some a cappella singing groups.

 

From the famous literary works of Sir Ray Stevens telling the story of "Ahab The Arab" ..,

 

Jethro Tull's "Saturation", an outtake from "War Child", is based on Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451".

 

Exodus

One of the "books" of the Old Testament, and also a song (and album) by Bob Marley.

 

Also inspired by Shakespeare, Dire Straits recorded "Romeo & Juliet"