List of songs that retell a work of literature

This is a list of songs which retell, in whole or in part, a work of literature. Albums listed here consist entirely of songs retelling a work of literature.

• "1984" by David Bowie is a retelling of George Orwell's 1984
• "Animal in Man" by Dead Prez from Let's Be Free is a retelling of George Orwell's Animal Farm
• "Barefoot Children in the Rain" by Jimmy Buffett partially retells the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• "Battle of Evermore" by Led Zeppelin retells J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, including "Ringwraiths" by name.
• Chronicle of the Black Sword by Hawkwind is based on Michael Moorcock's Elric novels
• "Cornflake Girl" by Tori Amos is about a character in Alice Walker's Possessing the Secret of Joy
• "From the Underworld" by The Herd is based on the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice
• "Grendel" by Marillion is a retelling of John Gardner's novel Grendel, which is a retelling of Beowulf
• "The Ghost of Tom Joad" by Bruce Springsteen is about The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• "Highway 61 Revisited" (from Highway 61 Revisited) by Bob Dylan retells the story of Abraham and his son from Genesis, Chapter 22
• I, Robot is an Alan Parsons Project LP which retells several Isaac Asimov stories
• "Home at Last" by Steely Dan retells Ulysses' encounter with the Sirens from the Odyssey
• Journey to the Center of the Earth by Rick Wakeman is an LP which retells Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
• "Killing an Arab" by The Cure is closely related to Albert Camus' The Stranger
• "Lay Down" by The Strawbs is based on Psalm 23
• "Moon over Bourbon Street" by Sting is describing a character from Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire
• Narnia by Steve Hackett is based on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
• "Out of the Silent Planet" by Iron Maiden partially retells the science-fiction novel of the same name by C.S. Lewis
• "Prince Caspian" by Phish is about C.S. Lewis' Prince Caspian, one of the Chronicles of Narnia, which retells the Bible in fantasy-allegory; hence, this song is also a retelling of the story of Moses in Exodus
• "Ramble On" by Led Zeppelin retells parts of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, including "Mordor" and "Gollum" by name.
• "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Iron Maiden is a retelling of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner
• Tales of Mystery and Imagination is an Alan Parsons Project LP which retells several Edgar Allan Poe stories
• "Tea in the Sahara" by The Police is about The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles
• The War of the Worlds by Jeff Wayne is a big budget retelling of the novel by H. G. Wells in music and dramatization
• "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane partially retells Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
• "Wuthering Heights" by Kate Bush is a re-telling of Emily Bronte's novel.

External Links

• The Sibl Project has a similar goal that is more inclusive, creating a list of songs which simply refer to a work of literature