Books and music go together like ink and parchment. Whether inspired by classic literature, fantasy epics, or philosophical texts, these songs about books take pages and turn them into poetry, guitars, and pounding drums. Some are literal adaptations, while others pull themes from novels into brand-new contexts. You’ll find everything from brooding post-punk to psychedelic rock, metal anthems to whimsical ballads, each track inspired by a specific book or character.
This list focuses on songs about books and reading but skips biblical references entirely. We’re saving those for another post.
Be sure to check out the Songs About Books Playlist at the bottom of this page.
Best Songs About Books
1. “Wuthering Heights” – Kate Bush
Lyric Sample: “I’m so cold, let me in through your window.”
This haunting classic channels Emily Brontë’s gothic romance with operatic vocals and poetic lyricism. Kate Bush’s intense delivery and literary flair make this a cornerstone for any playlist of songs about books.
2. “Tea in the Sahara” – The Police
Lyric Sample: “We have this strange obsession, you have the means in your possession.”
Inspired by Paul Bowles’ The Sheltering Sky, this atmospheric track has themes of isolation and desire in a burning desert landscape. The dreamy guitar work and hypnotic rhythm make this one of the best songs about books with a surreal edge.
3. “White Rabbit” – Jefferson Airplane
Lyric Sample: “Go ask Alice when she’s ten feet tall.”
Drawing straight from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, this psychedelic rock anthem captures the trippy descent into literary fantasy. With Grace Slick’s commanding vocals and a marching crescendo, the song is as bold as the book that sparked it.
Related: “White Rabbit” Song Meaning
4. “Ramble On” – Led Zeppelin
Lyric Sample: “T’was in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair.”
“Ramble On” infuses The Lord of the Rings into classic rock with a surprising amount of detail. Zeppelin’s mythical references and wanderlust-filled energy make this a timeless song about a book that helped define the genre.
5. “1984” – David Bowie
Lyric Sample: “They’ll split your pretty cranium and fill it full of air.”
David Bowie’s take on Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is funky, menacing, and prophetic. Originally meant for a musical adaptation, this dystopian groove reflects a chilling view of surveillance and control.
6. “Venus in Furs” – The Velvet Underground
Lyric Sample: “Kiss the boot of shiny, shiny leather.”
Lou Reed’s hypnotic drone wraps Venus in Furs by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch in slinky darkness. The track delves into dominance, submission, and obsession with unapologetic grit.
7. “Moon Over Bourbon Street” – Sting
Lyric Sample: “The bright lights the people and the moon and all.”
Inspired by Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, this jazzy number channels the lonely musings of an immortal cursed to feed. Sting’s smooth delivery adds a haunting layer to the internal struggle between predator and conscience.
8. “Gravity’s Rainbow” – Klaxons
Lyric Sample: “Come with me, come with me, we’ll travel to infinity.”
This chaotic electro-rock track is inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s dense novel of the same name. Its cryptic lyrics and frenzied energy mirror the book’s surrealism and sprawling narrative.
9. “Charlotte Sometimes” – The Cure
Lyric Sample: “Sometimes I’m dreaming, Charlotte sometimes, the sounds all stay the same.”
Inspired by the novel Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer, this goth rock track captures the eerie disorientation of slipping between identities and timelines. The haunting lyrics and dreamlike mood make it one of the most atmospheric songs about books and self-fracture.
10. “To Tame a Land” – Iron Maiden
Lyric Sample: “He rules the sand worms and the Freemen, in the land amongst the stars.”
Based on Frank Herbert’s Dune, this epic metal track paints a vivid portrait of Paul Atreides’ transformation into the messianic Muad’Dib. With galloping riffs and sci-fi grandeur, it’s a towering song about a book that redefined science fiction.
11. “Shadows and Tall Trees” – U2
Lyric Sample: “Out there, do you feel in me? Anything redeeming, any worthwhile feeling.”
The closing track of U2’s debut album takes its name from a chapter in Lord of the Flies, and like the novel, it wrestles with innocence, identity, and inner conflict. Dreamy yet uneasy, it captures the fear of what’s inside as much as what’s outside.
12. “House at Pooh Corner” – Loggins & Messina
Lyric Sample: “Christopher Robin and I walked along, under branches lit up by the moon.”
This gentle ballad tugs at the nostalgia from A.A. Milne’s The House at Pooh Corner. It’s a tender ode to childhood, change, and the books that grow up with us.
13. “Animal Farm” – The Kinks
Lyric Sample: “This world is big and wild and half insane, take me where real animals are playing.”
The Kinks twist Orwell’s Animal Farm into a wistful dream of escaping the noise of modern life. With warm acoustics and pastoral longing, this song reads like an anti-industrial love letter to simpler times.
14. “Scentless Apprentice” – Nirvana
Lyric Sample: “Like most babies smell like butter, his smell smelled like no other.”
“Scentless Apprentice” was inspired by Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind, transforming the novel’s grotesque brilliance into grunge fury. With its visceral energy and vivid imagery, this song powerfully captures the dark intensity of the book’s themes.
15. “Matilda Mother” – Pink Floyd
Lyric Sample: “You only have to read the lines of scribbly black and everything shines.”
Rooted in Edwardian fairy tales and childhood memory, this early Floyd track evokes the wonder and distortion of stories half-remembered. Its surreal imagery and whispered pleas to “tell me more” reflect a child’s longing to stay in a mythic world, even as reality creeps in.
16. “Sympathy for the Devil” – The Rolling Stones
Lyric Sample: “Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name.”
Drawing on themes from The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, this classic track gives voice to a charismatic, cunning narrator who embodies chaos and evil throughout history.
Related: “Sympathy for the Devil” Song Meaning
17. “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins” – Leonard Nimoy
Lyric Sample: “Bilbo, the bravest little hobbit of ’em all!”
This quirky tribute draws directly from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, celebrating Bilbo’s unexpected heroism and adventure. The playful tone and storytelling style echo the charm and whimsy of the beloved fantasy tale.
18. “Dante’s Inferno” – Iced Earth
Lyric Sample: “Through the fiery caverns we sail, Virgil at my side my guide and master, abandon all hope who enter here.”
Inspired by Dante’s Inferno, this epic metal track chronicles the harrowing journey through Hell’s nine circles. Vivid imagery and classical references bring the dark, allegorical poem’s punishments and torments to life with intense storytelling and powerful sound.
19. “For Whom the Bell Tolls” – Metallica
Lyric Sample: “Take a look to the sky just before you die, it’s the last time you will.”
Metallica adapts Hemingway’s novel into a thunderous anti-war anthem. The heavy riffs and lyrical urgency highlight the futility and tragedy of battle, making it a powerful song about a book with unshakable themes.
20. “The Inner Light” – The Beatles
Lyric Sample: “Without going out of your door, you can know all things on Earth.”
Borrowed from the Tao Te Ching, this meditative Beatles track radiates peace and introspection. Its Eastern philosophy and George Harrison’s sitar-rich arrangement make it a standout in any list of best songs about books and spiritual wisdom.
21. “Lost Boy” – Ruth B
Lyric Sample: “I am a lost boy from Neverland, usually hangin’ out with Peter Pan.”
This modern pop ballad draws from Peter Pan, capturing the dreamlike pull of a world untouched by time. Ruth B’s gentle voice and simple piano melody make this a soft and heartfelt entry in the canon of songs about reading books.
22. “Off to the Races” – Lana Del Rey
Lyric Sample: “Light of my life, fire of my loins, be a good baby, do what I want.”
Lana Del Rey lifts her opening line from Lolita, weaving the novel’s controversial tone into her own noir-pop universe. With its baroque production and fevered storytelling, the song both echoes and reimagines Nabokov’s infamous narrator.
23. “United States of Eurasia” – Muse
Lyric Sample: “You and me are the same, we don’t know or care who’s to blame.”
Drawing from Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, this song imagines a dystopian future of unified superstates and endless conflict. It critiques political control and blind obedience, weaving a powerful narrative about war, power, and resistance.
Read Between the Lines: Why Book-Inspired Songs Hit Different
There’s something powerful about hearing a story you know reimagined through sound. Songs inspired by books open new layers of meaning, sometimes amplifying what’s on the page and sometimes twisting it into something unrecognizably brilliant.
Whether you’re here for the punk anthems, indie gems, or heavy metal sagas, each of these songs about books taps into that universal experience: getting lost in a good story.
If you love lists that dive deep into themes, don’t miss our other collections like Songs About Rain, Songs About Summer, and Songs About Missing Someone.