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Oct 10, 2019 · The best Shakespeare songs. Previously, we’ve picked 10 of Shakespeare’s finest sonnets and 10 of his greatest plays, as well as some of the greatest speeches from his plays. But within his plays there are many songs which have become famous as poems in their own right. Phrases like ‘full fathom five’, ‘fear no more the heat of the ...
- Taylor Swift – Love Story. With some not-so-subtle references to The Bard’s tragic tale of star-crossed lovers, it seems only right to start with Taylor’s breakout single Love Story, which sent her to Number 2 in 2009.
- Dire Straits - Romeo and Juliet. This track became Dire Straits’ second Top 10 single when it reached Number 8 in 1981. Another single directly referencing the play throughout with character names, Frontman Mark Knopfler took inspiration from Shakespeare in this song about unrequited love.
- Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor. Another breakout single featuring a reference to Shakespeare’s tragic love story (spotting a theme yet?)
- One True Voice - Shakespeare’s (Way With) Words. “If I had Shakespeare’s way with words, I would write a sonnet, put your name upon it” is truly a lyric for the ages.
- ‘Ophelia’ – The Band
- ‘Macbeth’ – John Cale
- ‘Titus Andronicus Forever’ – Titus Andronicus.
- ‘The King Must Die’ – Elton John
- ‘Something Wicked’ – 2Pac
- ‘Blow Away’ – Kate Bush
- ‘I Almost Had A Weakness’ – Elvis Costello
- ‘Romeo Had Juliette’ – Lou Reed
- ‘Exit Music (For A Film)’ – Radiohead
- ‘I Am The Walrus’ – The Beatles
Despite its funky bassline and sunshine-slick horn section, the lyrics to the band’s 1975 hit Ophelia, as the title would suggest, concentrate on one of Shakespeare’s most tragic figures. With the lyrics: “Ashes of laughter, the ghost is clear. Why do the best things always disappear? Like Ophelia Please darken my door,” The Band use the madness (a...
Like his Velvet Underground bandmate, Lou Reed, John Cale had a taste for Shakespeare and clearly references his Scottish tragedy in this next track, singing the lines: “Alas for poor Macbeth. He found a shallow grave, but better than a painful death and quicker than his dying breath”. Here, Cale actually makes two Shakespeare references in one, sw...
Titus Andronicus, so good they referenced it twice. Yes, Shakespeare’s most gruesome play smells distinctly like teenage angst. The bard’s earliest work, Titus Andronicuscontains levels of hyper-violence that would make Tarantino weep. Notable examples include the scene in which Lavinia returns to the stage, having had both her hands and tongue cut...
In this track from Elton John’s eponymous 1970 album, ol’ Rocketman sings: “No man’s a jester playing Shakespeare round your throne room floor, while the juggler’s act is danced upon he crown that you once wore”, using the bard as a way of talking about a fall from power. It’s hard to tell which of Shakespeare’s characters John is referencing here,...
One of the many things Shakespeare is famous for is the musicality of his verse, something 2pac is also famous for. But, as poet and rapper Akala discusses, Shakespeare also shares an anti-establishment streak. He says: “there’s a speech which is probably Shakespeare’s most direct critique of royal power ever: ‘I live with bread like you, need frie...
This poignant ballad was written as a tribute to Kate Bush’s lighting director Bill Duffield, who died on the opening night of the singer’s Tour of Life in 1979. It contains a nod to Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, with the line: “Put out the light then, put out the light,”. It is taken from the scene just before Othello goes into his wife’s s bedro...
Costello has made a couple of references to Shakespeare in his work, one notable example being ‘Miss Macbeth’. But, for me, it’s his album The Juliet Lettersthat really stands out. Written and recorded with The Brodsky Quartet, The Juliet Letters is a musical setting of the imagined correspondences of Juliet Capulet. To be honest, it’s quite hard t...
In this, the opening track to Lou Reed’s 1978 album New York, the reference is obvious. With ‘Romeo Had Juliette’, Lou Reed transplants the archetypal story of the two star-crossed lovers and sets it in modern-day New York. Sort of like West Side Story,but without all the jazz clicking. The track features the two lovers, Romeo Rodriguez and Juliett...
This list simply wouldn’t;t be complete without a mention of Radiohead’s heart-wrenching track from Kid A. According to Thom Yorke, the song was inspired by Baz Lurhmann’s modern re-working, Romeo + Juliet. But, apparently, the Shakespeare play had affected the frontman before: “I saw the Zeffirelli version when I was 13 and I cried my eyes out,” n...
Yes, who would have thought one of the most analysed songs in pop music history would also include a subtle reference to Shakespeare. Lennon reportedly got the idea for many of the more oblique lyrics after he received a letter from a student who explained that their English teacher was having them analyse Beatles songs. Whilst the lyrics themselve...
- When Daisies Pied and Violets Blue (Love’s Labours Lost) Spring. When daisies pied and violets blue. And lady-smocks all silver-white. And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue.
- The Ousel-cock, So Black of Hue (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) The ousel-cock, so black of hue, With orange-tawny bill, The throstle with his note so true, The wren with little quill;
- Tell Me Where Is Fancy Bred (The Merchant of Venice) Tell me where is Fancy bred, Or in the heart or in the head? How begot, how nourishèd? Reply, reply. It is engender’d in the eyes,
- Sigh No More, Ladies, Sigh No More (Much Ado About Nothing) Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more. Men were deceivers ever, One foot in sea, and one on shore,
- “Exit Music (For a Film)” by Radiohead. Lines Most Inspired by Shakespeare: “Pack and get dressed. Before your father hears us. Before all hell breaks loose.
- “Macbeth” – John Cale. Lines Most Inspired by Shakespeare: “Alas for poor Macbeth. He found a shallow grave. But better than a painful death. And quicker than his dying breath”
- “Romeo Had Juliette” – Lou Reed. Lines Most Inspired by Shakespeare: “Betwixt between the East and West he calls on her wearing a leather vest.” The Inspiration: Of all the songs on this list, maybe Lou Reed has the most straightforward adaptation of a Shakespeare piece with his modern, New York-inspired take on Romeo and Juliet with the opener for his 1988 album, New York.
- “Ophelia” – The Band. Lines Most Inspired by Shakespeare: “Ashes of laughter, the ghost is clear. Why do the best things always disappear? Like Ophelia.
Apr 26, 2016 · April 23 marked the 400th anniversary of Ol’ Bill’s death. To honor him, we’ve rounded up 10 more tunes that were inspired by his irreplaceable genius. 1. “When in Disgrace With Fortune ...
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Romeo and Juliet in music. This tragic love story has inspired some truly great music, along with its share of less successful pieces. One of the earliest settings is a singspiel by the Czech composer Georg Benda, whose 1776 Romeo und Julie, loosely based on the play, was one of his most popular pieces.
