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Talk:List of songs that retell a work of literature

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Misc. comments

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What about bands whose entire catalog of songs is a tribute to a work of literature? Blind Guardian comes to mind. All their songs are based on works of Tolkien, primarily plotlines from The Lord of the Rings books. -- ヤギ

I'd say maybe make a separate section for things like that. A lot of metal bands have whole albums based on various occult books (though I don't know if the Book of the Law qualifies as literature). At the bottom of the list, you could add the band and which work or author it is based on. Tuf-Kat
i thought this particular joke had worn thin. -- Tarquin 18:13 Mar 8, 2003 (UTC)
This is the only one of the trivia lists of songs which interests me. Tuf-Kat
fair point. it's less dumb than the others. isn't "Hotel California" a retelling of greek legend? -- Tarquin 18:16 Mar 8, 2003 (UTC)
I think I've heard that before. I'm listening to it now, though, and can't figure out which story it might be. Maybe it Odysseus and Circe... Tuf-Kat

This page should be at List of songs that retell a work of literature, not which. Which is inclusive; that is exclusive. - Montréalais

I knew that. I was just testing everyone else to see how long it would take for someone else to notice. I swear... Tuf-Kat

My, that was fast ^_^ would have done it myself but not logged in at a library computer on a lunchbreak. - mtlais

Pink Floyd's Animals is a retelling of Animal Farm? It's pretty liberal with it, isn't it? I don't remember Mary Whitehouse in Animal Farm... I think "retelling" is a little over the top. In fact, are there any connections at all short of it using animals as metaphors? -Nommo

Hmm... I'm the one that added it, but I don't remember why. Probably I found it on the project linked to on the main page, which lists anything that refers to a work of literature, and something made me think the reference was a retelling... Though my roommate swears it is, glancing through the lyrics, I don't see how. If someone can prove it, they can put it back, but I'm going to take it off the list. Tuf-Kat

--- What about songs which are directly set to literary texts? How about musicals and operas based on a work of literature?

I would be inclined to say that these don't count. Tuf-Kat 20:01, Oct 28, 2003 (UTC)

I have removed any which don't "retell" a work of literature (specifically, the Tool and Jefferson Airplane songs which refer to Alice in Wonderland). This is not the same thing as "referring" to a work of literature. I also took out:

Because it does not appear to be a retelling of a work of literature.Tuf-Kat 20:01, Oct 28, 2003 (UTC)

Yeah, those entries bothered me too. DropDeadGorgias 20:38, 28 Oct 2003 (UTC)

I think we've set too strict a definition of "retelling". When you condense a novel into a song, there's obviously going to be a lot lost in the translation. I'm specifically refering to "White Rabbit" which is clearly based on Carroll's two Alice novels. It's the entire subject of the song not just a passing reference and clearly belongs on the list as I think most people would understand the criteria. MK 02:57 (EST) 6 November 2003

Okay, looking up the Jefferson Airplane lyrics, it has convinced me, though I would like to pass the blame on the wording, which only claims that it "refers" to the novel. I'll change that. The Tool song seems to only tangentially refer to the novel, and the Steve Hackett song is only a retelling of a "typical" Agatha Christie novel, whatever that means. Tuf-Kat 08:40, Nov 6, 2003 (UTC)

LL Cool J does a song called "I'm that type of guy" that interpolates quotes from a movie based off of literature, should we include that in the list? It interpolates quotes from Wizard of Oz. --SuperDude 23:22, 18 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe turn a blind eye by half man half biscuit should be linked directly to the page called first they came?Pignut 10:16, 21 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Merge question

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How about merging the literary items here and renaming the other list List of songs based on a film? ♥ Her Pegship♥ 21:43, 14 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

  • Just to argue against it, retelling a story and referring to a story are two completly different things. If I want to find songs that tell the story I don't want to sift through a list that also includes things that only refer to a book or are slightly influenced by a book.

That being said, I think merging would be a great idea as long as there are seperate sections on the page for this list and the list of things that only refer. The two really would benefit from being together. Theichibun 03:46, 29 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What about including songs about authors, e.g. Dan Bern's "Marilyn" (about Henry Miller, Arthur Miller, and Marilyn Monroe)? Is there a more general "songs related to literature" page?Eh Elle Dee 22:18, 27 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Organization

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Would it make more sense to organize this by literary work or literary author? -MrFizyx 18:11, 26 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Could we possibly reorganize this list as a table, so we can change its order depending on if we want to find songs based on certain literary work, by a certain artist, or with a certain title? -Hayleyet (talk) 01:14, 22 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

question

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Out of curiosity, are these limited to English-language songs? Pandacomics 07:22, 31 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

'Yertle the Turtle' by Red Hot Chili Peppers (from the album Freaky Styley) was based on the book by Dr.Suess - it's only a short children's book, should it be included? Mz.Kiedis 17:13, 26 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Unreferenced

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None of the examples listed in this article has a citation, which means these are nothing but the opinions of the editors who added them. This is not appropriate or acceptable. The article should not be expanded further unless references are added. ---The Old JacobiteThe '45 17:30, 29 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Original research

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This entire list appears to be original research. Can anyone point to a single reliable source that analyses this topic? I do find the list quite charming, and the retelling of a story from another character's point of view seems to have become a quite popular extended trope. --Bejnar (talk) 01:09, 15 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

As I write this, I see that your comment is almost eight years old. I am going to attempt to source all of these line items, and if I cannot, I will add a citation needed tag. This might take a while, so it is a good thing I am an eventualist. Thanks to all for their contributions to WP. KConWiki (talk) 05:16, 16 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
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List of potentially citable entries that are currently in need of citations

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I am pasting this consolidated list here so that if anyone knows of a citable source, the appropriate edits can be made to this article. KConWiki (talk) 04:04, 10 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Albums

Films

Songs

Proposal to convert the list(s) on this page into table(s)

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Hello fellow Wikipedians - If you take a look at this sandbox page I have been working on, you will see that I have taken the (cited) entries currently on this page in list form and made them into tables for albums and for songs, as was suggested in several of the posts above a number of years ago.

I would like to invite interested users to take a look at that sandbox and leave comments here. If no major concerns, I am going to plan on removing the list of songs and albums from the current page, and replace with the tables currently on that sandbox sometime after Sept. 16 2022 (one week from the time I am leaving this message). Any questions, comments, or observations, let's please discuss. Thanks KConWiki (talk) 04:18, 10 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Not having seen any concerns expressed about this, I am going to move the table in to replace the lists on this page. Any concerns, let's discuss. KConWiki (talk) 15:42, 18 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Removing Blixemi, at least temporarily

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Hello fellow Wikipedians - I am removing this listing, at least for the time being, for two reasons - 1) The source cited does not seem like a Reliable Source, and 2) The group of songs does not seem to be an album. If anyone can provide a reliable source for the citation, and if we list out individual songs, then I think this would be appropriate information to add to this article.

Album Musical artist Literary work Author Comments Citations
Blixemi Warriors series Erin Hunter A YouTuber who makes original songs inspired by the Warriors book series. "Blixemi". Genius. Retrieved 2023-08-25.

Thanks KConWiki (talk) 03:49, 23 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Name

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Per the ongling AfD, which likely will result in this being kept - we should rename this (Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of songs that retell a work of literature). Now, retelling is a term used in academic works from the literary studies field, and needs an article (right now this redirects to remake, but academic use, although not too different, may merit a different article) But this list is not about that (remaking). Sources more often use terms 'inspired by' or 'based on', and this is what we should use. Which one? Toss a coin? :) Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 04:44, 29 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I can provide some examples that could be removed from this list article as it stands now, such as "The Melting Point of Wax" which seems to be vaguely based on the Myth of Icarus which itself predates the advent of specific books by centuries. Mushy Yank already took care of some others. With that out ot the way, challenging me to figure out the meaning of "book" is both unreasonable and unhelpful to the much more specific basis of this discussion. ---DOOMSDAYER520 (TALK|CONTRIBS) 13:39, 30 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
  • Literary works include poems. They might include manga and comics but that's not what comes to mind first. They might include the Bible but that should be agreed upon (and a reference to the Bible should be sourced, not just an allusion to the episode in question, should that be the case (I'm rather against inclusion of Bible or religious books here, personally)). They obviously include Homer's work and any mythology book but, again, a reference to the work and not to the story as common knowledge should be clear. Inspired by /Based on, both seem OK. Lead section can use both. -My, oh my! (Mushy Yank) 07:43, 30 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
  • Example of what should be removed./not be included.-My, oh my! (Mushy Yank) 07:47, 30 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
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