One of my favorites was Leif Enger's Peace Like a River, which is a Paul Simon song. It's been several years since I read it, and I don't know how much the book has to do with the song. Is this also a quote from the bible?

Part of the song lyrics read:

Misinformation followed us like a plague
Nobody knew from time to time
If the plans were changed
If the plans were changed.

You can beat us with wires
You can beat us with chains
You can run out your rules
But you know you can't outrun the history train
I've seen a glorious day.

These words could probably be tied to the book's plot in some way.

Two Wally Lamb titles are also song titles: "I Know This Much is True" by Tears for Fears and "She's Come Undone" by The Guess Who. I'm sure there are a ton of books that use lyrics as their titles. Thinking and googling ....

Do movie themes count? Some are written expressly to score movie adaptations of books. One is "Exodus" by Ernest Gold for the movie made from the Leon Uris book of that title. I cannot re-read the book "Exodus" without having that tune run through my mind. The lyrics were added by Pat Boone and he made a record titled "This Land Is Mine." I know that I have read an entirely separate book with that title, but I do not know if Boone's lyrics inspired it.

On that same note, the song "Suicide Is Painless" (better known as "The Theme from MASH") was written for the movie but the incident was originally in Richard Hooker's novel, "M*A*S*H."

Frieda, I grew up in a pop-song desert but can suggest several books which take their titles from hymns/biblical quotations, although only a few of them follow the theme within their covers.

All Creatures Great and Small and All Things Wise and Wonderful the James Herriot 'vet' stories.
Morning has Broken by Annabel Farjeon, about her Aunt Eleanor F. who wrote the original hymn.
To Be a Pilgrim, the hymn by John Bunyon used as the title of Cardinal Basil Hume's book.
Lord of the Dance a book by Sydney Carter who adapted the old shaker hymn and the same title used by the Irish dancer Michael Flatley.
The well-known quote from Ecclesiastes A Time to Dance used by Rummer Godden and A Time to Mourn used as a title by several mainly Jewish writers.
There must be dozens more.

I just thought of "Streets of Laredo" which is part of the "Lonesome Dove" series by Larry McMurtry.

"Laredo" is a cowboy ballad and the title of McMurtry's book is taken from the first line of the first verse:

As I walked out in the streets of Laredo
As I walked out in Laredo one day
I spied a poor cowboy wrapped in white linen
Wrapped in white linen as cold as the clay.

The words of "Laredo" have inspired other book titles too, including "Beat the Drum Slowly" and "Play the Dead March" - both western novels that I remember although I am unsure of the author(s).

Vicki, I couldn't bring Simon's "Peace Like a River" to my mind. I wasn't even sure I had ever heard it, so I took a listen at YouTube. I recognized it instantly on the first chord of Simon's guitar and knew "I'm going to be up for a while" even before he got to it. It's strange that I had forgotten that song, and I also don't remember making any connection between it and Enger's book when I read it. Someone mentioned in the comments that the phrase "Peace Like a River" comes from the book of Isaiah. I didn't verify it but I'm not at all surprised that it comes (might have come) from the Bible. Maybe that's where Enger got it, too.

Likewise, Sheri, I didn't know "I Know This Much Is True" by Tears for Fear so sought it out, as well. I loathed the Lamb book -- it was just too much misery for me. I found a song by Spandau Ballet with that title but don't know if it's the right one (or a cover). 'Fraid it doesn't do much for me, though the sax-playing is good. The Guess Who's "She's Come Undone" is more my speed. I shied away from Lamb's book.

Lydia, movie themes count with me. Oh my, yes, that "Exodus" song is haunting. It's one of my favorites because I have played the French horn part many times. Ah, yes, the Painless Pole's 'suicide' from M*A*S*H. An aunt of mine, when she heard the words of the MASH theme, got all indignant. She said that she would pretend to have never heard them and hoped to eventually forget them entirely. But I always liked them...perhaps because I am from a more cynical generation.

Vee, I have some comments and questions for you. But I'll have to formulate them a little better, so I'm pausing for now.

Lydia, I should have remembered McMurtry's Streets of Laredo. Thanks for reminding me! I learned the words of "Laredo" before I ever saw them printed. I thought for the longest time that singers were saying "beat the drum slowly and play the fi flowly." If you listen carefully, that's exactly what most singers are singing. It actually sounds botched to me when an over-enunciator sings those words.

I thought of a few more:

"The Big Rock Candy Mountain" by Wallace Stegner - Stegner took the title from the old song about a hobo's dream of paradise where the mountains were made of rock candy, the springs ran with lemonade or whisky, and there were cigarette trees. It is appropriate for the story since the main character of the novel is a footloose dreamer.

The song "House at Pooh Corner" by Loggins & Messina is, of course, based on "Winnie the Pooh" books by A. A. Milne.

"Dance a Little Longer" is the title of a book by Jane Roberts Wood. It comes from the Bob Wills and Texas Playboys' song "Stay All Night, Stay a Little Longer." Willie Nelson's rendition gave homage to Wills, and many others have recorded it. It is a standard at live-band C&W dances.

The refrain:
Stay all night, stay a little longer
Dance all night, dance a little longer
Pull off your coat, throw in the corner
Don't see why you can't stay a little longer.

Wow, Lydia, you've been thinking hard. And I benefit. Thank you!

Thanks to everyone! This is great fun for me: finding the songs and listening to them; trying to understand why certain lyrics and phrases resonate to the point of writing a story around them, and why certain stories inspire a songwriter.

Lydia, do you recommend Stegner's The Big Rock Candy Mountain? I've read some of his other books, including the novel Angle of Repose but I favor his nonfiction, especially his histories of the Mormon country and the Colorado River explorations. I think the allusion of the title to the song "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" has rather put me off. It somehow seems jokey, but I really can't imagine Stegner being frivolous. The Angle of Repose title is exquisite, alluding as it does to a geological term, so I'm thinking that any title Stegner used was apt for his particular tale.

Vee, I figure there are more book titles lifted from hymns than any other type of song. Many of the hymn phrases themselves can be traced back to the Bible, and in the case of English back to the King James Version, particularly. Those Elizabethans/Jacobeans sure had a way with words. But I've noticed how many allusions in books I've run across to Blake's "Jerusalem." I do find the words affecting, to an extent, but without Parry's music I rather doubt it would be as arousing -- at least to me, and I've wondered if that isn't also true to most Britons. What do you think?

I'm not familiar with the Farjeon "Morning has Broken." The song I know by that title was performed by Cat Stevens, ne Steven Demetre Georgiou, now Yusuf Islam.

I heard a lot of hymns when I was a kid, but not many of the words stuck with me -- perhaps because the hymns sung in my church were usually by various Johanns, untranslated.

Frieda, I'm not sure if this fits with what you're looking for, but I began thinking about book references in songs. The ones that came immediately to mind were Lord of the Rings references in two Led Zepplin songs, "Ramble On" and "Battle of Evermore".

Mine's a tale that can't be told, my freedom I hold dear. / How years ago in days of old, when magic filled the air. / T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair. / But Gollum, and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her, her, her....yeah.

And

The pain of war cannot exceed the woe of aftermath /
The drums will shake the castle wall, the ring wraiths ride in black, Ride on.

And one other album title that is the same as a book title: Nanci Griffith's "Other Voices, Other Rooms" which took it's title from the Truman Capote novel of the same name.

James Baldwin's Go Tell It On the Mountain. I think that may come from an old hymn. I read the book so very long ago that I have no recollection of how the title tied in with the story.

Frieda, below a quick burst of Morning Has Broken from the choir of St Mary's Edinburgh. Cat Steven's used the same tune, altered the tempo and made it all 'breathy' and a bit Dillon-ish IMO. It was a favourite at morning 'assembly' at junior school, along with All Things Bright and Beautiful and Onward Christian Soldiers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Morning Has Broken

Friedag, I do recommend the Stegner book, "The Big Rock Candy Mountain." It is my second favorite after "Angle of Repose." In spite of the title, there is nothing frivolous about the story or the writing. It is supposed to be semi-autobiographical, the character Bo Mason represents Stegner's father and the son called Bruce in the book is Stegner himself. Stegner must have fictionalized parts of it because it is a novel, but the relationships are drawn to seem authentic and the situations are realistic. It is fictional "realism" at its finest, imo.

I tried singing those words in "Laredo" and guess what? I found myself saying "fi-flowly." I set my son up to sing it, and sure enough he sang it that way, too. You are right, Friedag. It naturally flows like that.

When the rock version of "Morning has Broken" came out, in about 1983, I surprised my son by singing it.
"How do you know that?"
Like Vee, we sang it at school assembly and I just added the different style!
Don't you just love 'giving it' to the kids?!!

I got my husband involved in this fun exercise. He suggests "Jolie Blon's Bounce" by James Lee Burke, the title taken from the Cajun standard "Jolie Blon."

Sheri, the lines from the Led Zeppelin songs are exactly what I'm looking for in one of the categories: songs/songwriters inspired by books. I have egg on my face, though. I have listened to "Battle of Evermore" and "Ramble On" for nearly forty years, and liked them, but I didn't know they contained references to The Lord of the Rings. I never read LOTR. I guess it shows I'm more susceptible to the music and the singer's voice than to the meaning of the lyrics. Thanks for enlightening me on the words!

I'm having to respond piecemeal as my verbiage seems to overwhelm the system. I submit a post and it goes poof! Is this happening to anyone else?

Anyway, Vee, your link to the Edinburgh choir proves the charm of youthful singers -- my silver amalgams are still zinging. Yes, it's the same tune and mostly the same words I heard, but I wasn't introduced to them until well into my twenties. For some reason that particular hymn never made it to my part of the world until (probably) after Cat Stevens did his version. We didn't have in my region of the U.S. quite the same tradition of singing at school assemblies. I do recall singing "America the Beautiful" and Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" a few times, but never on a regular basis. Do UK students still sing those particular songs you mentioned?

Vee, I don't know if you glided over my question re "Jerusalem" on purpose. It might have got lost in my excessive wordiness or I tiptoed too delicated. I know it can be a wearying subject to some, but as an outsider I find the attitudes intriguing and puzzling. My English friend says "Jerusalem" as an alternate anthem for England is absurd for a secular country. But I take it that hers might be a minority opinion. However, the way she considers it does seem to make it an odd choice, except for the rousing music. But we Americans have our own oddball anthem, not for the words so much as for the choice of tune -- one that three-quarters of us can't sing without screeching.

Frieda, re your question about school assemblies and Jerusalem in particular.
It used to be the law that every school began each day with a form of religious 'observance'. As far as I know this is still the case, although the large 'secondary' schools get round it by claiming lack of space/time etc. But junior schools, even the non-denominational ones, will have a couple of prayers and a hymn plus 'announcements'. And C of E and RC kids will probably attend weekly/occasional services in their local church.
Of course these days, as your friend says we have become a far more 'secular' country plus we have had a huge influx of people bringing in a wide range of faiths, all of which are meant to be catered for within the 'Religious Education' systems of each school area. RE is still taught as a 'lesson' up to exam standard. That is certainly how I learnt the words and tunes of so many hymns.

As far as Jerusalem goes. I feel the words don't mean much on their own but with that wonderfully confidant Victorian music, it would be difficult not to be moved by hearing it sung en masse . . . have you ever been/or heard the 'Last Night of the Proms' from the Royal Albert Hall and large parks around the UK when Jerusalem and Land of Hope and Glory etc are sung by the thousands in the audience? It may be considered very 'jingoistic' by the nay-sayers but it is a truly rousing sound.

Below is an extract from the Last Night of the Proms. I hope it doesn't make your fillings tingle . . .luckily I, unlike millions of my countrymen have never needed any 'work' on my teeth so my head is quite amalgam-free. ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Last Night of the Proms

Lucky you, Vee! I am one of the dentally challenged.
I believe this problem in general was caused mainly by the cost of dental work in the depression and a lack of dentists during the war. The advent of the National Health Service came too late for correcting problems for many people. I know this came as a shock to visiting Americans! In "84 Charing Cross" Helen Hanff, I seem to recall, mentions that she gave up her trip to England to have root canal work done. I would have ignored that advice and travelled! My Australian son has spent a fortune on his children's crooked teeth so they at least have nice "dentist smiles"!

Vee that Proms link was wonderful! I couldn't make out half the lyrics (I'll look them up later), but the music and the voices were lovely and quite moving. I know I've heard that music before, I just never knew what it was.

Frieda, I'm a LoTR geek from way back, those Zepplin lyrics are some of my favorites. One of my son's friends listens to a German power metal/speed metal band called Blind Guardian that did an entire album ("Nightfall on Middle Earth") based on Tolkien's Silmarillion.

Lydia, it's good to hear you're enjoying some kicks out of this thread. That's one of the things I most like about RP: the habitues are willing to think and tell you about it.:-)

You've sold Stegner's BRCM to me. It could be just the thing to get me out of my fiction funk. Tell your DH: Merci for Jolie Blon's Bounce and I would 'shor be glad fer 'im to see me'. I was thinking of the Axeman's Jazz just the other day, but I didn't know if there was a particular jazz song to play that day to keep the Axeman away.

Vee, I was never at the Last Night, but I've witnessed the phenomenon of the UK crowds singing "Jerusalem" and "Land of Hope and Glory." The first time I saw/heard it was in a pub. I was astonished, because Americans in pubs/bars don't normally do that sort of thing -- or at least they didn't until the emergence of joints with karaoke.

I'm with Sheri about your Proms link: no fillings vibrating but a bit of good-type spine tingling with this one. It really is something, even to an American. I have only played "Jerusalem" myself a few times, all in the UK when I sat in for an absent horn player (once on baritone). "Land of Hope and Glory" is known to most Americans' ears (though probably not the words), because it has been appropriated for every graduation procession from kindergarten through university -- I've heard it referred to as "that graduation music."

Sheri, Tolkien surely added a lot of grist to the mills!

I can name two romance authors with a number of titles inspired by songs. The first is Susan Andersen, with titles like Be My Baby, Baby, Don't Go and All Shook Up, and second is Susan Elizabeth Philips with titles like Ain't She Sweet?, Nobody's Baby But Mine, Dream a Little Dream, This Heart of Mine, Fancy Pants and Lady Be Good.

Then there is an Icelandic mystery author named ÃÂrni ÃÂórarinsson, who has a series of books about the same character, all with the translated titles of foreign pops songs as titles. Examples include Season of the Witch, Angel of the Morning and Death of a Clown. I think one of the books is being translated into English - it may be Season of the Witch.

I can't believe that I have been reading this thread for a week, and never thought of one of my favorite "easy reader" authors: Mary Higgins Clark.
Just to name a few:
I'll Walk Along
The Shadow of Your Smile,
The Second Time Around,
Nighttime is My Time
Let Me Call you Sweetheart

Friedag, DH says there was no special jazz song, just any music playing that was identifiably jazz. The Axeman promised not to harm the listeners in those places. Did you read Julie Smith's "The Axeman's Jazz"?

I thought of Walter Mosley's mystery "Devil in a Blue Dress." I thought there was a song, but apparently I was mistaken. Mitch Ryder's song is "Devil WITH a Blue Dress ON." However, woman in blue dresses have been portrayed as devils for a long long time, I discovered. Why blue? I could understand red.

Friedag, I have something for you at the link below. I have never tried this before so I hope it works.

Here is a link that might be useful: A Gift for Friedag

Netla, I may not know the authors you've mentioned, but I do know all the songs! The 1920s are represented with "Ain't She Sweet?"; there's Elvis Presley, Donovan, and Mama Cass... What fun! Thanks for your input.

Veronica, I've read a couple of Mary Higgins Clark's books and enjoyed them. I can't recall the titles, though. Just as with Netla's songs, I know all those on your list. I'm glad you thought of them, because they would never have come to me!

Lydia, I think I read Smith's book. I learned of the Axeman somewhere, but it could have been in Gumbo Ya-Ya or by word of mouth. I haven't a clue why women in blue dresses are thought to be 'devils'.

OMG! I can't believe I'm using that loathsome abbreviation, but I'm too floored to come up with anything else. Lydia, I am astonished that you remembered! I had given up checking. I notice that it's a fairly recent upload so you got onto it quickly. Thank you so very, very, very much. Now I'm going to go dissolve for a while. :-)