Myths and Folktales

Next up for the digital bibliography: songs that allude to myths and folktales. There are a ton more than I have here.


"Ulysses" - Franz Ferdinand

The title references Ulysses, which is the Roman name of Odysseus from Homer's The Odyssey. It also references the journey taken by the hero in The Odyssey:
Oh, oh then suddenly you know
You're never going home
You're never, you're never, you're never
You're never, you're never, you're never

"King Midas In Reverse" - The Hollies

This song references the story of King Midas, where everything he touches turns to gold. The Hollies have spun it that instead of gold, "all he touches turns to dust."

"Hilf Mir" - Rammstein

Now I didn't listen to the whole song, both because I don't know German and because the snippet I heard sounds pretty nightmare-inducing. But from what was included with this reference, it refers to Struwwelpeter, which is a German book of horrifying cautionary tales for children. The song specifically alludes to "The Dreadful Story of the Matches," where, from what I recall, a child plays with matches and dies in a fire. A translation of the German lyrics has been included in this video.

"The Crane Wife Parts 1-3" - The Decemberists


We listened to this song in class. This video has all 3 parts together, so that's why I picked it. It tells the Japanese story of The Crane Wife, a picture book version of which was written by Odds Bodkin. The three parts tell the whole story, and they're really pretty beautiful.

That's what I've got for mythology and folktales, though it's far from all. There's still a lot more music to come that references other works of children's literature and children's culture.