
Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" is about Christie Brinkley, who he married, but it started as a song about Elle McPherson, who he also went out with.

"The Cave" by Mumford & Sons is based on the philosophy of Plato and his work called "Allegory of the Cave."

"Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty is set in Los Angeles, as he mentions Reseda, Mulholland and Ventura Boulevard.

Lucinda Williams' track "Compassion" is based on a poem by her father, lauded Arkansas poet Miller Williams.

Paul McCartney's favorite song that he wrote for someone else is Cilla Black's 1968 UK Top 10 hit "Step Inside Love."

Hanson's megahit "MMMbop," released when they were teenagers, is surprisingly profound. Zac Hanson told Songfacts it "represents a frame of time or the futility of life."
Webb talks about his classic songs "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman" and "MacArthur Park."
One of the most popular classical vocalists in the land is lining up a trip to space, which is the inspiration for many of her songs.
Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.
Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett are just a few of the artists who have looked to Clark for insightful, intelligent songs.
Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.
In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.