"Sing" was inspired by a girl that Ed Sheeran met in Las Vegas in the summer of 2013, when "one thing led to another and now she's kissing my mouth."
Phil Collins' "Take Me Home" is about a patient in a mental institution and was inspired by the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
When The Kinks released "Lola," most people didn't realize Lola was a man. "I was dancing with this beautiful blonde, then we went out into the daylight and I saw her stubble," Ray Davies said of the inspiration.
Bing Crosby debuted the song "White Christmas" in the 1942 movie Holiday Inn, where he plays a New Yorker stuck in Southern California for Christmas and missing the snow. The song became a Christmas classic and the basis for the 1954 movie White Christmas, also starring Crosby.
An Allen Ginsberg line from his poem Howl inspired "Machinehead" by Bush: "Machine says I saw the best minds of my generation."
"Don't Dream It's Over" is the biggest hit for Crowded House, whose lead singer, Neil Finn, sang it on tour when he joined Fleetwood Mac. He wrote the song when he was feeling a bit lost as a way of urging himself on.
Just like Darrin was replaced on Bewitched, groups have swapped out original members, hoping we wouldn't notice.
"London Bridge," "Ring Around the Rosie" and "It's Raining, It's Pouring" are just a few examples of shockingly morbid children's songs.
Wolfgang Van Halen breaks down the songs on his debut album, Mammoth WVH, and names the definitive Van Halen songs from the Sammy and Dave eras.
The Bush frontman on where he finds inspiration for lyrics, if his "machine head" is a guitar tuner, and the stories behind songs from the album The Kingdom.
Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.
The first of Billy's five #1 hits was the song that propelled Madonna to stardom. You'd think that would get you a backstage pass, wouldn't you?