Richard Harris, who played Professor Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter movies, had a hit in 1968 with "MacArthur Park."
"Every Breath You Take" by The Police feels like a love song, but a careful listen reveals it's about a stalker. Sting called it "a nasty little song, really rather evil. It's about jealousy and surveillance and ownership."
"Love Is A Battlefield" was written as a ballad, but Pat Benatar's guitarist/husband turned it into an uptempo song.
"True" by Spandau Ballet has some lyrics based on parts of the Vladimir Nabokov novel Lolita, including "Take your seaside arms," which in the book is "That little girl with her seaside limbs."
The title of Al Stewart's "Year Of The Cat" comes from Vietnamese astrology. The Year of the Cat comes every 12 Years: 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023...
Judas Priest's "Evening Star" is a Christmas carol that describes the journey of the Magi from a first person perspective.
When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.
Collaborating with T Bone Burnett, Leslie Phillips changed her name and left her Christian label behind - Robert Plant, who recorded one of her songs on Raising Sand, is a fan.
Switchfoot's frontman and main songwriter on what inspires the songs and how he got the freedom to say exactly what he means.
Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.
With Bernie Taupin, Martin co-wrote the #1 hits "We Built This City" and "These Dreams." After writing the Pretty Woman song for Go West, he had his own hit with "In the House of Stone and Light."
"Come On Eileen" was a colossal '80s hit, but the band - far more appreciated in their native UK than stateside - released just three albums before their split. Now, Dexys is back.