"Are You Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz is from the perspective of Jesus Christ: "I am the chosen I'm the one."
The Ben Folds Five song "Brick" is about a difficult time when Folds' girlfriend got an abortion.
The idea for "The Man Comes Around" came to Johnny Cash from a dream he had where he was in Buckingham Palace and the Queen said to him, "Johnny Cash, you're just like a thorn tree in a whirlwind."
A key line in "Africa" is "I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become," which is about drifting away from what you really want in life. Toto keyboard player David Paich, who wrote the song, felt his work was consuming him.
Pink Floyd's "Talkin' Hawkin'" uses a sample of Stephen Hawking's synthesized voice taken from a speech he made for a 1994 British Telecom commercial.
Stevie Nicks got the title for the Fleetwood Mac song "Silver Springs" from the city of Silver Spring, Maryland, but the song has nothing to do with the city - it's a message to her bandmate Lindsey Buckingham following their split.
Brenda talks about the inspiration that drove her to write hit songs like "Get Here" and "Piano in the Dark," and why a lack of formal music training can be a songwriter's best asset.
A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional.
Armed with a childhood spent devouring books, Mike Scott's heart was stolen by the punk rock scene of 1977. Not surprisingly, he would go on to become the most literate of rockers.
Howard explains his positive songwriting method and how uplifting songs can carry a deeper message.
Billie Jean, Delilah, Sara, Laura and Sharona - do you know who the girls in the songs really are?
Evelyn McDonnell, editor of the book Women Who Rock, on why the Supremes are just as important as Bob Dylan.