Quiz 10 - 10 questions on songs that have reference to work of literature - Answers

 1.If you were asked to develop a connection between William Wordsworth and the Heavy metal group Iron Maiden, how would you go about it?

Ans: "Rime of the Ancient Mariner." William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge collaborated on a collection of their poetry and jointly published a book titled 'Lyrical Ballads' in 1798. 'Lyrical Ballads' included a Coleridge's work titled "Rime of the Ancient Mariner." Iron Maidens "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is a retelling of this work.
A memorable stanza from the work
"Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.

At 13 minutes and 45 seconds in length, it was Iron Maiden's longest song for over 31 years, until it was surpassed by the 18-minute "Empire of the Clouds" from the 2015 release The Book of Souls.

2.Which song by Kate Bush, which was her debut single is the retelling of a famous work of literature?

Ans: The Song "Wuthering Heights" which is a re-telling of Emily Bronte's novel.

3." One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small,
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all.
Go ask Alice
When she's ten feet tall"
These are the first few lines of a song which tells partly the story of ' Alice in wonderland'. Which song and of which group?

Ans:'White Rabbit' by Jefferson Airplane.

4. Lyrics of this song, from the movie "Ek Musaafir Ek Haseena"  are from the couplets written by which well known poet.
They roughly translated to "My beloved speaks Turkish, and Turkish I do not know;
How I wish if her tongue would have been in my mouth."

Ans: Amir Khusrau

5.This song from the movie Lal Qilla ( 1960), has the lyrics of a poem written by an Indian emperor, who was also a prolific poet. Incidentally part of this song is also used on the emperors grave as his Epitaph. Which Emperor ?

Ans:  Bahadur Shah Zafar the last Mughal emperor. The lines "Kitna hai badnaseeb Zafar; dafn ke liye do ghaz zameen bhi na mili ku-e-yaar mein" is quite prophetic.

6.The songs 'Ramble On', 'The Misty Mountain Hop' and 'The Battle of Evermore' by Led Zeppelin contain reference to which epic novel including names of characters featured in the work?

Ans: J.R.R. Tolkeins 'Lord of the rings' trilogy

7.'The Grapes of Wrath' by John Steinbeck is a landmark work in American literature,one that captures the horrors of the Great Depression as it probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America. Which American rock star has written a song based on this work?

Ans : Bruce Springsteen. and the song being ' The ghost of Tom Joad'; Also the song "Tom Joad, Parts 1 and 2" by Woody Guthrie retells the same work.
The character Tom Joad, features in the  novel The Grapes of Wrath,

8. The lyrics of which popular song are a taken from the third chapter of Ecclesiastes found in the bible?

Ans:Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)  by the Byrds.

In the U.S., the song holds distinction as the #1 hit with the oldest lyrics (Book of Ecclesiastes), theoretically authored by King Solomon.

9. Layla and Majnun is a love story that originated in 5th Century Arabia. Later it was adopted by the 12th century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi. Nizami's book, was gifted to this well known singer/ musician, who was so moved by the story that he composed a song based on it that did very well. Another song titled "I Am Yours", found in the same album was infact a Nizami composition. Which singer and which song am I talking about?

Ans: Singer : Eric Clapton , Song : Layla.

10.  The lyrics of this song are a poem written by the fifth King of Oudh who also became the last Nawab of Awadh, as a lament when he was exiled from his beloved Lucknow by the British Raj before the failed Rebellion of 1857. The poem was made into a song in at least two movies, the earliest one being featured here, from the 1938 movie Street Singer. Which well known patron of arts am I talking about ?

Ans: Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. He is widely credited with the revival of Kathak as a major form of classical Indian dance.

Have a nice day.