Matching Songs to Books in the English Curriculum

BY KERA MATTHEWS '24

Do you happen to be reading a book for English class right now—or at least the Sparknotes version of it? Do you wish there was a way you could tolerate the endless pages of dumb character choices, pretentious writing, and cliché circumstances? Well, fear not: I have the perfect solution for you! For those who need a fun escape from rigorous literature, I give you a playlist that encapsulates the essence of the English curriculum.

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
“Love Story” by Taylor Swift: It’s this song’s destiny to be matched with this book. From the upbeat, joyous instrumental to the explicit usages of the characters names and plotlines, these two fit just like a puzzle piece. Taylor put the essence of these characters’ spontaneous tendencies into her voice and the lyrics, and just like for Juliet and Romeo, it would be wrong to force these estranged lovers apart.

Runners-up:

• “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry: this is what I imagine was going on in their heads. “Let’s run away and don’t ever look back” has the kind of spontaneity that can only be described as the Juliet and Romeo mentality.
• “Yesterday” by The Beatles: if Romeo and Juliet was a musical, we all know that Romeo would be singing “Yesterday/Love was such an easy game to play” when it wasn’t even that serious. And then Juliet would pick up in Verse Two after Romeo kills himself for nothing. 

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
“Gold Digger” by Kanye West: I mean, it’s right in the title, people. And hey, I respect the hustle. Just one glance at Pemberley and I would be the one doing the proposing. Plus, Lizzie’s got people to take care of! But you better believe that Lizzie won’t be going after any man who is dirt poor, especially when a grumpy, loaded man is right in front of her. At least she’s following her mother’s wishes.

Runners-up:

• “Gives You Hell” by The All American Rejects: it’s not like Darcy and Lizzie were ever not in love with each other, but this punk rock sound paired with the anger, pettiness, and spite in the lyrics represents those emotions in their back and forth banter. Lizzie would definitely sing this to Darcy while he keeps a straight face and acts unfazed, but is secretly thinking the song in his head.
• “True Love” by Pink: Darcy was most definitely singing “But I hate you, I really hate you/So much I think it must be/True love, true love” right before the proposal, and then after seeing Pemberley, Elizabeth got there too. This justifies them being the epitome of the enemies to lovers trope, and how no other enemies to lovers book has managed to replicate what they did.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
“Talkin’ 2 Myself” by Eminem: After falling down a rabbit hole of depressing songs, I finally landed on this one as my top pick. The whole book is essentially Holden Caulfield talking to himself because of the constant, incessant rambling, but on top of that, “No one seems to know [his] struggle/ And everything [he] come[s] from”. Eminem also talks about how he made some bad decisions as a result, and Holden’s independent journey in the book is full of those.

Runners-up:

• “I’m Just a Kid” by Simple Plan: the whole time he was out getting drinks and talking to people he barely knew, all I could think was that he was just a kid. The self-awareness in this song, though, is precisely what makes it so perfect for him, and some of the sentiments in the lyrics overlap with those in “Talkin’ 2 Myself”
• “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” by Whitney Houston: the bottom line is that this guy is lonely. And what better way to fill that void than to dance with somebody who loves him? I could also see him singing this (jokingly or not) to Jane Gallagher.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare
“I’ll Make a Man out of You” from (the legendary) Mulan: If this isn’t the song that exposes Macbeth’s cowardice, I don’t know what is. It gives me so much joy to reverse the roles of this song’s message and have Lady Macbeth be the one to put Macbeth in his place. She is the one in control, and she is the only reason Macbeth ended up in power. Doing all that planning behind the scenes while simultaneously demeaning Macbeth’s “manliness” was nothing short of iconic—and so is this song.

Runners-up:

• “Lose Yourself” by Eminem: “His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy/ There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti.” Enough said.
• “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen: this absolutely starts the final battle and what would play in the modern version of a Macbeth film. As both sides slow motion run towards each other with swords and vengeance, “Out of the doorway bullets rip” and it all goes downhill from there.

That’s everything! If you are feeling like taking a break from the agony that is reading for school, and you want to ignore those responsibilities, ignore away and jam out to these hits!
(P.S. There are some extra songs sprinkled in this playlist that I didn’t provide descriptions for, but that you will enjoy nonetheless)