Songs We Think Should Be Books

Posted February 23, 2016 by Rowena in Discussions | 4 Comments

Rowena: We missed last week’s Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and the Bookish) and it looked like a good one so we decided to write up a post anyway. The topic was Songs that should be Books.

1. Waiting by Sammy J.

Song Lyrics: “…cause I feel you, I can hear you, I can’t wait to have you in my arms. Each day I feel like I am on my way, I’m getting closer everyday, I am daydreaming about you and all the things that we could do…I’m waiting on you.”

I can totally see this song as a book. A cute and quirky contemporary read where the heroine has a big crush on her neighbor and she’s kind of on the goofy side and embarrasses herself every time she runs into him just like the girl in this video. She doesn’t think he’s noticed her but he does. He thinks she’s cute, charming and a refreshing change from the women he usually dates. Things keep them a part but eventually they get it together and they fall in love. sigh

2. Happy by Leona Lewis.

Song Lyrics: “Someone once told me that you have to choose, what you win or lose, you can’t have everything…I can’t stand by the side and watch this life pass me by, so unhappy but safe as could be…”

Leona Lewis sings a lot of songs that I think would make perfect romance novels and this is one of them. If you watch this entire video, it’s like a freaking romance novel. Or maybe a chick lit novel, one where the focus of the entire book is on the main character’s journey to self-discovery. The very first time I saw this video, I cried like the sap that I am.

I can see it now, the book starts with our protagonist meeting up with friends and is happy and hopeful for things to progress with her man only to show up and see that he’s with someone else. She spends a lot of time thinking back on everything she thought was true only to find out that she missed her opportunity at being happy with her man and it serves as a wake up call for her. She can’t be happy if she doesn’t take chances.

3. Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton.

Song Lyrics: “Used to spend my nights out in the bar room, liquor was the only love I’d know, but you rescued me from reaching for the bottle and brought me from being too far gone…”

I actually want this book. The hero is grieving for something hard and he’s spiraling out of control with booze and women and then the heroine walks into his life, maybe it’s someone from his past or a stranger that intrigues him and she heals him with her love. Haha, cheesy I know but I’d read that sucker. So I thought some more on this one and I just described Unrequited by Jen Frederick. I don’t care, I want another one.

4. Everything Has Changed by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran.

Song Lyrics: “All I knew this morning when I woke, Is I know something now, know something now I didn’t before. And all I’ve seen since eighteen hours ago, Is green eyes and freckles and your smile, In the back of my mind making me feel like…”

I could see this as one of those best friend romances. They’re both going about their business, maybe they’re already in a relationship or maybe they’re not but one minute they’re laughing about something and the light catches her hair just so and suddenly everything changes…haha.

I must really be into corny romances because that whole thing sounded cheesy af but I don’t care, I want to read that book.

5. Dear No One by Tori Kelly.

Song Lyrics: “I like being independent, Not so much of an investment, No one to tell me what to do. I like being by myself, Don’t gotta entertain anybody else, No one to answer to, but sometimes I just want someone to hold, someone to give me their jacket when it’s cold…Pick me up, pull me close, be my man, I will love you till the end.”

I can see this being another one of those best friend plots where the girl is independent and she’s strong and fierce and all of the qualities women like to be when all of a sudden she’s hit with a case of wedding or baby mania and all of a sudden she is this:

Single

…and she’s starts reevaluating her situation. While her friends are busy getting married and sharing their lives with someone, she realizes she wants that too and the person she wants it with has been right under her nose the whole time. Her best friend or brother’s best friend. Someone…but it has to be with someone who will celebrate her independence and love her the way she is.

Holly: This is actually a really hard one for me, because I almost always add soundtracks in my head to the books I read. Or I’ll hear a song on the radio and assign it to a book I’ve read in the past. So basically what I’m saying is all these songs are ones that I already associate with a story..but I’m down to read another.

6. Big Girls Don’t Cry by Fergie.

Song Lyrics: The path that I’m walking, I must go alone, I must take the baby steps till I’m full grown, full grown, Fairy tales don’t always have a happy ending, do they?, And I foresee the dark ahead if I stay.

I love the idea of a woman realizing she needs to take a step back from her current relationship to find herself. Maybe they started dating young and she’s never been out on her own, or maybe she recognizes the relationship isn’t healthy, or just that she needs her independence. Some time later, after she’s found herself and feels good about the person she is, she meets a new man, or maybe the original comes back into her life…

7. It’s Been Awhile by Staind.

Song Lyrics: And it’s been awhile, Since I said I’m sorry, And it’s been awhile, Since I’ve seen the way the candles light your face, And it’s been awhile, But I can still remember just the way you taste…

Tortured hot guy pines after his lost love when all of a sudden…bam, there she is, out of the blue, back in his life. Does he risk heartbreak again by going after her, or does he walk away?

8. Cumbersome by Seven Mary Three.

Song Lyrics: I’d like to believe we could reconcile the past, Resurrect those bridges with an ancient glance, But my old stone face can’t seem to bring her down, She remembers bridges, burns them to the ground…

I’d love to read a book where a good man realizes he’s holding on to nothing with his current girl. There’s too much pain and heartbreak between them to fix. So they go their separate ways..only to come back together again. Or maybe he meets someone new and runs into his ex down the road and realizes they’re both better off.

9. Lightning Crashes by Live.

Song Lyrics: Lightning crashes a new mother cries, Her placenta falls to the floor, The angel opens her eyes, The confusion sets in, Before the doctor can even close the door…

The first two lines of this song make me think of a tragic loss. Maybe for a historical? The hero lost his wife and child, and he’s been a poor tortured soul ever since..until he meets our intrepid heroine.

10. Silent Lucidity by Queensryche.

Song Lyrics: It’s a place where you will learn, To face your fears, retrace the years, And ride the whims of your mind, Commanding in another world, Suddenly you hear and see, This magic new dimension…

I picture a paranormal of some kind. In a world where AI rules, and people live inside their minds, a woman creates a new dimension…

What about you? Have you heard a song that you thought would be perfect as a book? Or do you know a book that fits in with the songs we’ve chosen? Please share your recommendations with us!


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4 responses to “Songs We Think Should Be Books

  1. CelineB

    Thank You by Dido. I just love how she’s having this horrible day, but it doesn’t matter because she’s got the one she loves to make it better.

  2. Jen

    Oh I have a song! The Guy That Says Goodbye to You Is Out of His Mind by Griffin House, which is begging to be a romance. I love this song and every time I hear it I desperately wish I could read a book about these characters. It would be a contemporary, maybe a friends-to-lovers or little sister story. I always envision that maybe her family doesn’t treat her great, like maybe a parent who constantly criticizes her or places unfair demands on her. And then she struggles in love and is in a vulnerable moment, and they hook up, but he’s got some sort of plan for himself in his mind and doesn’t see how she could fit in it, but in the end he realizes the plan doesn’t mean shit if she’s not in his life. Haha, as you can see I have this one all planned out. 🙂

    • Hey you! I had to look that song up since I hadn’t heard it before but you’re right. I can totally see that entire story unfold. I see it as a best friends to lovers contemporary romance. Thanks for the heads up on this song.

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