So I was mucking about the internet, a few days ago, trying to find out about Peter Gabriel's "Mercy Street" which is the one song I can still stand repeatedly listening to, from his album, So. I actually wanted to know how its lyrics and over-all kind-of-darkly anguished ambiance was informed. Apparently, the song is inspired by Anne Sexton's poem, by the same name.
Anyway, this isn't really about critiquing Gabriel's impression of Sextons work as much as it's about how literary pieces such as poetry or even books have influenced your music or even inspired specific works of your own.
I think I'm sorta odd for a composer in that poetry, literature, life experiences, emotions, etc. don't inspire me to create music. Actually, the only thing that inspires me to make music is music. My songs are never about a particular subject until/unless one of the singers adds lyrics to them.
