Bruce Springsteen performs in Providence, R.I., in January 1985 during the ‘Born in the U.S.A. Tour.’
Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
In 1984, the album was atop the charts, and Ronald Reagan, running for reelection, told a New Jersey audience that he and the Boss shared the same American dream. Springsteen vehemently disagreed.
Beth Garrabrant
In the album, Swift claims that she can use heartbreak as a stimulus for creativity, rather than allow it to dictate her everyday life.
‘Fearless’ on stage − and in introspection.
Ashok Kumar/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Introspection, argument, exploring paradoxes: These are hallmarks of great artists, not just philosophers.
Tutu Puoane’s Wrapped in Rhythm features words by poet Lebo Mashile.
© Tom Vandewalle
Wrapped in Rhythm powerfully uses the poems of Lebo Mashile as lyrics.
L-R: Mike Skinner, Ray Davies, James Smith of Yard Act and Lady Leshurr.
Edd Westmacott/John Atashian/Thomas Jackson/UPI/Alamy Stock Photo
Social and literary realism have long detailed people’s everyday lives – and they have been a staple in popular music for decades.
Taylor Swift and Clara Bow.
Imagespace/Alamy Stock Photo/Brewster Magazine
Bow and Swift have shared unrelenting scrutiny, overshadowing their hard work and success.
The cover to Dark Side of the Moon: Redux.
Roger Waters
In Redux, Waters goes from the extreme of understatement in his earlier work to the extreme of overstatement and overwriting
Buffett’s first hit, ‘Come Monday,’ was written when the artist was deeply depressed and suicidal.
Bettmann/Getty Images
For Buffett, escapism was not merely some fiddling flight of fancy. It acknowledged the brutalities and indignities of everyday life.
Literary devices abound in Taylor Swift’s body of work.
John Shearer/TAS18 via Getty Images
Swift, like all writers, draws from her literary forebears to craft new works.
For Paul McCartney, songwriting involved a convergence of memory, experience and happenstance.
Evening Standard/Getty Images
The ‘Eureka!’ moment is a myth – an altogether naïve and fanciful account of innovation.
EPA/STEPHEN MORRISON
Displaced by a landslide, Ugandan survivors could not speak the language of the region where they were relocated - but music allowed them a voice.