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Quiz about Famous Writers in Popular Music

Famous Writers in Popular Music Quiz

Listening to my i-pod recently, I noticed a famous writer's name pop up in a song by Blur. Which got me wondering about how many other writers are mentioned in songs? A scan of my i-pod revealed the following. Enjoy!

A multiple-choice quiz by thelovelylulu. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
thelovelylulu

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
251,871

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
859

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. This is the song that started this whole quiz. Blur's song "Country House" contains the lyric "He's reading xxxxxx, knocking down prozac" Which French writer do Blur refer to? Hint

Rousseau

Proust

Balzac

Flaubert

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. In their song, "Stranger Than Fiction", Bad Religion wanted to know why which famous American author of the 20th century "cracked"? Hint

J D Salinger

F Scott Fitzgerald

Ernest Hemingway

John Steinbeck

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. One of my favoutite bands, The Smiths, has a song about one of Shakespeare's female relatives. Which was it? Hint

Sister

Mother

Aunt

Daughter

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Question 4 of 10

4. Speaking of female relatives, Billy Bragg and Wilco (along with Woody Guthrie) wrote a song about which famous American poet's niece? Hint

Walt Whitman

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Emily Dickinson

Ogden Nash

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. Another one of my favourite bands, The Clash, mentioned the name of a famous poet in their song "Spanish Bombs"....who was it? Hint

Lorca

Neruda

Byron

Hughes

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. Another one of my favourite bands is The Pogues. Which Irish poet, novelist, playwright and short story writer features in their song "Streams of Whisky"? Hint

Wilde

Yeats

O'Casey

Behan

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. Some songs contain multiple literary references. The Smiiths "Cemetary Gates" is one. Morrissey sings that "Keats and Yeats are on your side while ______ is on mine? Hint

Wilde

Byron

Shelley

Casey

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. How many Irish writers are named in the Dexy's Midnight Runner's song "Burn It Down"? Hint

Four

Eight

Three

Six

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. Green Day's "St Jimmy" is the son of which famous American gothic writer? Hint

Henry James

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Edgar Allen Poe

Washington Irving

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. Billy Joel's "We didn't Start the Fire" contains the names of a few famous writers. Who is not mentioned in the song? Hint

Pasternak

Nabokov

Kerouac

Hemingway

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This is the song that started this whole quiz. Blur's song "Country House" contains the lyric "He's reading xxxxxx, knocking down prozac" Which French writer do Blur refer to?

Answer: Balzac

Balzac was a 19th century French novelist and playwright. He generally wrote farcial comedies about French society.

2. In their song, "Stranger Than Fiction", Bad Religion wanted to know why which famous American author of the 20th century "cracked"?

Answer: Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway killed himself by a shotgun blast to the face at age 61.

3. One of my favoutite bands, The Smiths, has a song about one of Shakespeare's female relatives. Which was it?

Answer: Sister

The Smiths were formed in Manchester in 1982 by Steven Patrick Morrissey and Johhny Marr. Although the band received critical and commercial success they broke up in 1987 due to disagreements between the two. Asked about a reformation, Morrissey said he would rather eat one of his own testicles. He's a vegetarian so it's unlikely!

4. Speaking of female relatives, Billy Bragg and Wilco (along with Woody Guthrie) wrote a song about which famous American poet's niece?

Answer: Walt Whitman

Billy Bragg's real first name is Stephen. Suprisingly, for a singer who often writes about the futility of war, he was once a member of the British Army.

5. Another one of my favourite bands, The Clash, mentioned the name of a famous poet in their song "Spanish Bombs"....who was it?

Answer: Lorca

Lorca was very much the Renaissance Man - as well as being a poet he was a painter, composer, pianist and dramatist. He was killed, at the age of 38, by Nationalist partisans at the begining of the Spanish Civil War.

6. Another one of my favourite bands is The Pogues. Which Irish poet, novelist, playwright and short story writer features in their song "Streams of Whisky"?

Answer: Behan

Behan was a heavy drinker - describing himself, on one occasion, as "a drinker with a writing problem" and claiming "I only drink on two occasions - when I'm thirsty and when I'm not".

7. Some songs contain multiple literary references. The Smiiths "Cemetary Gates" is one. Morrissey sings that "Keats and Yeats are on your side while ______ is on mine?

Answer: Wilde

Born in Ireland, living most of his life in England, Wilde is buried in the Pere Lachaise Cemetary in Paris. His grave is one of the most frequently visited by tourists to that site.

8. How many Irish writers are named in the Dexy's Midnight Runner's song "Burn It Down"?

Answer: Four

Wilde, Behan, O'Casey and Shaw are all mentioned.

9. Green Day's "St Jimmy" is the son of which famous American gothic writer?

Answer: Edgar Allen Poe

St Jimmy is one of the recurring characters from Green Day's rock opera American Idiot. He is the patron saint of denial (with an angel's face and a taste for the suicidal).

10. Billy Joel's "We didn't Start the Fire" contains the names of a few famous writers. Who is not mentioned in the song?

Answer: Nabokov

The lines are:
"Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac" and
"Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land"

Source: Author thelovelylulu

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ralzzz before going online.
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