Poets in Van's Lyrics Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tore Down A La Rimbaud

Jean-Nicholas-Arthur Rimbaud lived a scandalous life. Bob Dylan also makes a reference to this "bad boy" poet in his lyrics.

Answer: False

The song is instrumental; it has no lyrics and therefore can make no literary allusions.

Answer: William Blake

This song, which is on the album "Sense of Wonder," uses parts of Blake's "The Price Of Experience."

Answer: All of these

The song is titled, "Rave on, John Donne," but at some point, Van sings for all three of these poets to rave on: "Rave on, Walt Whitman, nose down in wet grass" and "Rave on, Mr. Yeats."

Answer: Oscar Wilde

Van does refer to all of these writers, but the question specifically asked for the author of "The Ballad of Reading Gaol," which is Oscar Wilde. Here's the allusion: "Too long in exile / Just like Oscar Wilde." Wilde was in "exile" in the sense that he was imprisoned for being a homosexual.

Answer: Be Thou My Vision

The origin of these lyrics is much older, but it was first put into English verse by Eleanor Hill in 1912. "Be Thou My Vision" has since become a classic hymn sung in churches far and wide.

Answer: Lord Byron

"Since Lord Byron loved despair / In the palace of the Lord." The song is on his album, "No Guru, No Method, No Teacher."

Answer: Both of these

Here's the allusion: "I went home and read my Christmas Humphreys' book on Zen / Curiosity killed the cat / Kerouac's 'Dharma Bums' and 'On The Road.'"

Answer: at least 4

He refers to Blake by name in "Summer Time in Autumn," "Golden Autumn Day," "When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God," and "You Don't Pull No Punches But You Don't Push The River." There may be others, but certainly less than 30.

Answer: See Me Through

The song is on the album "Enlightenment." The quoted poem is "Vitae Summa Brevis," and the verse is: "They are not long, the days of wine and roses."