12 Timeless Rock Songs Influenced by Beloved Classic Films

      Here are some iconic rock songs influenced by beloved films. Some are quite evident, while others might surprise you.

      First things first: We're not discussing songs created specifically for movies. Instead, we’re focusing on instances where artists watched a film and were so inspired that they returned home to write an amazing song.

      Alright, let's dive into this collection of classic rock songs motivated by movies we cherish.

      Bob Dylan — ‘Motorpsycho Nightmare’ (1964)

      Janet Leigh in Psycho. Paramount Pictures – Credit: Paramount

      In this 1964 Dylan track, La Dolce Vita is directly mentioned, but it draws even more from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, even referencing its lead actor and its most famous scene:

      There was Rita, resembling Tony Perkins / She said, “Would you like to take a shower? I’ll show you to the door / I replied, “Oh, no, no, I’ve seen this movie before.”

      David Bowie — ‘Space Oddity’ (1969)

      2001. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer – Credit: C/O

      “Space Oddity,” which tells the tale of the ill-fated astronaut Major Tom, was influenced by Stanley Kubrick’s monumental film 2001: A Space Odyssey, as Bowie detailed in the book David Bowie: Starman by Paul Trynka.

      “I went to see the movie totally stoned and it really freaked me out, particularly the journey sequence,” Bowie recalled.

      “Space Oddity” was quickly sent to radio stations to take advantage of the moon landing in July 1969. British television even incorporated the song into its broadcast covering the historic event—since, amusingly, the producers apparently didn’t realize initially that the song was about an astronaut who gets stranded.

      Aerosmith — ‘Walk This Way’ (1975)

      Teri Garr and Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein. 20th Century Studios – Credit: C/O

      Mel Brooks’ 1974 film Young Frankenstein was still screening in theaters in 1975 when the members of Aerosmith caught it and borrowed one of the film's best jokes for their hit titled “Walk This Way,” as guitarist Joe Perry told The Wall Street Journal in 2014.

      In his memoir, All About Me!, Brooks states that the joke was a nod to a vaudeville routine, revealing that he has reused it multiple times.

      Blue Oyster Cult — ‘Godzilla’ (1977)

      Godzilla. Toho

      Do we even need to elaborate on this one?

      The lyrics include:

      With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound / He pulls the spitting high tension wires down / Helpless people on a subway train / Scream bug-eyed as he glances in on them / He picks up a bus and tosses it back down / As he strides through the buildings towards the city center / Oh no, they say, he’s got to go / Go go Godzilla, yeah / Oh no, there goes Tokyo / Go go Godzilla, yeah.

      Deep Purple — ‘Why Didn’t Rosemary’ (1969)

      Mia Farrow in Rosemary’s Baby. Paramount Pictures – Credit: Paramount

      This Deep Purple song from 1969 is inspired by the 1968 film Rosemary’s Baby directed by Roman Polanski and the 1967 book of the same name by Ira Levin, contemplating the unfortunate fate of Rosemary (played by Mia Farrow, above), who is carrying the devil's child: Why didn’t Rosemary ever take the pill? / Laying there waiting, waiting for the kill / Oh, man won’t do it but the devil will, yeah.

      Roxy Music — ‘2HB’ (1972)

      Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca. Warner Bros.

      Roxy Music's lead singer Bryan Ferry openly acknowledges the influence of Casablanca on this splendid 1972 song, which shares initials with Casablanca's star Humphrey Bogart and includes the memorable chorus line, “Here’s looking at you kid,” Bogart's most iconic line from the classic 1942 movie.

      The lyrics also, spoiler alert, reveal Casablanca’s conclusion:

      Ideal love flies away now… / You gave her away to the hero.

      Rush — ‘Cinderella Man’ (1977)

      Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. Columbia Pictures. – Credit: Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. Columbia Pictures.

      This one is quite clear. The 1936 film Mr. Deeds Goes to Town features Gary Cooper as Longfellow Deeds, a man from Mandrake Falls, Vermont, who inherits $20 million and dreams of using it to support his fellow Americans during the Depression. The cynical reporter Babe Bennett (Jean Arthur) refers to him as “the Cinderella Man.”

      Here are the opening lyrics of Rush’s “Cinderella Man”:

      A modest man from Mandrake / Travelled rich to the city / He felt