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Some classic rockers worked the imagery of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland into their songs. Since then, singers from various genres have embraced the book. It’s interesting to see how different musicians have taken the iconography of Alice in Wonderland in different directions.

1. Jefferson Airplane’s ‘White Rabbit’

Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” might be one of the most famous adaptations of Carroll’s Alice books in any medium. While I find Alice in Wonderland charming, many readers find it a bit creepy. Jefferson Airplane captured that eerieness, particularly with the line “Feed your head!”

Since that song came out, it’s been far more common for musicians to write songs about Alice and company. Many of these other tracks might not exist without “White Rabbit.” That alone gives Jefferson Airplane a fascinating legacy.

2. The Beatles’ ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’

In the 1980 book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, John explained The Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” “The images were from Alice in Wonderland,” he said. “It was Alice in the boat. She is buying an egg and it turns into Humpty Dumpty. The woman serving in the shop turns into a sheep and the next minute they are rowing in a rowing boat somewhere and I was visualizing that. 

“There was also the image of the female who would someday come save me — a ‘girl with kaleidoscope eyes’ who would come out of the sky,” he added. “It turned out to be Yoko, though I hadn’t met Yoko yet. So maybe it should be ‘Yoko in the Sky with Diamonds.'”

3. Natalia Kills’ ‘Wonderland’

Natalia Kills’ “Wonderland” isn’t solely about Alice in Wonderland. It also alludes to other fairy tales like “Snow White,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Cinderella,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Rapunzel.” However, Wonderland takes center stage in the song and especially its disturbing music video.

“Wonderland” came out in 2011, the year after Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and the year of Lady Gaga’s ascension into pop goddesshood. It’s clearly an attempt to capitalize on both. It’s a lot of fun if you’re in the right frame of mind.

4. Melanie Martinez’s ‘Mad Hatter’

Alice in Wonderland has repeatedly been understood as a story about madness. Melanie Martinez leans into that interpretation with her song “Mad Hatter.” Considering her songs are often oddball reflections on childhood, it was only a matter of time before she took on Alice in Wonderland.

The track repeatedly uses the phrase, “You say I’m crazy / All the best people are.” That’s a paraphrase of a line from Burton’s film. It’s fine for Martinez to reuse that line, but let’s not pretend that it ever appeared in either of the original Alice books.

5. Taylor Swift’s ‘Wonderland’

The only straight-up love song on this list, Taylor Swift’s “Wonderland,” almost downplays the weirdness of the original book. It’s part of a larger trend of Swift comparing her romances to fairy tales. Perhaps she’s a little more suited to princess movies than literary nonsense.

Related

John Lennon Said The Beatles’ ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ Was About His Desire for Someone Like Yoko Ono

The song is still fun, anyway. It has a good hook, and it could and should have been the springboard for one of Swift’s best music videos. The line about a “Cheshire cat smile” gets me every time. We can only imagine where other singers will take us down the rabbit hole with new Alice in Wonderland songs in the years to come!