The Icarus myth has endured not only in visual and literary arts, but also in contemporary popular music. Music demonstrates the versatility and malleability of the Icarus myth, and the depth and involvement of the references to Icarus also varies across different artists and genres. Some artists use only passing references to the myth, like Bon Iver’s “Flume,” which includes the line “Gluey feathers on a flume” in reference to Icarus’s wings, or Kansas’s “Carry on My Wayward Son,” with the lyric “I was soaring ever higher/ But I flew too high.” Other artists incorporate a more complete retelling of the myth to create their own Icarus interpretation in song. British pop rock band Bastille’s song “Icarus” juxtaposes a chorus that retells Icarus’s story alongside a modern tragedy woven through the body of the lyrics. “Icarus” opens with the image of someone “digging their own grave,” about to “drink yourself to death.” The singer then compares the subject to Icarus, who is “flying too close to the sun/ And Icarus’s life, it has only just begun.” With these lines, Bastille uses the Icarus myth to elicit associations with tragedy and the recklessness of wasted youth in a modern context.

The Icarus myth also comes to symbolize a variety of themes in popular music, demonstrating the broad appeal the myth retains in different genres. As we saw with Bastille’s “Icarus,” some artists use the myth to code for pride and self-destruction. Others are attracted to the strength of the visual image the Icarus myth evokes. In his infamous diss track “Hit ’Em Up,” 2Pac sings, “high n***as think they learned to fly/ But they burn motherf***er, you deserve to die,” recalling the image of Icarus’s melted, burning wings. Other artists engage with the Icarus myth to satirize and criticize it, like the folk-comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates in “Such a Loser.” For more information on Icarus and satire, click here. Artists such as Hozier and Coldplay use Icarus to infuse their love stories with a sense of tragedy and futility. In Coldplay’s “Fun,” the singer compares himself to Icarus, admitting, “I know it’s over before she says/ Now someone else has taken your place/ I know it’s over, Icarus says to the sun.” Coldplay recontextualizes the Icarus myth as a love affair between the youth and the sun, a fatal romance. For more songs that feature the myth, browse the playlist below.