4 Songs That Rock Stars Claimed Were “Divine Intervention”

Plenty of rock stars have claimed that the inspiration for their music came from a higher power, but few have said God gave them the idea directly. Let’s look at four songs from rock music history that were allegedly a case of divine intervention!

1. “Silly Boy Blue” by David Bowie

David Bowie was pretty forthright about his interest in Tibetan Buddhism, particularly in the mid-1960s. He once said that he found himself at a Buddhist temple in England as a teenager, where he spoke to a lama. The lama wasn’t fluent in English, and asked him “Are you looking for me?” 

The lama meant to ask Bowie why he was there, but Bowie took it as a sort of divine intervention in that moment. He even considered becoming a monk at one point. However, that didn’t happen. Instead, he wrote “Silly Boy Blue” about a young man who journeys to a monastery.

2. “Let’s Go Crazy” by Prince

When it comes to rock songs that were allegedly the result of divine intervention, Prince was definitely no stranger. Spirituality and religion have always, in some capacity or form, been a part of his musical journey all the way until the end. 

The 1984 track “Let’s Go Crazy” was one of his most directly religious pieces of work. The song opens with a sermon, after all. Prince said that the song was about the battle between good and evil, and that the song was “God” to him.

3. “Baba O’Riley” by The Who

This one’s a little surprising. “Baba O’Riley” is the most well-known The Who song ever, and it’s not particularly religious. However, Pete Townshend was inspired by the Indian guru Meher Baba when he wrote the song. Townshend allegedly fed a computer some data about Meher Baba, which resulted in a synth riff that was used in the song.

4. “Miles From Nowhere” by Cat Stevens

Cat Stevens has always been a spiritual individual, and that’s quite obvious in the song “Miles From Nowhere”. This track is Stevens’ spiritual life in a nutshell, full of gratitude and joy for life. It’s an ode of sorts to Islam, spirituality, and life as a whole. “Lord my body has been a good friend / But I won’t need it when I reach the end” tells you all you need to know.

Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns

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