They say that whatever you’re going through in life, Aretha has probably recorded a song about it. Well, it’s not just Aretha. Just been dumped? Roy Orbison has the song to get you through. Furious about the state of the world? Patti Smith knows how you feel. The Illustrated Book of Songs brings a collection of lists about the music that makes up the soundtrack to our lives, featuring hundreds of songs, old and new, famous and not-so-famous. With intriguing trivia, idle musings and cool illustrations of your favourite performers and songs.

Colm Boyd is a freelance writer from County Cork (Ireland) who has been based in Barcelona since 2003. He writes for a range of corporate clients, as well as for various educational publishers such as Macmillan. Colm also runs his own blog (picnicenglish.com), where he writes about language and new music releases. The Illustrated Book of Songs is his first book.