Did I write a song about East of Eden?
I'm not sure. That's what this post is about.
The song is, in fact, called "East of Eden." The refrain uses the title. But the correspondence between the lyrics and John Steinbeck's novel is hazy at best—or foggy, if you want a Central Coast analogy.
"East of Eden" by Who by Water is out now on Spotify.
Writing East of Eden in Monterey County
I live in Monterey County, between the Gabilan and Santa Lucia mountain ranges. I spend a lot of time driving through the Salinas Valley, commuting between Carmel Valley and San Francisco.
I've been writing music for several decades, mostly on the East Coast in Boston and Brooklyn, mostly horribly. This is the first time I've written in and about California.
Previously, I wrote in the footsteps of bands I loved, trying to catch up to them—and failing.
This past year, I've written without much of an agenda, with just a guitar, a view of the Santa Lucia mountains out my window, and a copy of East of Eden.
What Steinbeck had to do with the song
My first impression of the novel wasn't great. It felt heavy-handed and sermonizing—it is drawn from the Cain and Abel story, after all.
But I was soon captivated by the great sense of sorrow and regret that permeates the book—and this line in particular:
"Some people think it’s an insult to the glory of their sickness to get well."
For me, this is the perfect description of depression, something I used to write about directly.
Steinbeck gets at the root of its mysterious staying power. Sometimes we don't want to get well because we feel we don't deserve it. Or because we've constructed an altar out of our sadness and it becomes something worshipful—something we must tend to and revere.
I guess I had this in mind when I started writing.
So what is my "East of Eden" actually about?
The song is about someone, loosely based on Adam Trask, who wanders through life before finding himself mentally, spiritually, and relationally imprisoned by someone who couldn't care less about him—and doesn't even know his name.
It's not a one-to-one mapping of the book, of course. The dates are mixed up. The setting is misplaced by about fifty miles.
But the landscape kind of shoved its way into the writing process.
So did some of the book's themes: family, longing, regret, self-deception, and the question of whether we're condemned to repeat what came before us—or whether we get to choose something different.
Some of the lyrics are heavy-handed, and none of them have the depth of Steinbeck, obviously.
But yes.
I guess I did write a song about East of Eden.
The new Netflix East of Eden series
Netflix's new adaptation of East of Eden, created by Zoe Kazan and starring Florence Pugh as Cathy Ames, arrives in October 2026.
I wrote my song several months before I knew the miniseries was in production.
If you're here because you searched for an East of Eden song, an East of Eden playlist, or music connected to the new Netflix series: welcome.
I hope the show is good.
And I hope my song finds someone who likes it.
That's about all I can hope for, I guess.
An East of Eden playlist
I also put together a Spotify playlist called East of Eden — Songs from Steinbeck Country.
Some of the songs directly reference East of Eden or Steinbeck. Some are connected to the Salinas Valley, Monterey County, or California. Others simply sound like the book feels to me: family, sin, longing, violence, choice, and grace.
Listen to East of Eden — Songs from Steinbeck Country on Spotify.
Listen to "East of Eden"
"East of Eden" is the debut single from Who by Water, an indie-folk project from Monterey County, California.