Song Lyric Quotation
Quoting words from a song, which carries stricter copyright rules than quoting prose.
A song lyric quotation reproduces words written to be sung. Readers supply the melody from memory, so even a short lyric can carry more emotional weight in a text than a longer prose quotation.
Legally, lyrics are the tightest common quotation category. A song is short, so a few lines can amount to a large share of the whole work, which weakens a fair-use or fair-dealing argument. Publishers routinely require written permission — and payment — for lyrics that they would clear without question for a novel.
Style-wise, run short lyrics inline in quotation marks with a forward slash marking line breaks, and set longer passages as a block quote laid out in the original lines. Credit the songwriter, not only the performer; they are frequently different people.
Common mistake: assuming a well-known song is public domain because it is old. Copyright runs from the death of the writer in most jurisdictions, and many standards remain in copyright.
“"There is a crack, a crack in everything / That's how the light gets in" — Leonard Cohen, "Anthem"”
Keep reading the glossary
A US legal doctrine that permits limited quotation of copyrighted material without permission.
Quotations whose copyright has expired — free to reuse without permission.
The forward slash used to mark line endings when verse is quoted inline.
A short quotation set at the beginning of a book, chapter, or essay to suggest its theme.