Song Lyrics in Fiction

This Monday morning, my mind is on the use of song lyrics in fictional works. It’s something I’ve noticed in a fair few indie books and has always struck me as ill-advised, being that there’s a major risk of copyright violation for any material not yet old enough to be in the public domain—unless express permission is sought and, much of the time, paid for. As a disclaimer, what follows should not be considered legal advice but a starting point for your own research.

First things first, using song lyrics in a book you intend to sell on any sort of scale is fraught with danger, and you would do well to simply avoid it. But if you do insist, here are a few pointers which are covered in more detail under the doctrine of fair use (link goes to the official US Gov website). Please be aware, however, that in practice, song lyrics are often afforded far greater protection than other media.

• Song titles are fair game as they can’t be copyrighted

• Some form of summarising is okay, and you can probably get away with carefully paraphrasing a line or two

• Short, verbatim excerpts may or may not be problematic

The waters are further muddied by the intended purpose of the lyrics as used in your book. Some quarter may be given if they’re for critique, satire, or education, and whether their inclusion is likely to diminish the commercial value of the original work.

In reality, though, you’re looking at a set of vague criteria that can be bent at will, most likely in the favour of the prosecuting party. Which basically means, if you get pulled up for using the lyrics of someone with more clout than you, you’re probably going to come out on the losing end. Either that or they’ll just arrange to get your book yanked from wherever you’re selling it.

As a small case study, and to poke my own head over the parapet, here’s a poem I published some years ago (about how women don’t recognise when men try to express their feelings) in which I went as near to the knuckle as I dared with song lyrics.

Brick

He plays ‘The River’
when he’s proper drunk,
and she talks over it
every goddamn time,
and he never even
had a girl at school,
let alone a shotgun marriage,
but when that plaintive,
haunting harmonica hits,
when Bruce remembers
those rides in his brother’s car,
well, that’s as exquisite
as any longing can get,
so close to the wound
that every man suffers,
and yet, it’s only a song,
it’s only a song,
you never think to ask
how my day has gone,
as sensitive as a brick, you are,
stupid-ass song about
some stupid-ass reservoir.

A few points to note. First, I acknowledge the title of the song, as well as the name of the singer, albeit indirectly; second, I only use a handful of words from the lyrics (such as brother’s car and reservoir); and third, I do little more than touch on the basic premise and spirit of the song.

Does this constitute fair use? I believe it does, but I certainly wouldn’t risk going any further. And Mr Springsteen, Boss, if you’re reading this (and really, you ought to), please don’t be mad. ‘The River’ is brilliant and inspiring, and I hope I did it justice and didn’t step on your toes in the process.

And that’s my penny’s worth for today. Until next week, happy writing to you all.