Wikipedia:Lyrics and poetry
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[[Category:Wikipedia {{{1}}}s|Lyrics and poetry]]
19th and 20th century lyrics and poetry should not generally be submitted to Wikipedia. This is primarily because most songwriters and poets have not released their lyrics under an open content license and therefore their inclusion violates their copyright.
Do not write an article consisting only of lyrics — this would be considered a primary source. An encyclopedic article on a song should have an analytical framework that describes the song. Quotations of the song within this analytical framework can fall into the fair use (and fair dealing) provisions within copyright law. However, how much of a song you can quote is open to interpretation.
There are some exceptions however:
- Lyrics whose copyright has expired, e.g. Three Blind Mice.
- National anthems.