What’s The Deal With Song Lyrics Online?
posted by Dan Filler
When I hear a song and want to learn the lyrics, I turn to the web. Apparently, I’m not alone since there are oodles of these lyrics sites supported by advertisers seeking access to eyeballs. I’ve assumed these sites are operating at the edge of the copyright gray zone. After all, the lyrics are copyrighted text and the sites are profiting from them through ad sales. But if perhaps this isn’t “fair use”, it certainly is useful for music-lovers like me.
Or is it? I’ve been listening to a lot of new music recently. (Understand that new means new to me.) That includes Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois, Jim Guthrie’s Now More Than Ever, The Shins’ Wincing The Night Away, and Rogue Wave’s Out of the Shadow. A couple of friends have been filling the tank with homemade mix cd’s as well and my comments relate to one song included on a disc prepared by a D.C. lawprof buddy: Soul Meets Body, by Death Cab for Cutie.
I was searching to discover the correct lyrics for a line I took to be “there are lugs left in both of our shoes.” I traveled to one, then two, then three lyric sites to find out the “correct” answer. On one site, I was told that the line was “there are holes in left in both of our shoes”, on another it was “there are roads left in both of our shoes”, and on a third (which I cannot find as I write this post) the lyric was ’soles left in both of our shoes”. (According to Atlantic Records, by the way, the noun is “roads.”) Once I discovered this inconsistency, I looked to see if the lyrics varied in other verses as well. No surprise: different sites showed variance at a number of different points. Using the powerful inferential reasoning I first learned at Wash U’s empirical research workshop, I concluded that these sites must be wrong all the time. These sites aren’t fair use – they’re fairly useless!
In the end, I discovered that various people hear the line in question differently. My own version may not be authentic but I’ll stick with it.
And I do believe it’s true that there are lugs left in both of our shoes
But if the silence takes you than I hope it takes me too
So Brown Eyes I’ll hold you near ’cause you’re the only song I want to hear
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
If you happen to see me drive by, that is what I’ll be singing, whether or not Ben Gibbard – or those manifold lyric site operators – would agree.
April 9, 2007 at 12:44 am
Posted in: Culture
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Responses (5)
Dave! - April 9, 2007 at 9:48 am
Hey, sing what you like! But I do have to wonder, what does “lugs left in both of our shoes” mean??!
BTW, if you listen to more DCFC, using worn shoes as a metaphor for death seems to be one of Gibbard’s favorites.
Dan Filler - April 9, 2007 at 10:42 am
According to answers.com, a lug is “a thick rubber sole with deep indentations that improve the stability and traction of utility footwear such as work boots.” That’s the meaning I took – and it makes sense for a cool Seattle band.
Dave! - April 9, 2007 at 11:02 am
Ah, that would make sense… sorta.
It doesn’t change the meaning of the lyric, anyway. Rock on!
Deven Desai - April 9, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Dan
http://www.kissthisguy.com/
is for you
It is a database of misheard lyrics
megath - April 9, 2007 at 8:08 pm
It’s evident that people are posting what they hear the lyrics to be, not what they are. But I think that this can be traced back to the short-sighted reaction by the record labels in the early days of the internet: they issued cease and desist letters to web site owners who posted lyrics, taking the position that this infringed copyright. They could not see or understand that allowing fans to post (real) lyrics would enhance the experience for many users and would likely spur additional sales.
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