How to Cite a Song in MLA: A Comprehensive Guide

Ever been humming a catchy tune and realized its lyrics perfectly illustrate a point in your essay? Music is a powerful and pervasive art form, often interwoven with our thoughts, emotions, and academic arguments. Whether you’re analyzing lyrical themes, referencing musical techniques, or simply using a song as an example, properly citing your sources is crucial for maintaining academic integrity and giving credit where it’s due.

Citing songs in MLA format can seem tricky at first, as it involves different elements than citing books or articles. Overlooking this process can lead to unintentional plagiarism and weaken the credibility of your work. Mastering the nuances of MLA song citations ensures your research is both thorough and ethically sound, allowing you to seamlessly integrate music into your academic writing.

What are the most common questions about citing songs in MLA?

How do I format the in-text citation for a song in MLA?

In MLA style, when citing a song within your text, you’ll typically use the artist’s name and the song title (or a shortened version of it) in parentheses. If the artist is already mentioned in the sentence, you only need to include the song title in the parenthetical citation.

For example, if you’re writing about Bob Dylan’s song “Like a Rolling Stone,” you could write: “Dylan’s exploration of displacement is evident in ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ (Dylan).” Or, if Dylan’s name is already in the sentence: “Bob Dylan captures a sense of alienation in (‘Like a Rolling Stone’).” Note the use of quotation marks around the song title. If you’re referencing a specific part of the song, you might include a timestamp if available, especially if accessing the song through a platform like YouTube or Spotify, like so: (Dylan, “Like a Rolling Stone,” 0:30-0:45).

It’s important to remember that your in-text citation must correspond to the full citation in your Works Cited list. The information in the parentheses allows the reader to easily locate the complete source entry. Therefore, ensure the artist’s name and song title (or the shortened title) are consistent between your in-text citation and Works Cited entry. Also, if the song is part of an album and your focus is primarily on the album, consider citing the album instead. However, when focusing on the individual song itself, citing the song directly is the proper approach.

What information is needed to cite a song in MLA format?

To properly cite a song in MLA format, you generally need the following information: the artist’s name, the song title, the album title (if applicable), the record label, the year of release, and the format (e.g., CD, streaming audio file, vinyl record).

The specific details required may vary slightly depending on how you accessed the song. If you listened to the song on a streaming service like Spotify or Apple Music, you would include the service’s name as the container. If the song is a single, the album title can be omitted. Remember that MLA emphasizes the container holding the work, so identifying where you encountered the song is crucial.

Here’s an example illustrating the principle. If you accessed the song “Yesterday” by The Beatles on the album *Help!* via Spotify, your citation might look something like this: The Beatles. “Yesterday.” *Help!*, Parlophone, 1965. *Spotify*. If, however, you were citing the song from a physical CD of the album, you would omit the *Spotify* container from the citation.

How do I cite a song if I only know the album and not the songwriter?

In MLA style, if you don’t know the songwriter, begin your Works Cited entry with the song title, followed by “By” and then the performer (if different from the album artist). Then include the album title, the artist of the album, the record label, the year of release, and any relevant URL or DOI if accessed online.

Even though MLA prioritizes the songwriter when available, focusing on the song title when that information is missing allows your reader to easily find the source you’re referencing. The album information becomes crucial in identifying the specific recording you used. Ensure you present the information you *do* have as accurately as possible.

For example, if you were citing the song “Yesterday” from the album *Help!*, but you didn’t know that John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote it, and The Beatles were the performers on the album, your Works Cited entry would look like this: “Yesterday.” By The Beatles. *Help!*, The Beatles, Parlophone, 1965. This ensures your reader can still locate the exact recording you are citing, even without knowing the songwriter. Similarly, if you accessed it on a streaming service like Spotify, add: *Spotify*, URL.

Does the citation change if I listened to the song on a streaming service?

Yes, citing a song accessed through a streaming service like Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube Music requires including details about the platform in your MLA citation. You need to specify the service as the container in which you accessed the song.

When citing a song from a streaming service, your citation will generally include the following elements: the artist’s name, the song title in quotation marks, the album title in italics, the label (if available and different from the streaming service), the year of release, and then the name of the streaming service in italics, followed by the URL (if available and stable). The streaming service is treated as a container, similar to a physical album or a journal.

For example, a citation for a song listened to on Spotify might look like this: Swift, Taylor. “cardigan.” *Folklore*, Republic Records, 2020. *Spotify*, open.spotify.com/track/#######. If the URL is excessively long or unstable, you can omit it. The key is to provide enough information for your reader to locate the specific version of the song that you consulted.

How should I cite a song if I found the lyrics online?

To cite song lyrics found online in MLA format, you’ll need to create a Works Cited entry that includes the song title, artist, album (if applicable), website name, and URL. The format generally follows the structure of citing a webpage, with added details relevant to the song itself. In-text citations should then reference the artist’s name or a shortened version of the song title.

The Works Cited entry should be structured as follows: Artist Last Name, First Name. “Song Title.” *Album Title*, Website Name, URL. Accessed Date. For example: Swift, Taylor. “All Too Well.” *Red (Taylor’s Version)*, Genius, genius.com/Taylor-swift-all-too-well-lyrics. Accessed 15 Aug. 2024. It’s crucial to italicize the album title, and use quotation marks for the song title. If the lyrics are not associated with a specific album (e.g., a standalone single), omit the album title from the citation. Always include the “Accessed” date, as online content is subject to change.

When you reference the song in your text, use a parenthetical citation that includes the artist’s last name or a shortened version of the song title if you’ve mentioned the artist in the same sentence. For instance: (Swift) or (“All Too Well”). If you are quoting specific lines from the song, include line breaks as indicated by the forward slash (/): “And I was never good at telling jokes / But the punch line goes, ‘I’ll get older, but your lovers stay my age’” (Swift). Make sure your in-text citation corresponds clearly to the Works Cited entry, allowing readers to easily locate the full citation for the song lyrics.

What if the song has multiple artists; how do I cite that in MLA?

When citing a song with multiple artists in MLA style, list the artists in the order they appear on the recording. Separate the first artist from the subsequent artists with a comma, and use “and” before the final artist’s name. The rest of the citation format remains the same, following the standard MLA guidelines for songs.

When a song features multiple credited artists, accurately representing their contributions is crucial. MLA requires listing all artists, preserving the order in which they are presented on the album or single cover. This reflects the specific collaboration and billing the artists received for that particular song. This ensures proper attribution for the work. For example, if a song is credited to “Artist A, Artist B, and Artist C,” the in-text citation would likely use “Artist A et al.” if there are more than two artists, and the Works Cited entry would list all names: Artist A, Artist B, and Artist C. When including the source in the Works Cited list, remember to invert only the *first* artist’s name (Last Name, First Name), while the subsequent artists’ names should be written in the normal order (First Name Last Name). Ensure each name is followed by a comma, *except* for the final artist’s name, which is preceded by “and.”

Do I italicize song titles or album titles in my MLA citation?

In MLA style, you should italicize album titles, but place song titles in quotation marks. Think of it this way: a song is a smaller part of a larger whole (the album), so it gets the smaller form of emphasis (quotation marks), while the album, a larger container, gets the more significant emphasis (italics).

This rule reflects the general MLA principle of distinguishing between shorter works and longer works. Shorter works, such as songs, poems, short stories, articles, and individual episodes of a TV series, are typically enclosed in quotation marks. Longer, self-contained works, such as albums, books, journals, movies, and entire TV series, are italicized. This helps readers quickly understand the scope and nature of the source being cited.

For example, if you were citing the song “Bohemian Rhapsody” from the album *A Night at the Opera*, you would put “Bohemian Rhapsody” in quotation marks and italicize *A Night at the Opera*. Your Works Cited entry will also include additional information like the artist, year, and any relevant URLs or databases, but the formatting of the titles themselves always follows this rule. Remember to be consistent throughout your paper to maintain clarity and credibility.

And that’s the tune of it! Hopefully, you’re now equipped to cite your favorite songs in MLA format without missing a beat. Thanks for reading, and feel free to come back anytime you need a little help harmonizing your citations!