MLA 8 Citation
How to Cite Song Lyrics in MLA 8
If you mention the lyrics in-text, cite the song and album in your Works Cited page. Follow standard MLA 8 format. List the name of the performer or band as the author, the song as the title of the source, the album as the title of container, the publisher, and the date.
Bowie, David. "Changes." Hunky Dory, RCA Records, 1971.
Walk the Moon. "Shut Up and Dance." Talking is Hard, RCA Records, 2014.
If you cite lyrics from a website, provide a description in place of the title. Then provide the name of the website, publication information for the site, and the URL/web address:
(Please try to avoid using lyrics from Google search! Google pulls information from third parties and is less reliable!)
Singer’s Last Name, Singer’s First Name. Lyrics to “Title of the Song.” Name of Website, publication date, URL (remove http://).
Bowie, David. Lyrics to "Changes." Genius, 2019, genius.com/David-bowie-changes-lyrics.
Walk the Moon. Lyrics to “Shut Up and Dance.” Genius, 2019, genius.com/Walk-the-moon-shut-up-and-dance-lyrics.
For in-text citations, cite the artist's last name (if an individual person) or band name (if a group). Remember: Your parenthetical citation should be the first element of your Works Cited citation.
More info:
Bowie, David. "Changes." Hunky Dory, RCA Records, 1971.
Walk the Moon. "Shut Up and Dance." Talking is Hard, RCA Records, 2014.
If you cite lyrics from a website, provide a description in place of the title. Then provide the name of the website, publication information for the site, and the URL/web address:
(Please try to avoid using lyrics from Google search! Google pulls information from third parties and is less reliable!)
Singer’s Last Name, Singer’s First Name. Lyrics to “Title of the Song.” Name of Website, publication date, URL (remove http://).
Bowie, David. Lyrics to "Changes." Genius, 2019, genius.com/David-bowie-changes-lyrics.
Walk the Moon. Lyrics to “Shut Up and Dance.” Genius, 2019, genius.com/Walk-the-moon-shut-up-and-dance-lyrics.
For in-text citations, cite the artist's last name (if an individual person) or band name (if a group). Remember: Your parenthetical citation should be the first element of your Works Cited citation.
More info:
How to Format Your GoogleDoc for Works Cited Hanging Alignment