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I've been a short story and personal essay writer for the last two years. Since I write mainly about Hollywood, pop culture, music, TV, and movie celebrities, life in the 60's and show business, I feel that I should be able to use long lyrics without anybody's permittions. I'm not doing any harm; I'm just simply using simple lyrics.

In one of my short stories, that I sent in Los Angeles during the so-called Summer of Love, 1967; I was going to use that classic line from the Doors' song, Light My Fire, "Come on baby; light my fire." But then I decided not too for fear that I would be sued for copyright infringement.

I do have a few writers' guides about the legal ramifications in using song lyrics without permission. I can use song titles, but that's it. Even if I did use them (the song lyrics), I probably would have to go through a lengthy process just in order to get them.

It's not just song titles that I put into my stories. I'll use real-life people in them as long as I don't defame or libel them. I was going to write a short story about a guy and his wife who go on Dr. Phil because his younger brother walked out on his family thirty years earlier and chose the Hawaiian lifestyle over his family. But if Dr. Phil ever read it, I would have had a big and huge defamation of character lawsuit on my tail.

Until writers are able to use song lyrics without permission, I'm just going to have to keep them out of there.

Learn more about this author, Lisa Fagan.
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