Legal Question in Entertainment Law in United Kingdom

Re: Permission to use text in song

You may, or may not, need permission. There is a copyright doctrine known as fair use. That is a use of copyright material, which is limited, and not the main presentation of the new work. It is not a bad idea, however, to contact the author and seek permission. It sounds as he or she might be flattered to authorize your use. He or she, will probably refer you to his/her publisher, who more than likely owns the copyright.

Re: Permission to use text in song

The song you write would most likely be a derivitive work of the original text. Assuming the text is still proteced by copyright (and it may not be, but there is no way of knowing that from the info you provide) yo would need to obtain a license to use it.

The best bet would be to hire an attorney, who would contact the publisher and author on your behalf.