Using Songfacts
Why should I Register?
What if I can't find the song I'm looking for?
Can I get Lyrics?
How can I contribute to Songfacts?
About the Message Boards
Does this thing work on Mobile Phones?
How do I change my User Information?
How do I Post Comments?
Songfacts and Artistfacts
What sources are used to generate Songfacts?
What if I notice a mistake?
About Chart Position
When did this thing start, and why?
Do you have a Privacy Policy?
Tell me about the newsletter
What's up with the fish?
Banners and Logos
Contacting Songfacts

Using Songfacts
If you have a specific song in mind, type it into the search window. It will search the database, returning any songs that contain the word or words you entered in the title. You do not need to enter the entire title of the song, for example a search of "California" will bring up "Hotel California," as well as any other songs with "California" in the title. You can also browse the database by clicking on the letters, or search by artist or date.

Why should I register?
When you register, you can add Songfacts, take The Mighty Songfacts Trivia Quiz, rate songs, and post comments and lyrics. We ask for some basic information, like your age and where you are from, as well as a few of your characteristics for the song profiles. This allows us to attach your first name and where you are from to the Songfacts you add and the comments you leave. We will not give out any of the information you give us or spam you. Click Here if you would like to register. It's free to join.

What if I can't find the song I'm looking for?
First, make sure the title is spelled correctly. Use the alphabetical browse if you are unsure of the spelling. With millions of songs out there, it is quite possible that yours is not in the database. If this happens, you can ask about it in the Questions And Answers forum of our Message Boards.

Can I get Lyrics? Yes, but only if a user has posted them. To the right of the album name, you will see either "View Lyrics" or "Post Lyrics." If you are a registered user, you can post lyrics for any song and correct errors in lyrics that have been posted.

How can I contribute to Songfacts?
You can contribute to Songfacts by clicking "Add Songfacts," and entering anything you know about a song into the form. We will review your entries and enter them into the database, where it will be accessible to everyone. You need to register to add Songfacts so we can give you proper credit. Any we use will be attributed to you. If you would like to help us research the facts we receive, you can learn more here.

About the Message Boards
The boards are a friendly place where you can ask and answer questions about music, and talk about music-related issues. The boards require a separate registration, but that one is also very easy. Go here to check out the boards.

Does this thing work on Mobile Phones?
Sure does. You can also access Songfacts Mobile at m.songfacts.com.

How do I change my User Information?
Use the link on the left navigation that says "Update Profile"

How do I post comments?
Go to a song you would like to comment on. If you have registered, there will be a box at the bottom of the page where you can leave a comment.

Songfacts and Artistfacts
Songfacts is information about specific songs. Artistfacts is information about the performers. "Money For Nothing was the first song played on MTV Europe" is a Songfact. "Dire Straits took their name because it described their financial state at the time" is an Artistfact. You can access Artistfacts by clicking the button from Songfacts, or go there directly at www.artistfacts.com. If there are Artistfacts for a performer whose song you are viewing from Songfacts, there will be a link to it at the bottom of the page. Artistfacts works the same way as Songfacts in terms of adding artists and posting comments. If you register on Songfacts, your password will also work on Artistfacts.

What sources are used to generate Songfacts?
When possible, we interview the songwriters. Many of these interviews are posted in full form in the Songwriter Interviews section. Other sources include books, magazines, newspaper articles, reference materials and publicity releases.

What if I notice a mistake?
Yes, we do screw up. If you notice a mistake, please send an email to feedback@songfacts.com and let us know. This helps keep Songfacts as accurate as possible.

About Chart Position
The number for Chart Position is the highest position the song reached on the US and UK chart. If there is no entry, it means the song did not chart, or we have not yet entered the chart information for it. Many newer songs will not have entries because they are still moving on the charts.

When did this thing start, and why?
It started around 1997 as a database of song information for a few disc jockeys in Hartford, Connecticut. This was just before the big, bad corporations came in and gutted radio stations, stripping them of their souls. But at the time, the studios were a treasure trove of song information, just horribly disorganized. What would become Songfacts was a database where that information was entered. In 1999, the database went online with about 400 songs, and it gathered a small following, including some non-radio types who just liked music. The database grew pretty quickly, and in 2002 Songfacts was named a Yahoo! Pick, making it clear that people really do want to find out the stories behind the songs. We started hearing from the folks who made the songs: Michael Sembello writing in to tell us about "Maniac," Janis Ian sitting down to explain "At Seventeen," two members of Devo checking in on "Whip It." We found that many songs had pretty elaborate and sometimes fascinating stories that were not covered in our radio materials. For instance, we heard the story of the president of Foreigner's record company crying when he first heard "I Want to Know What Love Is," but Mick Jones explained that it was the legendary Ahmet Ertegun, and what a huge deal it was to impress the man responsible for so much of Atlantic Records' success. We knew "Aqualung" used a telephone effect, but Ian Anderson told us why. This stuff makes us hear the songs in a whole new way and get a greater appreciation for them. Art is like that.

Do you have a Privacy Policy?
Yes. We don't do anything nefarious like sell your information. Here is the Privacy Policy.

Tell me about the newsletter
Our monthly newsletter can improve your life by letting you know what songs were recently added, interviews we've done and other things happening here in the fishbowl. You can sign up for the newsletter here.

What's up with the fish?
The Songfish is our mascot. He (she?) retrieves the information from the database and presents it to you. The Songfish does not yet have a name, let us know if you have any ideas.

Banners and Logos
We have a collection of Songfacts banners and logos. Please feel free to use them to link to our site. If you need a specific size or background color we'd be happy to make a new version for you, just drop us an email. You can get the images here.

Contacting Songfacts
We welcome your comments and suggestions. Contact us at feedback@songfacts.com.