IMO, context should always be explained. If the song is about a historical event, for example, or if there are references made, or if there is some backstory involving something that happened to the singer or band, then that kind of stuff should always be included or linked to. A number of lyrics I’ve posted have prompted me to do writeups on people and events mentioned in those songs.

Explanations of the song we can do without, I think. Most songs speak for themselves, and people don’t need to be told what it’s about. "In this song, Madonna is explaining how her current love affair has such a transforming affect on her that she associates it with the powerful feelings of her first sexual experience and sheds her jaded cynicism for blah blah blah…" Please.

Most people like hundreds of songs. If they have strong personal feelings about a particular song or they associate it with a personal event and they node about that, that’s great. But not every song is going to spark that kind of association. Most of the time, people just plain like a song, and that’s it. What’s wrong with that?
The circumstances around the creation of a song, and even how a song makes you feel1, are wonderful and useful things to know, but it's probably more important to properly attribute the song.

Do a little research2 and find out the following pieces of information:
  1. Who wrote the song, and when?
  2. Who recorded the song first, and when?
  3. What label was the record released on?
  4. Was the song first released as a single or on an album?
    • If it was released on an album, what was the album called?
    • If it was a single, what was on the flip side?
  5. If the song was a hit:
    • Which version was a hit?
    • What chart did it appear on?
    • How far up the chart did it get?
    • How long did it stay there?
You'll make me happy3 if you at least include #1, #2, and #3. The rest of the information is simply nice to know.

If the song appeared before the advent of recording technology, only #1 need appear, but if a particular recording made the song famous, the other information would be nice.

It's OK to discuss other artists' covers of a song, but please credit the author and the original artist, or make sure that information is elsewhere in the node.

Thank you.
1Just keep in mind that you don't want to make me write Every node eventually becomes a "Getting To Know You" node.
2Searching most song titles on a good search engine will yield this information pretty quickly.
3For what that's worth.

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