What does song mean?
A song is a short composition of words and music intended for singing. In everyday use, the word may refer to the finished musical performance, while in literary contexts it can mean the poetic text alone. Songs commonly express a memorable idea, emotion, or story through repeated phrasing and a distinctive melody, and they may be written by professional musicians, amateur performers, or poets. The word can also function as a literary verb: “to song” means to sing or make music with expressive emphasis. Its associations extend beyond popular music to folk songs, hymns, national anthems, ceremonial pieces, and works created for film or theatre. Although “song” suggests something shorter than an opera, symphony, or extended instrumental composition, that distinction is conventional rather than absolute. The word remains useful for describing how language, melody, rhythm, and performance combine to communicate feeling or meaning.
A short composition of words set to music for singing, or a poem or lyric intended to be sung.
"Their new song became the most requested track on the radio."
The term can refer either to a complete musical composition or, in literary usage, to its words alone.
To sing or make music, especially in an expressive or sustained manner.
"The birds songed at first light in the quiet garden."
This use is literary, poetic, or archaic in style and is much less common in ordinary speech than the noun.
The plural is formed by adding -s.
"The collection contains songs from every decade."
From an Old English word closely related to “sing,” “song” has referred to voiced, shaped poetry for more than a thousand years.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of song
The noun descends from Old English sunge, meaning a poem, song, or musical performance, and is cognate with the Old English verb singan, “to sing.” The noun developed through Middle English song, while the modern verb “to song” continued an older poetic sense of singing or making music. Related Germanic cognates include German Song and Icelandic söngur, although their uses and histories are not identical.
Related word forms
How song is actually used
In its everyday noun sense, “song” normally denotes a relatively brief musical work. The verb is literary or poetic rather than common in neutral speech.
Easily confused with song
A song is a musical composition or poetic text, whereas a son is a male child or descendant.
“Song” is a noun or a verb in its base form, while “sung” is the past participle of “sing.”