Songwriting / Copyright Question...

[John London]

Apologies if this is the wrong forum for this question...

I am hoping one of the experts around these parts can help me out with this...

I have based one of my recent songs on a poem from Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings". The lyrics to the verses are almost exactly those of Tolkien's poem and I have written my own melody and chorus. I am not trying to rip his work off, I am just a big fan, so it is a compliment in a way.

I am wondering what the copyright implications are for doing this. Can I record / perform / sell my song without any special permission. Here are the lyrics of the poem and my song for reference. Thanks for the help...

Tolkien's Poem:
The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

My Song:
Verse 1
The road ahead goes ever on and on
Down from the open door where it began
Now far ahead of me the road has gone
And I must follow if I think I can

Chorus
I don't mind just what I find
When this road reaches the end
I'll just leave it all behind
When this road reaches the end

Verse 2
Persuing it with tired and weary feet
Until it goes some other larger way
Where many a different path and errand meet
And where it's going next I cannot say

Chorus, etc...

cheers,

john london

[dwoz]

Well, a song copyright essentially covers the lyrics and melody (and not the chords, unless somehow the chords COMPRISE the melody).

The very minor changes...dare I say enhancements...that you've made to the lyrics barely mask the original, so there's no question at all that you are at best, "co-author" of the song.

An original author does not need permission from anyone to exploit a song he/she's written...so both you and Tolkien are free to use the song as you'd like.

I would almost imagine that, from the perspective of Tolkien's estate, it would probably cost them as much to track down WHY you were sending them a royalty cheque, as the face value of that cheque. But you might do the courtesy of giving co-write credit to him.

Come to think of it, at this point the estate of Tolkien is probably registered with ASCAP or BMI, and probably SESAC. I get the feeling this situation isn't unique.

As far as your changes to his prose...I'm sure it was done to fit a particular meter...but you might count your blessings that your cowriter is deceased.

hope this helps...

dwoz

[John London]

Thanks for the feedback. Yes, I made the changes to fit my melody and meter and I do admit that my version is not as elegant as the original (and the meaning is slightly changed in places:icon_eek:).

Regarding the copyright stuff, I realize that my usage of these words will amount to nothing in the eyes of the Tolkien estate, but I want to make sure that I do things right.

It sounds like you are saying giving a co-write credit is appropriate in this case. What is entailed in that, aside from putting his name on the album credits? If the Tolkien estate is registered with one of the organisations you mentioned, what do I do with that?

Thanks again,

JL