Originally Posted By: Hugh2
So its a seasonal song and I called it "Its A Wonderful Life"...

I'm not a lawyer, but a title that short and generic can't be copyrighted, so it would seem you're on solid ground there.

Originally Posted By: Hugh2
The song is a protest Christmas song, which basically lampoons the idea of its a wonderful life...

In this case, you're referencing the movie by title, and somewhat ironically. This still seems safe to me.

Originally Posted By: Hugh2
...but I have the line "everytime an angel gets its wings,a bell rings" which is not the original line.

If this were a "traditional" saying, there'd be no issue in the first place, since the film wouldn't be able to copyright something in the public domain.

But I've not been able to find it in reference to anything other than "It's a Wonderful Life". In addition to Google, I looked through a number of public domain books of quotations, and got nothing.

So I suspect that the line itself is a creation for the movie. Assuming that it is (and therefore under copyright), does you use fall under Fair Use?

Given the brevity of the quote, the fact that it's in inexact quote, and that the entire song is an ironic commentary of "It's a Wonderful Life", it seems pretty clear to me that you're safe in using it.

-- David Cuny
My virtual singer development blog

Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?