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I have written a nonsense song in response to a songwriting challenge (to write a nonsense song) and as such, there are verses and choruses with repeating chords and melody but without repeating lyrics.
Because there is no logic to the song and all lines are random sentences (much like the verses to 'I am the walrus'), I am thinking of choosing a random phrase from verse 1 in which I mention British Airways but not in any derogatory sense ... 'And he flew British Airways because of awards'.
I thought the title 'British Airways' might be intriguing, but does anyone have any thoughts about the pros and cons of this that I might not have considered?
If you had a song where there wasn't a theme (other than being nonsense) and no repeating lyrics, and other than the obvious choice of calling it 'Nonsense', what approach would you use to naming this song, and do you think the song title is an important feature of a song?
Andrew
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The song title is very important - but only to the author. Every one else in the world will just accept whatever you decide.  Case in point - "On 4 March 1966, the song was issued as the title track of the British EP Yesterday. ... ↑ "Paul McCartney sings "Scrambled Eggs" (the original "Yesterday")"."
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I’ve not looked up Australia but, in most countries, titles cannot be copyrighted. In many countries, using registered trademarks in song titles is not always a good idea,
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I have been writing a lot of solo piano songs recently. I simply have given them titles like "Piano emotional #35".
After all, the great composers also did that Beethoven for example... 9th symphony.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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I usually take two things into consideration when trying to find a song title . . . First, I want to have the title reflect at least one line if not a repeated line in the song. Second I try to find a title that hasn't been done to death. For an intentionally 'nonsense' song I think you would be fine coming up with a nonsense title. Using a company's trademark name might not be the best choice. Although there was "United Breaks Guitars"
Last edited by Sawmill Music; 07/02/26 06:58 AM.
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Thank you all for your comments and advice - some good comments there. I think I *will* avoid the British Airways title for the reasons that Mike and Russell indicated.
I’ve realised when reviewing my lyrics that while I don’t have a repeating line in the chorus, there is a repeating word acting as an interjection, so I’m going with that.
Andrew
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Although there was "United Breaks Guitars" Yes but it was not, "United Airlines Breaks Guitars". Long ago, Paul Simon wrote a song called "Kodachrome". Everybody went ballistic over the title until Mr. Simon went to someone at Eastman Kodak Co. and, as a result, changed the name to "Kodachrome ®" for the record label. ![[Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]](https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=32770&filename=Screenshot 2026-07-02 at 2.47.18 PM.png)
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Although there was "United Breaks Guitars" Yes but it was not, "United Airlines Breaks Guitars". Long ago, Paul Simon wrote a song called "Kodachrome". Everybody went ballistic over the title until Mr. Simon went to someone at Eastman Kodak Co. and, as a result, changed the name to "Kodachrome ®" for the record label. Mike, I was working in research at Kodak when that song came out. Kodak wanted the registered trademark symbol ® instead of demanding copyright infringement and stopping playing it because it was free advertising for our film.
Last edited by MarioD; 07/02/26 04:32 PM.
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Mike, I was working in research at Kodak when that song came out. Kodak wanted the registered trademark symbol ® instead of demanding copyright infringement and stopping playing it because it was free advertising for our film. Interesting spin on what really happened. There is no copyright on titles nor individual words nor was there any in the 1909 version of Title 17 when the song was released—nothing to demand in that regard. Paul Simon and someone at Eastman Kodak sat down and worked it out—lawyers were never involved. Later, when Kodak tried to license the song for advertising, the attorneys could not work out a satisfactory deal until the 1990s. Trademark is different and Kodak was/is aggressive about protecting theirs—as they should be. Aspirin, Zipper and Thermos are three brands fell into the public domain through a process commonly called "genericide" due to the owners not being aggressive enough to protect their property. The BBC and Australia self-censored airplay since, at the time, they did not allow commercial names in songs over the radio but Kodak had no hand in that.
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To the OP's original question, at least as I understood it, I think that generally the title of the song should be found somewhere within the lyrics of the song.
Not always mind you but most of the time that's how it works.
Generally speaking the title is the one line of the song that haunts you and becomes unforgettable and is usually, at least in the vast majority of hits as far as I can tell, the main line of the chorus.
The title most often contains the theme to a certain extent.
So if you write a song and you can't figure out what you should call it, then I think in many cases the song doesn't have a theme yet and the chorus probably isn't right either.
Of course this is not true for all songs and it's not true for everybody but it's definitely true for me.
If I can't find a good title then I realize I probably haven't written the song yet.
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Thanks David. That’s my usual MO, but with my song only containing nonsense lyrics, I realised I did have a repeating lyric in the chorus - What?. Aided by the video, I’ve realised it is actually commentary on all the ‘slop’ that we see on social media and reactions to it. When many seek 15 minutes of fame or glorify the strange and unexpected, we end up missing true and deep connection rooted in everyday relationships - that’s my interpretation anyway. Andrew
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