Archived - iTunes: Adding song lyrics to iPod

Summary

If you like to sing along with your tunes, you can display song lyrics right on the screen of a supported iPod.

Products Affected

iPad, iPhone, iPod, iPod mini, iPod nano, iPod touch, iTunes

This article has been archived and is no longer updated by Apple.

Entering lyrics

  1. In iTunes 5 or later, select a favorite song.
  2. From the File menu, choose Get Info.
  3. Click Lyrics, then enter the words to the song in the text box.
  4. Click OK when finished.
  5. Copy the song to iPod.

Viewing lyrics

If you've entered song lyrics, you can view them at any time in iTunes 5 or later. Just select the song, Get Info for the song, and then click Lyrics. If you want to view them on iPod, do this:

  1. On iPod, start playing any song to which you've added lyrics.
  2. Press the Center button repeatedly. The number of times depends on if you have artwork or not. Here's the order of things when you press the Center button:
    Play status > Scrubber > Album Art > Lyrics/Description > Rating
    If you don't have Album Art or Lyrics, then you'll just see the Rating
    Play status > Scrubber > Rating

Lyrics should display correctly in most languages. If they do not, try removing any special characters in the Lyrics pane in iTunes, copy the song back to iPod, and try again.

Additional Information

Some types of files such as WAV and QuickTime files don't support lyrics, though you can convert WAV and QuickTime files into a format that would allow you to add lyrics such as AAC or MP3.

Important: Information about products not manufactured by Apple is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute Apple’s recommendation or endorsement. Please contact the vendor for additional information.
Not helpful Somewhat helpful Helpful Very helpful Solved my problem
Ask other users about this article
in Apple Support Communities
See all questions on this article See all questions I have asked