The original newgroup message can be found at:

     <a href="ftp://ftp2.netcom.com/pub/ftp/dh/dhalgren/lyrics/>

     Since most sites don't honor netcom control messages, you are probably
     reading the group courtesy of someone else's booster newgroup.  Thanks,
     folks.  (Can't get alt.music.lyrics?  Contact your news admin!)

     FROM THE NEWGROUP MESSAGE:

For your newsgroups file:
alt.music.lyrics	Discussion of song lyrics.

Charter:

This group is for posting of non-copyrighted/public domain song lyrics;
for discussion of song lyrics, and for posting of original lyrics for
comments and criticism.  While excerpting copyrighted lyrics for the
purpose of discussion ("fair use") is encouraged, posting of copyrighted
lyrics in full is discouraged.

     END OF NEWGROUP MESSAGE

     Why all the skirting around the issue?  Well, I don't want to encourage
     illegal activities.  One poster to a.m.l accused me of wanting to
     create a forum for bad original lyrics and mutual back-patting,
     "sort of like alt.lesbian.feminist.poetry."  Actually, I'm more worried
     about copyright issues.  Usenet is largely a text-based medium (apart
     from occasional MIME files) and is well-suited for the posting of lyrics.
     I can't imagine that the record companies would object to our copyright
     violations either -- give up all that free publicity?  If you disagree,
     I wouldn't mind hearing about it via e-mail, but don't expect me to argue
     with you.