A person who composes the words and/or music for songs.
Compound of 'song' (from Old English 'sang') and 'writer' (from Old English 'writan,' meaning to scratch or mark). The term became common in the music industry by the early 1900s.
Professional songwriting is young—before the 1900s, most musicians played classical compositions and ballads passed down orally, but as recording technology arrived, the 'songwriter' became a recognized profession, fundamentally changing how music is created and owned.
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