For one of my novels, I licensed a lyric from a major act. It cost less than $100. If you really want to use a song lyric, inquire about licensing with the music publisher. You might be pleasantly surprised at the cost. It’s not always prohibitive.

It’s important to know that you can’t just use someone else’s lyrics and cite them hoping your copyright violation won’t get noticed. Permission and licensing are crucial and the right thing to do. It’s just not necessarily as out of reach as people claim. The licensing process does take some legwork and your agent, editor or publisher may not want to be bothered. But licensing is in fact something mere mortals are capable of arranging and doesn’t always cost a fortune.