When you copyright a song, do you have to copyright the words and the rhythm?

the lyric to a song is a different copyright than the music. while composers and lyricist usually work together and share copyrights for music and lyric, that is not always the case. it is more common for music to be added after the words (which are basically poems) but sometimes a musical piece is so commanding that it begs for words to be added, such as "land of hope and glory". Copyright your lyric as a poem, ignore the fact that it could be sung with music.

once your lyric is written down, it is in a fixed form and copyright is automatic. to register the copyright, that require a form and fee be sent to the copyright office, which is the library of congress in the USA. check their website.

there's no copyright on titles (e book's or Poems). You reasoned it out your self. i will write a e book or Poem titled "Water" and then i could receives a commission everytime somebody used the observe.