should i use de ou des?

Question

Hello. Why is it written de chansons and not des chansons? I was writing a translation of "write song lyrics". and it said the translation was "écrire des paroles de chansons." why is it de chansons and not des chansons?

Accepted Answer

"Write song lyrics" - in French you effectively translate this to  'write words/lyrics of songs' - « écrire des paroles de chansons » rather than 'write words (lyrics)  of THE songs' - « écrire des paroles des chansons ».
Worth a further look at the section marked "Attention" - « des » remains « des » when it is the contraction of "of the" (de les - des).