diff --git a/internal/lyrics/lrc.go b/internal/lyrics/lrc.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..faac26b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/lyrics/lrc.go
@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+// Package lyrics parses LRC and Enhanced LRC lyric files into a
+// structured, timing-preserving representation, without inventing any
+// data the source file doesn't actually contain: a plain LRC file
+// produces line-level timing only; word-level cues are only populated
+// when the file actually has inline word timestamps.
+package lyrics
+
+import (
+	"regexp"
+	"sort"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// Word is one word/syllable-level timed cue within a Line, present only
+// for Enhanced LRC input.
+type Word struct {
+	StartMs int
+	Text    string
+}
+
+// Line is one line of lyrics, synced to a start time.
+type Line struct {
+	StartMs int
+	Text    string
+	Words   []Word // empty unless the source had inline word timing
+}
+
+// Parsed is the result of parsing one lyric file.
+type Parsed struct {
+	Lang     string // from an [la:xx] tag, "" if absent
+	OffsetMs int    // from an [offset:+/-n] tag, 0 if absent
+	Lines    []Line
+	Enhanced bool // true if any line has word-level Words
+}
+
+var (
+	lineTimeRE = regexp.MustCompile(`^\[(\d{1,3}):(\d{2})(?:[.:](\d{1,3}))?\]`)
+	metaTagRE  = regexp.MustCompile(`^\[([a-zA-Z]+):(.*)\]$`)
+	wordTimeRE = regexp.MustCompile(`<(\d{1,3}):(\d{2})(?:[.:](\d{1,3}))?>`)
+)
+
+// Parse parses LRC (and, transparently, Enhanced LRC) content. It never
+// returns an error for merely-unrecognized lines — those are skipped,
+// matching how real-world LRC files in the wild often carry stray
+// metadata this parser doesn't know about; only genuinely empty input
+// produces a Parsed with no lines.
+func Parse(content string) *Parsed {
+	p := &Parsed{}
+	lines := strings.Split(strings.ReplaceAll(content, "\r\n", "\n"), "\n")
+
+	for _, raw := range lines {
+		line := strings.TrimSpace(raw)
+		if line == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		if m := metaTagRE.FindStringSubmatch(line); m != nil && !lineTimeRE.MatchString(line) {
+			applyMetaTag(p, strings.ToLower(m[1]), strings.TrimSpace(m[2]))
+			continue
+		}
+
+		// A line may carry multiple leading [mm:ss.xx] timestamps
+		// (repeated chorus lines sharing one piece of text).
+		var times []int
+		rest := line
+		for {
+			m := lineTimeRE.FindStringSubmatch(rest)
+			if m == nil {
+				break
+			}
+			times = append(times, parseTimeMs(m[1], m[2], m[3]))
+			rest = rest[len(m[0]):]
+		}
+		if len(times) == 0 {
+			continue // not a timed lyric line and not a recognized metadata tag
+		}
+
+		text, words := parseWords(rest)
+		for _, t := range times {
+			p.Lines = append(p.Lines, Line{StartMs: t, Text: text, Words: words})
+			if len(words) > 0 {
+				p.Enhanced = true
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	sortLines(p.Lines)
+	return p
+}
+
+func applyMetaTag(p *Parsed, key, value string) {
+	switch key {
+	case "la":
+		p.Lang = value
+	case "offset":
+		if n, err := strconv.Atoi(strings.TrimPrefix(value, "+")); err == nil {
+			p.OffsetMs = n
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// parseWords splits an Enhanced-LRC line body on inline <mm:ss.xx> word
+// timestamps. If there are none, it returns the whole trimmed body as
+// plain text with no words — a normal (non-enhanced) LRC line.
+func parseWords(body string) (text string, words []Word) {
+	matches := wordTimeRE.FindAllStringSubmatchIndex(body, -1)
+	if len(matches) == 0 {
+		return strings.TrimSpace(body), nil
+	}
+
+	for i, m := range matches {
+		wordStart := m[1] // end of the <time> tag itself
+		wordEnd := len(body)
+		if i+1 < len(matches) {
+			wordEnd = matches[i+1][0]
+		}
+		wordText := strings.TrimSpace(body[wordStart:wordEnd])
+		startMs := parseTimeMs(body[m[2]:m[3]], body[m[4]:m[5]], subOrEmpty(body, m[6], m[7]))
+		if wordText != "" {
+			words = append(words, Word{StartMs: startMs, Text: wordText})
+		}
+	}
+	// Plain text rendering: words joined with a single space, matching
+	// how the line reads without timing markup.
+	parts := make([]string, 0, len(words))
+	for _, w := range words {
+		parts = append(parts, w.Text)
+	}
+	return strings.Join(parts, " "), words
+}
+
+func subOrEmpty(s string, start, end int) string {
+	if start < 0 || end < 0 {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return s[start:end]
+}
+
+func parseTimeMs(minStr, secStr, fracStr string) int {
+	min, _ := strconv.Atoi(minStr)
+	sec, _ := strconv.Atoi(secStr)
+	frac := 0
+	if fracStr != "" {
+		// Fractional part may be 1-3 digits (tenths, hundredths, or
+		// milliseconds); normalize to milliseconds.
+		f, _ := strconv.Atoi(fracStr)
+		switch len(fracStr) {
+		case 1:
+			frac = f * 100
+		case 2:
+			frac = f * 10
+		default:
+			frac = f
+		}
+	}
+	return min*60*1000 + sec*1000 + frac
+}
+
+func sortLines(lines []Line) {
+	sort.SliceStable(lines, func(i, j int) bool { return lines[i].StartMs < lines[j].StartMs })
+}
diff --git a/internal/lyrics/lrc_test.go b/internal/lyrics/lrc_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..78d162c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/lyrics/lrc_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,154 @@
+package lyrics
+
+import "testing"
+
+func TestParsePlainLRC(t *testing.T) {
+	content := `[la:en]
+[00:12.34]First line
+[00:15.00]Second line
+[00:20.50]Third line`
+
+	p := Parse(content)
+	if p.Lang != "en" {
+		t.Errorf("Lang = %q, want en", p.Lang)
+	}
+	if p.Enhanced {
+		t.Error("Enhanced = true, want false for plain LRC")
+	}
+	if len(p.Lines) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("Lines = %v, want 3", p.Lines)
+	}
+	if p.Lines[0].StartMs != 12340 || p.Lines[0].Text != "First line" {
+		t.Errorf("Lines[0] = %+v", p.Lines[0])
+	}
+	if p.Lines[2].StartMs != 20500 {
+		t.Errorf("Lines[2].StartMs = %d, want 20500", p.Lines[2].StartMs)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestParseLinesSortedByTime(t *testing.T) {
+	// Deliberately out of order in the source file.
+	content := "[00:20.00]Later\n[00:05.00]Earlier\n[00:10.00]Middle"
+	p := Parse(content)
+	if len(p.Lines) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("Lines = %v, want 3", p.Lines)
+	}
+	if p.Lines[0].Text != "Earlier" || p.Lines[1].Text != "Middle" || p.Lines[2].Text != "Later" {
+		t.Errorf("lines not sorted by time: %+v", p.Lines)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestParseRepeatedTimestamps(t *testing.T) {
+	content := "[00:05.00][00:45.00]Chorus line"
+	p := Parse(content)
+	if len(p.Lines) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("Lines = %v, want 2 (one per timestamp)", p.Lines)
+	}
+	if p.Lines[0].Text != "Chorus line" || p.Lines[1].Text != "Chorus line" {
+		t.Errorf("both repeated lines should have the same text: %+v", p.Lines)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestParseEnhancedLRCWordTiming(t *testing.T) {
+	content := "[00:12.00]<00:12.00>Hello <00:12.50>world <00:13.00>test"
+	p := Parse(content)
+	if !p.Enhanced {
+		t.Fatal("Enhanced = false, want true for word-timed input")
+	}
+	if len(p.Lines) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("Lines = %v, want 1", p.Lines)
+	}
+	line := p.Lines[0]
+	if line.Text != "Hello world test" {
+		t.Errorf("Text = %q, want %q", line.Text, "Hello world test")
+	}
+	if len(line.Words) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("Words = %v, want 3", line.Words)
+	}
+	if line.Words[0].StartMs != 12000 || line.Words[0].Text != "Hello" {
+		t.Errorf("Words[0] = %+v", line.Words[0])
+	}
+	if line.Words[1].StartMs != 12500 || line.Words[1].Text != "world" {
+		t.Errorf("Words[1] = %+v", line.Words[1])
+	}
+	if line.Words[2].StartMs != 13000 || line.Words[2].Text != "test" {
+		t.Errorf("Words[2] = %+v", line.Words[2])
+	}
+}
+
+func TestParsePlainLRCHasNoWords(t *testing.T) {
+	// Regression guard for "do not fake enhanced timing from ordinary
+	// plain lyrics": a plain synced line must never synthesize word cues.
+	content := "[00:12.00]Just a normal line with several words"
+	p := Parse(content)
+	if p.Enhanced {
+		t.Fatal("Enhanced = true for a plain LRC line")
+	}
+	if len(p.Lines[0].Words) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("Words = %v, want none for a plain line", p.Lines[0].Words)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestParseUTF8Content(t *testing.T) {
+	// Japanese and emoji content, to exercise multi-byte UTF-8 handling
+	// (relevant later for byte-offset computation in the OpenSubsonic
+	// wire format).
+	content := "[00:01.00]こんにちは世界\n[00:05.00]🎵 music note 🎶"
+	p := Parse(content)
+	if len(p.Lines) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("Lines = %v, want 2", p.Lines)
+	}
+	if p.Lines[0].Text != "こんにちは世界" {
+		t.Errorf("Lines[0].Text = %q", p.Lines[0].Text)
+	}
+	if p.Lines[1].Text != "🎵 music note 🎶" {
+		t.Errorf("Lines[1].Text = %q", p.Lines[1].Text)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestParseEnhancedUTF8Words(t *testing.T) {
+	content := "[00:01.00]<00:01.00>日本語<00:01.50>のテスト"
+	p := Parse(content)
+	if len(p.Lines[0].Words) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("Words = %v, want 2", p.Lines[0].Words)
+	}
+	if p.Lines[0].Words[0].Text != "日本語" {
+		t.Errorf("Words[0].Text = %q", p.Lines[0].Words[0].Text)
+	}
+	if p.Lines[0].Words[1].Text != "のテスト" {
+		t.Errorf("Words[1].Text = %q", p.Lines[0].Words[1].Text)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestParseOffset(t *testing.T) {
+	p := Parse("[offset:+500]\n[00:10.00]Line")
+	if p.OffsetMs != 500 {
+		t.Errorf("OffsetMs = %d, want 500", p.OffsetMs)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestParseEmptyInput(t *testing.T) {
+	p := Parse("")
+	if len(p.Lines) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("Lines = %v, want empty", p.Lines)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestParseIgnoresUnrecognizedLines(t *testing.T) {
+	content := "[ar:Some Artist]\n[ti:Some Title]\nplain text with no timestamp\n[00:01.00]Actual line"
+	p := Parse(content)
+	if len(p.Lines) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("Lines = %v, want 1 (junk lines skipped)", p.Lines)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestParseCentisecondsVsMilliseconds(t *testing.T) {
+	// [mm:ss.xx] (centiseconds, 2 digits) vs [mm:ss.xxx] (milliseconds, 3 digits).
+	p := Parse("[00:01.50]Two digit\n[00:02.500]Three digit")
+	if p.Lines[0].StartMs != 1500 {
+		t.Errorf("two-digit frac: StartMs = %d, want 1500", p.Lines[0].StartMs)
+	}
+	if p.Lines[1].StartMs != 2500 {
+		t.Errorf("three-digit frac: StartMs = %d, want 2500", p.Lines[1].StartMs)
+	}
+}