The columns Song, Album, and Year list each song title, the official release on which the song first appeared, and the year in which the song was released for the first time. The columns Length, Author, and Producer indicate the length of the track, the author of the song (most often Wainwright alone), and the producer of the track. References are also provided for each song in the last column of the table. While many songs listed appear on multiple releases (for example, "Spotlight on Christmas" appears on Maybe This Christmas Too?, The McGarrigle Christmas Hour, and Elton John's Christmas Party), songs are listed based on the first release and only appear twice when the recordings have different production information (producer, length, etc.).
The list includes original songs released on studio recordings, songs written but not performed by Wainwright, original songs performed live, and recorded cover songs.
Following is a list of original songs by Wainwright that have been released on a studio album, EP, soundtrack, compilation album, single, or DVD. Also included is "Ode to Antidote", a studio-quality promotional single used to promote a perfume by Viktor & Rolf, and "Patience is a Virtue", an original song available via digital download on Wal-Mart's website with the purchase of Release the Stars.
Following is a chart containing songs originally written or co-written by Wainwright that do not appear on one of his original albums. The list includes songs performed solely by other artists and those that feature Wainwright as a co-lead or backing vocalist.
These songs appear on Wainwright's 1995 demo cassette (Desdemona Publishing) recorded by Pierre Marchand.
Following is a list of songs by Wainwright that have been performed live but have yet to appear on an official release: