According to Deuteronomy 31:16-18, YHWH met with Moses and his nominated successor Joshua (Yehoshua) at the "tabernacle of meeting" and told them that after Moses' death, the people of Israel would renege on the covenant that YHWH had made with them, and worship the gods of the lands they were occupying. YHWH told Moses to write down the words of a song and teach it to the community, so that it would be a "witness for Me against the children of Israel" (Deuteronomy 31:19). Deuteronomy 31:22 states that Moses did as he had been instructed, and in Deuteronomy 31:30 he then "spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song until they were ended".

Deuteronomy 32:1-43 contains the text of the Song.

The Song opens with an exordium (verses 1–3) in which heaven and earth are summoned to hear what the poet is to utter. In verses 4–6 the theme is defined: it is the rectitude and faithfulness of YHWH toward His corrupt and faithless people. Verses 7–14 portray the providence which conducted Israel in safety through the wilderness and gave it a rich and fertile land; verses 15–18 are devoted to Israel's unfaithfulness and lapse into idolatry. This lapse had compelled YHWH to threaten it (verses 19–27) with national disaster and almost with national extinction. Verses 28–43 describe how YHWH has determined to speak to the Israelites through the extremity of their need, to lead them to a better mind, and to grant them victory over their foes.

In a Torah scroll the song is written with a special layout, in two parallel columns.