By IAN BAILEY -- Canadian Press

VANCOUVER -- Sarah McLachlan was more willing to discuss songwriting credits with an ex-boyfriend than the man who made a valued contribution to her first album, a court was told Thursday.

The superstar singer conceded the point after tough cross-examination that left her speaking barely above a whisper at the end of a day of testimony in B.C. Supreme Court.

McLachlan, 30, is being sued by Darryl Neudorf, a musician seeking cash and credit for his work on four songs that appeared on her 1988 first album, Touch.

McLachlan has conceded that Neudorf, 34, contributed a verse melody on the song Steaming on her debut album, Touch.

The musician McLachlan described as a "sweet man" was recruited by her label in late 1987 to help the then-19-year-old singer assemble songs for Touch, which would launch her career.

On Thursday, McLachlan testified that her boyfriend at the time also made some suggestions for Steaming, but did not want creative credit for his ideas.

Neudorf's lawyer, Jonathan Simkin, pressed McLachlan hard on why she asked her boyfriend about credit, but not Neudorf.

"I don't know," a subdued McLachlan replied several times to Simkin's questions.

Neudorf maintains he co-wrote four songs with McLachlan -- Vox, Steaming, Strange World and Sad Clown -- but he did not receive royalties or credit.

Thursday was notable in the trial, now ending its third week, because it was the first opportunity for Simkin to vigorously question the key figure in the case.

For several hours, Simkin peppered McLachlan with questions.

Over the day, McLachlan's manner seemed less certain. Her answers became shorter and more clipped.

By the time Justice Bruce Cohen, who is hearing the case without a jury, adjourned the trial to Monday, McLachlan was barely audible as she replied to Simkin's questions.

Simkin kept citing differences between answers McLachlan provided in discovery evidence and her testimony to her lawyer earlier in the trial.

Discovery sessions are held to allow both sides to preview evidence. The hearings in this case were held in 1996.

McLachlan said in discovery that Neudorf made no contributions to Steaming. Later, she changed her mind after reflecting on the matter.

Neudorf, a former drummer with the band 54-40, was invited to work on Touch by his friend, Mark Jowett -- co-founder of McLachlan's label, Nettwerk Productions.

At the time, McLachlan was newly arrived in Vancouver to work on the first of five albums she was signed to provide for Nettwerk, which remains her label.

On Thursday, she insisted that Neudorf was never a songwriter, just recruited to help in production and keep her focused.

"I did not think I was writing songs with Darryl," she said. "I knew the difference between writing together and working together."

On Touch, McLachlan is credited for solo writing all but two songs. Neudorf is thanked for "inspiration" and given credit for pre-production co-ordination and production assistance.