I'm 62. I started writing songs in elementary school. They were awful. That's okay. I figure I've written a few hundred bad songs by this point and will probably write some more, but I've also written some good ones and I feel good about that.

I tend to write funny songs. (Or songs that start out as jokes and maybe turn into something serious along the way.) Often the "I" is not me but a character who I "get" and let speak. Other times the "I" is much closer to home. And still other times it's a bit of both.

I never think too much about it until someone remarks on a song with something like, "I never knew that happened to you" and I have to say, "Uh, that never did happen to me. It's a story, not a confession."

A bit of both. It also depends on the style of music. A country song about drinking is not a confession because I never drank much. I am currently working on something about outer space. I promise I have never been there...lol

Some of the more emotional songs always have some component of "I".

Billy

I'm trying to think back, but I'm pretty sure in all the years I've been a writer, I can count the number of songs that I wrote about my life or my personal experiences on one hand and have fingers left. I've always been an observer of life, and I think if I'm good at anything it's being able to put into words what I would do if I were in someone else's shoes.

A lot of the songs I've had recorded are sad songs, and I remember one time a woman who came to a songwriter show I played came up to me after my set and said "oh, I'm so sorry for you!", which confused me. When I asked what she meant she said "well you must have had your heart broken so many times to write those songs you sing". Well, no. I'm just good at thinking "how would I feel/react if..."

https://soundcloud.com/tater-totts-radio/circle-of-fifths

You tell me man.

Depends......

With poetic license... I'll never tell. (See what I did there? and here too)

The names may have been changed to protect the guilty.

It depends. I don't like to write about something I don't understand, so there's always plenty of "I" in my songs, in that sense. On the other hand, I like to use plenty of poetic license, too ... so it's a mixture of both, for me - a subject matter than I may know something about, which I then develop as I like, in other words.

Janice is a method actor. She lives and breathes a song while working it up and when it's recorded it's bye bye. Unless it's a superbly positive upbeat tune which meshes with her personality

Bud

Howdy....

Of the 27 songs I have on my s/c page I only have about (3) or (4) that come from the "I" standpoint.
Most of the others reflect my take on various aspects/attitudes toward life in general and others are written out of mere creative interest.

There's countless subjects to write about and I take my song writing and choice of subject matter pretty seriously.

Guess it's a 'bit of both' for me also.

A good day to all....carry on.

In lyrics I rarely use I, sometimes use my and occasionally use me.

When I do the lyric is from the perspective of the protagonist.
This is probably becasue I don't write about my experiences or life as such but may use some experiences to inform a story or perspective.
A very recent piece was written using I quite a bit...the narrative in the 1st person...

Only if you're looking
Yes, only if you look
There's a point
In the distance
I see you aren't there
No, you're not with me.

I don't want to go
You can't make me
I don't care to see
What it took
You're eyes open
Take in the pain
Once again

Only if you're seeking
Yes, only if you seek
There's a point
Just an instant
I see nothings there
No, not you or me.

I don't want to go
You can't make me
I don't want to know
What you know
Eyes wired open
Absorb the pain
Once again

Only if you're looking
Yes, only if you look
There's a point
A single instance
I see you're not there
No, you're not with me.

I don't want to look
You can't make me
It isn't time
It's really not
See it's a crime
Take all the pain
Once again
Once again

Now, the lyric isn't my experience, it is an idea about one person in a relationship analysing a future instead of enjoying a present whilst the narrator rejects that idea from a position of knowledge/perception of that future.

If I'm writing a song, I'm in the same mind-space as I am when writing fiction. It's more important to me who the "listener" is in the song than who the "narrator" is, though POV is important. I don't necessarily mean who is listening to the SONG, but who IN THE SONG is picking up what the narrator is putting down.

It's kind of like a parable. It's a fictitious story with an underlying truth. Though parts of it may be more-or-less "factual", the facts don't matter and are often obscured.

LITERAL:

I'm looking forward to going to Thailand. I'll be flying to the west coast, then on to Narita, then to Bangkok. I'm going to see my fiancee.

PARABLE:

Saturday night I'm gonna put on a tie
Take my truck for a whirl
Flow down the road across three county lines
To see my pretty little black-haired girl.

UNDERLYING TRUTH:

Anticipation is sweet.

There's more to it, but this is a forum post.