[quote=Guitarhacker The point being.... it's not what you put in the song, but more so what you leave out that makes the song what it can be. Thoughts and comments? [/quote]

As I ingest my morning coffee I agree with the above.
There's an old adage....'have the guts to cut'.

Overall, it depends on our individual goals with our very personal song writing.
But, I'd guess we all want the listeners to not tire of our songs/lyrics because they are too long, to verbose or wreaks with cliches.

If the mass appeal, commercial music industry demands 3-4 minutes and more concise vs. verbose lyrical content and length then that's what we'd have to adhere to if we are aiming for this 'mass appeal/commercial' market.

Me...I've been doing this a long time (as with you and many others here) and have no illusions about where I fit in the musical scheme of things.
Song writing is not easy for me and it's takes me time to get a song to the point where I'm satisfied with the lyrics, the phrasing and length. (hmm..are we ever actually 'done' with a song?)

I certainly don't fit into the mass appeal genre and only hope I'm not relegated to the 'you totally suck' genre. smile

Should be good topic for other responses.

That's my take on it....carry on.

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