Back in the 70's and 80's country music was 2:30 long per song. 3 minutes was considered too long. Now days that has stretched to 3 minutes as average with 4 minutes the max limit most radio stations will play so no artist wants to exceed that number.

At the same time country was sticking to 2:30, on the rock side of things the bands and artists were going long.

The Beatles with Hey Jude at 7+ minutes, Neil Young with Down by the River at close to 10 minutes..... and Led Zepplin averaging over 5 minutes....

Having played music for a living for quite a few years, I can vouch that the audience in any given club has a definite limit as to how long they will stay on a dance floor on any given song. And that limit is only a few minutes. Beyond that, they get tired or bored and go set down.

Keep the songs short and keep the people engaged.... same thing with writing.... say what you need to say in the shortest and most efficient and clever way, and be done.

You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.