I don´t understand your approach at all.
I acknowledge that I'm probably from the "old school" of songwriting where the lyrics mattered as much as the music. I've already noted in another thread that for some people here it seems almost taboo to criticize a song on lyrical grounds. If I just wanted to write music then I'd write instrumental pieces, but I like writing songs because of the interplay between the words and the music. That's what makes them different from any other art form.
I´m not being citical by saying this because everyone is different. However, for me the essence of songwriting is making people feel emotion and (hopefully) make them want to play the song again.
In my opinion, songwriting is both an art and a craft. I'm the first to admit that I'm stronger on the "craft" side than on the "art" side, but then the main purpose of my own work is to make people laugh rather than move them emotionally. However, there are many beautifully crafted songs that I find deeply moving as well, and I take particular inspiration from the Great American Songbook.
As an example, take Cole Porter's "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" (lyrics
here). I heard it performed recently by someone who was leaving the country, and it's one of the most moving songs I know. The lyrics are beautifully written and fitted to the music, and in perfect grammatical English. I don't think that detracts from the emotional impact - on the contrary, it enhances it for me.
I nearly always write lyrics that mean something to me, but I don´t care about grammar if the song is belting along.
Sure, and as others have said it depends very much on the style of the song. It would be ridiculous to 'correct' the Rolling Stones to "I can't get any satisfaction", because the whole impact of the lyric is conveyed by the blunt colloquial style. But that wasn't really what I was getting at in my original post - it was more to do with occasions when lyricists take liberties with grammar or semantics for the sake of rhyme or scansion. Maybe I'm being old-fashioned, but that's just lazy songwriting in my view.
I've spent hours sometimes shifting words around in a line just to make sure that the scansion works, the rhymes work, the words are grammatical and it means what it's supposed to mean,
all at the same time. There have been occasions when I've almost given up in despair, but I always get there in the end, because I think it's worth it if you want to have a decent reputation as a songwriter. But I suspect I'm very much in the minority these days. I should have been around in the 1930s!
I´ll go back and listen to the stuff you´ve posted. You got my curiosity going at least, and we are here to broaden our minds...
Thanks. Remember that my songs are mainly comedy so they're very much a "niche", although "Ask Me Another" is a more serious song. Several people have said they like that one the best, but - to be honest - it was the lyric I found easiest to write. I enjoyed writing the music because it allowed me to use an idiom that I wouldn't normally employ in comedy, but the words took about half an hour. I don't feel I've created a really good lyric unless I've spent ages sweating over it - but that's probably just me!