Songwriting and Authenticity

Take any one of the successful songwriters from any era, and you will find one thing in common.  Whether is Carole King, Bob Dylan, or John Lennon, one finds the same recurring theme:  great words to good music.  Why are the words great when the music is just good?

Here is a technical explanation as I see it.  In music, we have musical resources that are limited by more boundaries than the words themselves.  A typical alphabet form has a set of just over 20 letters that could be used in any way, shape or form.  The musical alphabet has far less tones.  On top of that, it has the issue of tonal versus atonal...etc...etc...etc.  In other words, the ear will judge the music and translate this judgement into emotions.  Words are quite different.

Therefore here is a more conception explanation on this same scenario of songwriting.  Words speak directly to the hear.  A song is usually judged, not on how many many key changes it brings to the songwriting table, but on how effective it was on conveying the message or multiple messages.  Therefore, that is why there is a constant repetition in one way or another of great melodic lines.  These get used and reused!  And, the fact of the matter is that: it is OK...the song listeners will judge the song progressively on its effective humanity.  We are all about connections, and sometimes, a simple but very powerful one could be made as long as the authenticity of the song is not overshadowed by its musical ideas.