I totally agree with your three points though. I reckon that a perfectionist would not see those points in the same way.

As for the interpretation of other peoples songs, I thank you for your kind words There are so many uninspired covers around and I totally understand it when you say

“A lot of people, when interpreting the material of others skip to the memorable parts of a song, sing verses out of order, drop entire sections…that’s the difference between conscious interpretation and half-assing someone else’s material, which is insulting to the artist being covered”

These covers you talk about are “functional” covers. Cover bands do it all the time. I love it when an artist or band do an “inspired” cover.

You’re also spot on in saying that there’s “nothing essential in songwriting”. there are no rules but perfectionists make up rules to put in their own way.

Speaking as someone who tends not to overthink these things, a song is finished when the following elements are in place:

1. The writer is happy with the lyrics.
2. The writer is happy with the melodies and chords.
3. The writer is happy with the order in which the sections of the song appear, your verse/chorus/verse/middle eight/bridge/what have you.

Everything else is interpretation. In fact, #3 generally falls to interpretation too, but I included it because I tend to give deference to the writer’s interpretation of the order in which things appear. A lot of people, when interpreting the material of others skip to the memorable parts of a song, sing verses out of order, drop entire sections, and while there’s nothing overtly wrong with this, it’s important to know you’re doing it…that’s the difference between conscious interpretation and half-assing someone else’s material, which is insulting to the artist being covered. And I know you know this because you are one of the more reverential people I’ve met on this point. You respect the artist and make an above and beyond effort to do their work justice.

As far as people agonising over their work, it really depends on the writer and the song. Not all of us can have seemingly divine inspiration on speed dial. Personally, if someone is trying to make a song happen more than they are letting the song happen, they need to put it away until it comes to them. Forcing it will ultimately sound forced.

So yeah, agonisers need to let go, but only until it comes to them. When you’ve got a song, you’ve got a song. People sometimes think they need a bridge or a chorus, or some elusive instrumental intro, and maybe they do, but it’s important to remember that there is little that is essential in songwriting.

Some of my songs don’t have choruses, much less a bridge, and I like them that way. The most enduring songs ever written have no choruses…Amazing Grace, Happy Birthday, White Christmas, Yesterday, etc…not a chorus in the bunch, and no one seems to mind.

The song knows when it’s done, and if the writer can’t figure out which bits of rock to chisel away or when to put the chisel down, then maybe it’s just not meant to be.