I've been to more songwriters workshops thru the years than I can shake a stick at. I've heard all kinds of songs from aspiring songwriters. Lately, I've been developing my songwriting skills mainly as a lyricist, because the music part comes more easily to me...
To me what makes the biggest difference is "how" you say " it, as opposed to "what" you're saying. If you take a topic like love and any emotion related to love it is almost impossible to not say something that has already been said a million times in any song. But what can make a difference is your ability to say something common in an unique way thru the use of imagery and metaphors.
This is not as easy as it sounds. There have been times where I couldn't come up with a creative line to save my life and a few rare times where an entire song with great lines flowed right thru me and into my pen.
Sometimes one word in an otherwise common line can make the difference. Sometimes it can be a simple song but there are some cool imaginative lines in each verse or bridge that stand out and are memorable. Of course a great melody and arrangement have a lot to do with the feel of the song as well. You can have great lyrics to a horrible piece of music and it won't work.
Let me give you a small example of what I'm talking about and see if any of you guys can guess who it is. These are a few lines from a song from one of my favorite writers. He's pretty huge, not some unknown artist...
"I make a church out of words
as the years dull my senses
and I try to hold on to the world that I knew
I struggle to cross generational fences
and the beauty that still remains
I can touch it thru you"
