Sometimes I finish a song… and I feel pretty good about it; it seems to be working well. At that point I might even perform and/or record it.

But even then I can still find myself going through my life thinking about some aspect of the song that’s bothering me, that doesn’t sit quite right with me yet, even though the song is ‘done’.

Another part of me – the lazy part – tells me it’s fine; it’s good enough. Move on!

But you know what? That first voice is usually right. If something’s bothering me, if I think it could be better… I’m probably on to something. I usually find that if I run it through the grinder a bunch more times I can improve it. If something about that melody, or the way that rhyme flows, is bugging me, I often can do something to remove the ‘rub’, to push it a bit higher. Not always, but often enough.

Though one always has to be careful to not make something worse by ‘improving’ it.

Let me make a distinction here. Nothing’s perfect (whatever that is), so at least in theory a song could always be ‘better’. And sometimes, even after the Voice referred to above has been listened to, there’s still a nagging feeling… then the question becomes, Can I make it better? We know Lennon & McCartney could’ve made it better, that Enimem could probably improve the lyrics but… can I?

Some songwriters, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen for example, rewrite songs many times, over many years; even songs that have been recorded, released, covered, etc.

Sometimes it’s time to let go. But when it comes to our own songs, each of us, along with our collaborators, if any, gets to decide when – and if – that time comes.

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