Nick wrote:They both tell stories, it's just a matter of who fills in the details. In a book the author does, in a song the listener does. Both should be full of detail, the song's detail is more like painting a picture of a scene rather than describing the action.
Both should logically move from beginning to middle to end, though the song needn't necessarily follow a story arc, it can progress using the music rather than words.
I'd write more but I haven't had coffee.
Go get some coffee!
Not all authors "fill in the details". I think the absence of detail is what often separates art from anecdote. I'll give you some leeway though, whenever someone states things like: songs should... and music should logically.... I sense a brain that is caffeine deprived. Most rules apply to bad song writing, good song writing has no proven formula.
Looking at this as a forum for amateur writers, I think using a formed plot line as the basis for a song is bad advice.
This reminds me of the example of Hemingway excepting a challenge to write a story with only 6 words;
For sale, baby shoes, never worn.