I don't understand how these are written. Do these people just write things down and slap in a chorus.

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No. They make it as if it's going to rhyme and then remove the rhyming parts. I've never liked a song that doesn't rhyme if you can tell they didn't do it that way.

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Non-rhyming songs are harder to make, but when properly done, they can be brilliant.

Case in point, Guster's "Demons"- this was, at one point, my favorite song. If you don't have a predjudice about pop music, then check it out. If you do, stop listening to Clear Channel, get your head straight, then go check it out. The lyrics:

My words confuse you,
My eyes don't move or blink,
'Cause it's easier sometimes not to be sincere,
Somehow I make you believe,

[chorus]
When I speak I cross my fingers,
Will you know you've been decieved?
I find a need to be the demon,
A demon cannot be hurt.

Honest is easy,
Fiction's where genius lies,
'Cause it's easier sometimes not to be involved
Somehow I make you believe,

[Chorus]

...It was years before I actually noticed the lack of rhymes- the lyrics just work.

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I think it's harder to write songs that rhyme than songs that don't rhyme. Just write down what you want to say and put it to a melody. I tend to notice lyrics that are forced into a rhyme scheme than lyrics that aren't. Use meter, internal rhyme, and alliteration in place of rhymes at the end of every line.

the excellent songwriters out there who use prose, instead of ryhmes in their songs, are very talented because they understand the language components, and how it works with the rythmn and meter of their songs, and how to treat their voices like instruments. the ones that have the truly great sounding lyrics and song dont just throw down random words. theyre chosen as to how they sound with the music.. not only this, but how the vocals are presented is important if you use prose more often then rhymes. those who stress a lot more on their vocal range, and spread it out can lose the effect of a words syllables, because the word is less spoken, and sung more. you've got to keep in mind, the vocals are like another instrument in the band, and you're playing notes with your throat. A ochestra choir most of the time sings only with their range and they dont use words at all. With those vocalists, they do treat their voices just like instruments.

rhyming only helps if you're trying to write something very catchy.
Lou Reed wrote a lot of his songs in the Sing-speak style where he is speaking more then singing, Rhyming was extremely important to him because of this.

So, its depends a lot on your singing style too.

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sonic youth's song "skip tracer" is a good example of nonrhyming lyric.

Many, many Radiohead songs have no rhyme whatsoever.

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Very few of my songs rhyme.

When your rhyming, often you end up looking for words to say that rhyme, rather than syaing what you mean.

I never really thought about it, just wrote songs and they don't rhyme.

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This is my main problem with music today.

(Don't take this as a slam on JDogg, I took that out of context to make a point about music at large.)

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Not taking offence.

I just don't understand what you mean....

When I said I 'didn't think about it' what I meant was I didn't think 'I've got to make this rhyme', I just let it flow rather than trying to force rhyme.

What's wrong with that in your opinion?

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If you can express your emotion without rhyming, then why even bother trying to rhyme. Rhyme is pointless and sometimes just comes off as cliche and annoying. It's important w/ pop songs for 14 year olds to memorize but seriously...

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But Bob Dylan is considered one of the greatest songwriters ever, and some of his ryhmes sound so forced they are almost funny.

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I find rhyme is usually really cheesy and cliche. I listen to punk music and alot of the bands don't have rhmyming lyrics. I really don't see the problem infact I prefer non-rhyming. The lyrics are much stronger.

Woo, reply a month late!

Okay, what I meant was that "I didn't really think about it, I just wrote songs," taken out of context, was a main problem of mine. In context, it's a perfectly reasonable thing- if rhyme is getting in the way of a good song, then by all means, get rid of it. I was intentionally misinterpreting you to make a point about songs with no thought in them at all- songs where the lyrics have no meaning behind them, it's just something to sing. Like Nickelback. I probably should have made that more clear.

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Tele

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It can depend if you write lyrics or music first. If you write music first, and wait for the lyrics to suggest themselves, they tend to find their own "fit" with relation to the music and the melody, not with each other. Also, if you have a scrap of a lyric saved up, it just might find a place to slot in by itself. Rhymes then are incidental, may happen or not.

Writing full lyrics ahead of time is where you have to watch the cliche - or do the Dylan thing and ride it till it submits!