Sometimes you just have to go with it!
 

Hey, got my hands in my back pocket
I'm a jumpin'
Unscrewing the light from the socket
And I'd rather stand than sit
Puttin' all the people in the dark
Tellin' everyone good night bye bye
I put the sound
 
Carryin' the truth in my back pocket
My hands are holdin' me down
I've been waiting for people to ask me
What have you found
 
I'm a jumpin' humpin' hip hypocrit
I was dead before a gypsy
She held my head and
Fought with my boots till my eyes turned red
I'm a jumpin' humpin' hip hypocrit
Oh I'd rather stand than sit
I've been down to the gutter
Hopin' I've lived on honey and butter
But with me a life's a game
I call insane
I'm not the one to blame
I'm called insane
 
I was hung when I was young
I was named insane
I'm a jumpin' humpin' hip hypocrit
I broke all the laws before my age
I'm a jumpin' humpin' hip hypocrit
Yeah I'd rather stand than sit
I'm a jumpin' humpin' hip hypocrit
I turn around to see the clown
But with me a life's a game
I call insane
I'm not the one to blame
I'm called insane
 
I'm a jumpin' humpin' hip hypocrit
I'd rather stand than sit
I'm a jumpin' humpin' hip hypocrit
I'd rather stand than sit
I put the sound

*Bob Seger - Jumpin' Humpin' Hip Hypocrite Lyrics

@ Craig...LOL...you got that right.  Gosta do what ya gosta do.
 
Herb,
 
For the most part I agree with you as well.  Most of the time it is good to have patterns and rules for rhyming and near rhymes.  Most times the songs sit more comfortably that way.  However, I am a "know the rules and break the rules", type of writer.  I go with what I like or what feels better to me, even if it breaks the rules.  Sometimes that means following them, some times that means saying what I mean or want to, to better get my point across.  Here is one of my favorite songs of all time.  I love all of the near rhymes...and for the most part, it follows a rhyming pattern...but.. #1 near rhymes in the first verse and does n't in the second verse.  In the second verse...all the sudden we have a 4 pair of near rhymes that did not rhyme in verse 1.
 
This is more what I was alluding too, sometimes I follow rhyming patterns, sometimes I just abandon them for what feels better.
 
 
There are places I remember 1
All my life, though some have changed  2
Some forever not for better   1
Some have gone and some remain  2
All these places have their moments 
With lovers and friends I still can recall  3
Some are dead and some are living   
In my life I've loved them all  3

But of all these friends and lovers  1
There is no one compares with you   2
And these memories lose their meaning 
When I think of love as something new  2
Though I know I'll never lose affection  4 
For people and things that went before  3
I know I'll often stop and think about them  4 
In my life I love you more  3

Though I know I'll never lose affection   
For people and things that went before 
I know I'll often stop and think about them 
In my life I love you more 
In my life I love you more
 
Incidentally, another good example of a song that has almost no rhyming is I Am The Walrus.  What a fabulous piece of word play is that song.
 
 

Koo koo kachoo?

craigb

Guitarhacker
(Even MW has a very short list on the word "Orange"...... been there tried that.)

So what do they have for "Purple?"

Well...according to Roger Miller that would be "maple syrple".
 

>"Agreed on the non-rhyming aspect."
 
In that case, almost any post on this forum could be used as lyrics...
 
Massively great stuff written there!
 
So I hear.
 

MakeShift
 
Herb,
 
For the most part I agree with you as well.  ........  However, I am a "know the rules and break the rules", type of writer.  I go with what I like or what feels better to me, even if it breaks the rules.  Sometimes that means following them, some times that means saying what I mean or want to, to better get my point across.
 

 
Mike..... Even Willie Nelson, who is famous for "breaking all sorts of rules" started out in his early career by following the rules..... to one degree or another. Even seen him in a suit and tie? Early on he wore a suit and tie. His music does tend to follow the rules of rhyming and melody and structure.
 
It's OK to break the rules. I hear this mantra from the writers in Nashville & LA all the time..... you have to follow the rules to get in the door and establish a reputation as a writer..... then once you have  some "street cred" and a few hits under your belt and people are asking for your songs, then, you can make your own rules and write the kind of stuff you really want to write.
 
The Beatles were freaking geniuses in what they did, how they did it, and at one point they could have recorded just about anything and it would have been a hit. Some would argue they did this...... heck they even recorded unfinished and incomplete songs on Abby Road. It was hailed as genius.  The songwriting team of Lennon/McCartney was one of the greatest teams of all time. The beauty of the music and the magic of the lyrics in the example you gave completely overrule the standard rules of writing.  It is one of my favorite Beatles tunes too.
 
There are, of course, plenty of exceptions to this rule, but most writers start their careers by following them ..... of course, we don't have careers as writers so we are free to write what we want..... no?

I've always thought that it's best to know the rules before you break them.

Also a good idea, at least for me, is to keep pen and paper handy at all times, especially on the nightstand. Inspiration strikes at the funniest times. And sometimes that elusive perfect verse for that song I'm having trouble with will come to me when I'm half asleep. Just my 2 cents.

Leadfoot
Also a good idea, at least for me, is to keep pen and paper handy at all times, especially on the nightstand. Inspiration strikes at the funniest times. And sometimes that elusive perfect verse for that song I'm having trouble with will come to me when I'm half asleep. Just my 2 cents.

Many a tune has been written on TP while the writer has been on the throne.

craigb

Leadfoot
Also a good idea, at least for me, is to keep pen and paper handy at all times, especially on the nightstand. Inspiration strikes at the funniest times. And sometimes that elusive perfect verse for that song I'm having trouble with will come to me when I'm half asleep. Just my 2 cents.

Many a tune has been written on TP while the writer has been on the throne.

That's where I do my best work! :)