Greatest American Songwriter
Dolly Pardon? Prince? How many songs have they written and sold to others with very little recognition?
this is causing me to think more than i wanted to - so for "song" i'm thinking meaningful lyrics that you want to sing -- now what makes one want to sing the lyrics?
for paul simon it's the catchy melody - and i think he gets devalued by critics b/c he's melody's are so catchy (and further down that line elton john/bernie taupin, billy joel, phil collins and further down the suck line)
then there're the lyricists who eschew the melody b/c the want you to hear the lyrics - leonard cohen is the chief culprit here, but dylan goes there sometimes, cat stevens & dan folgelberg seemed to simplify there melody to expose the lyrics)
then you have music as theatre and this is where tom waits lives and rufus wainwright is trying to move into (harry chapin, cowboy junkies, local alex mcmurray if you know him)
BUT - music's chief responsibility is to move you and thus prince's songs" as "music" are in a league by themselves (followed by every brass band there ever was, then every afro-pop band)
In this pole, I go with Waits.
b/c you're clearly very, very intelligent