Detail in Songwriting

Rob Roper in his blog, recently posted an article The Importance of Detail in Songwriting . Rob gives an example of the song Mr. Valentine's Dead by Kevin Quain. He gives the lyrics and then removes the details to make his point. Some examples include

• Gives the character a name, "Mr Valentine", as opposed to a generic "man"
• Drinking "Manhattan's", as opposed to having a "drink."

Very thought provoking article. Unless I"m writing about a clear, vivid memory, I tend to start out most of my songs very generic. I'm still working on rewriting and adding detail.