I don't go to song circle very often now, but when I do I am still amazed to see some people bringing several bags of song books and loose-leaf notebooks full of songs - hundreds if not thousands of songs. Then if they need the words (which they usually do) they awkwardly try and position the song sheet on their knee in front of their guitar, and then it usually falls on the floor.

Just having not to lug all that stuff around and then not having to position the song sheet and still play the guitar, by itself makes memorizing the song worth all the effort. It's a very freeing experience.

I find it harder to memorize the older I get, but still do it cause it's worth the effort. It just takes longer to do.

When peforming before an audience, eye contact and other visual communication with the audience is as important as knowing what the song is about, etc., and even glancing down at the words from time to time takes away from that important aspect of performance.

Cheers, S. in Seattle