I Opined: Seems pretty strange to say that a songwriter's version of his own song is not authoritative.
And a GUEST replied:
I don't think it strange at all that a songwriter's version of their own song may not be "the definitive version".
Two different things. I said "authoritative", not "definitive".
When someone writes a song, surely as the author his/her version is authoritative. Not everyone is required to conform to the authority, of course. Eventually, with a number of variants out there the "market" will decide that "We consider this to be the definitive version of how this song ought to be thought about." But the songwriter's version is still weighted with authority. "Definitive", as I get it, is that status that defines the song in the minds of the body of listeners so strongly that all other versions tend to rise or fall by comparison to that "definitive" version.
Although I regard Peggy Lee's version of "Fever" as definitive of that song, the songwriter's version (if he/she recorded and issued it) would still have the weight of authority. Stan Rodgers's version of "Barrett's Privateers" is both authoritative and definitive, in my opinion.