Poppa Gator - I have to agree with you that "I Write The Songs" is definitely one of the more annoying songs I have ever heard....but...you are doing Barry Manilow an injustice, and I'll explain why.

Here are the lyrics of that song:

I've been alive forever,
And I wrote the very first song.
I put the words and the melodies together,
I am Music,
And I write the songs.

I write the songs that make the whole world sing.
I write the songs of love and special things.
I write the songs that make the young girls cry.
I write the songs, I write the songs.

My home lies deep within you,
And I've got my own place in your SOUL,
Now, when I look out through your eyes,
I'm young again, even though I'm very old.

Chorus

Oh my music makes you dance
And gives you spirit to take a chance,
And I wrote some rock 'n' roll so you can move.
Music fills your heart,
Well, that's a real fine place to start.
It's from me, it's for you,
It's from you, it's for me,
It's a worldwide symphony.

Chorus x2

I am Music, and I write the songs.

*******


Now...Barry is not saying that he himself has been alive forever. He is saying that Music itself has been alive forever. He is saying that Music itself is what writes ALL the songs (doing so through the many human beings who put pen to paper and serve as scribes and voices and players for Music itself).

That's actually a rather interesting concept that Barry Manilow is dealing with there, giving voice in song to an eternal muse, Music itself, which inspires all people in all times and places and serves as the originator of every song.

That's a pretty cool idea!

The reason the song is annoying, despite the coolness of the idea it's based upon, is due to Barry Manilow's particular style and delivery, I think, not to any fault in his creative concept. He has a style and delivery which most folkies and rockers can't stand.

Where you are doing him an injustice is that you assume he is saying that Barry Manilow himself "writes the songs the whole world sings", etc....   He is not saying that. He is saying that Music itself, as a grand eternal muse, is writing the songs. He is just the individual singer who is giving that idea a voice, in this case, by writing a song honoring the spirit of Music.