Stephen. I understand what you're saying. I probably hold Paul Simon in equal regard for his ability to use words. Anyone who can do a span of songs from Bridge Over Troubled Water and Old Friends to Me And Julio Down By The School Yard is a genius, in my mind. It seems like each songwriter has their own, special gift... which can also be their downfall. Simon has a great gift for words which sometimes leads him to write songs which seem overly self-conscious and "wordy." I've never heard a songwriter who can capture the life of a gas station attendent or a murderer so succinctly as Steve Earle.
I don't hear that as much in his more recent albums. Gifts can be lost, too. I agree with Doraeever... no matter how much I might admire another songwriter, they have no influence on my songwriting.
I agree with leadfingers, too. Songs come in many different ways. I've written songs in ten minutes (literally) and some have incubated for months at a time. I believe that songs have their own pace at coming to you. Some come busting out, and some need to take their time. If I feel a song isn't coming, I don't try to force it. I'll go back and sing what I have every once in awhile, and more lines will slowly emerge. I think that the thing I feel strongest about is that you have to live with a song, roll it around on your tongue, sometimes even play with a different melody or rhythm. Sometimes playing it on a different instrument will lead you in a new direction.
Some songs need to be burnished through time before they're ready to be shared. And as Doraeever says, some just come bursting out.

Songwriting is a gift. Many of the greatest line and images in a song just "come." Craftsmanship can hone a song until it rolls off your tongue, and the choice of one or two words can make it come alive. The easiest thing in the world is to make lines rhyme. Nine year old kids do that, skipping down the sidewalk. It's a gifted few who can make four verses create an image that stays with you forever.

Jerry