Stewart said:
<<<Every time I hear a song like "Run Joey Run" or similarly melodramatic
fare
like "Alone Again (Naturally)" or "The Night the Lights Went Out in
Georgia," I'm utterly bowled over by the fact that songs like these were
honest to god, mainstream AM radio hits!  Good lord, no wonder people in the
'70s were gobbling Valium by the
fistful!  Apparently everyone was suicidally depressed!>>>>

I've always really really liked "Alone Again (Naturally)", partly because it
brings me back to the time it was a hit when i was a wee kid, and part
because I think it is a really great melody.   But Stewart's statement
caused me to run through the lyrics in my head, and, yeah, they sure are
overwhelmingly depressing and self-pitying, to the point that if they
weren't married to that great melody, I'd probably hate "AA,(N)".   I guess
this is as much proof as any that I also share the philosophy that bad
lyrics may wreck an average tune, but a great melody can save bad (or
uncomfortable) lyrics.