To Rhyme Or Not to Rhyme

I got an email from someone who felt that I might be slighting the importance of serious rhyming in songwriting. I had suggested that when working up the raw material or first draft of a song, songwriters don’t need to focus on rhyming. If a rhyme happens to come along, hang on to it, but keep your focus on communicating emotion.  The reason I wrote this is because I often see lyrics that have sacrificed meaning or depth for a rhyme.