Working on an early draft of a song? Don’t worry about rhyming too early. Forcing a rhyme can twist your song out of shape, making a line sound unnatural. Worse, it can make you say something you don’t mean. That’s when listeners start to tune out. Instead…
1st: Say what you want to say. Write a couple of lines that express the heart of your song. (Don’t think about rhyming.)
2nd: Describe emotions, people, or situations. You’ll never hear a listener say, “I’ve just got to hear that songs again. I LOVE that rhyme!” It’s more important to make listeners see and feel what the song is about. Images and action words are key here. (Don’t think about rhyming.)
3rd: Imagine you’re telling a stranger what you feel. What questions do you need to answer? What does the listener want/need to know? (Don’t think about rhyming.)
4th: FINALLY… Look for rhymes that feel natural. As you organize your lines into a song structure, look for rhymes that just happen, or rework a line to keep the meaning while creating a natural sounding “near rhyme.” “Near” or “vowel” rhymes only rhyme the vowel sound. They’re much easier to find than perfect rhymes. Here are a couple of web sites with plenty of ideas for relaxed, conversational rhyming words: RhymeDesk.com and  B-rhymes.com.
Find out how some of today’s biggest hits use rhyme on my “Secrets of Hit Songwriting” website.
If you can’t find a comfortable, natural sounding rhyme… DON’T RHYME! You don’t have to rhyme every line. Rhyming words are used to add emphasis and give the listener a strong sense of completion. For instance, the final line of your chorus (the “payoff” line) is one of the places you’ll probably want to emphasize with a strong rhyme. For other lines, let the emotional message of the song be the most important thing.