Where songs go to die
A first verse gets written on instinct. A second verse gets written on obligation, and it shows: the same image restated in weaker words, sitting in the spot where the song is supposed to gain something.
The structural problem is simple. The first verse establishes a situation. The chorus reacts to it. By the time the second verse arrives, the situation has already been stated — so restating it stalls the song. The second verse has to move time, place, or perspective.
The three-question pass
Every stalled draft gets three questions. What has changed since the first verse? Who is speaking now, and do they know something they did not know before? And if the listener heard only this verse, would they need the chorus?
If none of the three has an answer, the verse is not weak writing — it is an unnecessary verse. Cutting straight to the chorus is usually the better song.
A practical trick
Write the second verse first, then write a first verse that earns it. Beginning with the harder half means the easy half arrives with somewhere to go.