Page 55 - Song Maps - A New System to Write Your Best Lyrics - Simon Hawkins

Some variations are more relative than absolute, e.g. moving from a very dark place to a not-so- dark-but-still-dark place. These can still work really well at the same time as retaining the flavor and authenticity of someone being in a dark place.
Commercial examples of Tension/Response
Examples of Tension/Response are found in every genre and are played every day on the radio. Songs you may want to take a look at include:
Country
"Why" by Rascal Flatts–such a well-crafted song dealing with a very sensitive subject, setting the tension up in V1 ("Must have been in a place so dark"); brilliant metaphor to set up the title in the Chorus ("Why you would leave the stage in the middle of a song?"); V2 the response is "To remember you as you were as a 17-year-old"; Bridge (I think) is "This old world really ain't that bad of a place," with the payoff in the last (modified) Chorus and killer Outro. Lovely song.
Pop
"Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson–double V1 sensing the tension of living in a small town followed by the song responding in the Chorus with a lovely run-up to the title ("I'll spread my wings [...] to break away"). V2 demonstrating how the response of the Chorus is sensed ("Feel the rush of the ocean") and the Bridge moves the plot forward by telling us how the singer feels about breaking away ("Gotta keep moving on, moving on"). A classic Tension/Response.
"My Shadow" by Jessie J–V1 sets up the tension well ("I wish we could have another minute"), Chorus is the response, a realization ("You're my shadow"), V2 expands on how the response is sensed ("Count to ten and I know you will appear") and the Bridge is how the singer feels about the response ("My heartbeat tapping like it's made of stone"). Another classic Tension/Response.
"Patience" by Take That–V1 tension of love lost, Chorus is "I need time," V2 response is "I wanna start over," Bridge is "I feel scars run deep but I have to believe." Unusually strong lyric crafting for a non- Country British pop song.
CCM
"Broken Together" by Casting Crowns–exceptional crafting of the tension at the start underscored by a spectacular production. Double V1 sets out the tension of how expectations compare with the reality of being together, Chorus responds by offering the solution ("Maybe we were meant to be broken together"), V2 "Sensing, realizing how lonely you must feel," and the Chorus reiterates the imperfect solution, "Broken together."
Southern Gospel
"Never Too Broken To Belong" by Gold City–V1 is a tentative invitation followed by an instruction ("Enter in, make a step"). The Chorus is the response ("When you find Jesus you find your home"), which of course could be heard in two ways ("your home," "you're home"). V2 is how the response is felt ("A peace so sweet, grace that's greater") and the Bridge connects with the listener ("We too were wounded, we know how you feel") to strengthen the invitation that opened the song. Love how it turned out, grateful to my co-writers Michael Puryear and James Tealy for that.
Worship
"Holy Spirit" by Francesca Battistelli–this Grammy-winning song starts V1 with a yearning for being in