Talking of 'House of Love'...

Greg Barnhill, who wrote that, lived near me for quite a while. I've done sessions with him, played that tune live with him (amongst others!), and even sat in on a couple of songwriting sessions. He is very focussed at making sure the lyric speaks directly to you. There is a very fine line between an idiom that everyone immediately gets, and being 'cutesy' or vague...

He's a great guy, and very down to earth. And very insistent that writing songs is a day to day JOB, not simply waiting around for inspiration to strike...