There are plenty of hard up musicians and studio guys who will gladly for a work for hire agreement write a tune or produce a demo. They are worth their weight in gold.
I do not have a problem with this........My problem is that lyricists generally cannot be bothered to learn their craft properly and use these people as a crutch. If they do not understand music theory their lyrics are bound to be flawed and one dimensional. Surely anyone who has a passion for songwriting would want to at least understand and learn things outside a very narrow comfort zone. It is called self improvement.
I was taught that if you are going to do a job then it is worth doing properly. With all due respect penning a few lines without musical knowledge regardless of how long it takes or how much skill, care and effort goes into it is only a minor part of the job and the real hard work and creativity is being shunned.

"Why Big Jim would I need or want to spend 10 years learning the craft of music when I can do it this way."
That about sums up my argument......how can lyric only people demand respect when they adopt this attitude.
I spent a hell of a lot longer than ten years learning and am still learning....... but at least I am at a level where I understand and am involved in the whole process....not just a very tiny part of it. Perhaps the reason why I can write lyrics faster than MOST lyricist is down to my understanding of music not just words.
Do I respect lyricists less than musicians......NO......just the ones too lazy to learn their craft properly.
Any decent music writer can spot right away lyrics written by a non musician.....three guesses as to why.

Well that is all I need say on the subject......

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=687727&songID=5238055