Why is your song seven minutes long?
Is it because it’s your song?
If so, re-evaluate.
What are you saying in seven minutes that you couldn’t say in six or five or two?
If a song is long because you keep on adding verses and choruses, it’s probably longer than it has to be. Sometimes, more song isn’t in order—A new one is.
Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” barely reaches the three minute mark. And every time it ends, I feel almost short-changed. If I’m able, I might just reach reach over to play it again. And again. And again.
That’s what your songs are supposed to do: Leave people wanting to hear them again.
If your song leaves me so satiated for its mood, its story and its colors that I feel like never have to hear it again, congratulations: You just lost a listener. I’ve already gotten what I came for. I’m done.
Of course, there are times when it’s right for a song to be 7 minutes long.
Beethoven’s 5th Symphony is like a tight little Swiss watch at just over 30 minutes. James Brown or Parliament can keep me going on a single riff for far longer than should ever make sense. Sonic Youth often did long well. So did Robert Fripp and Kraftwerk. (Sometimes they didn’t.) And Wagner’s Ring Cycle lasts about 16 hours. It can.
So, how do you know when a song is too long?
If you even have to ask, that’s a pretty good clue.