Originally Posted by Faceman

You're talking about These Days and Destination Anywhere?
Well, I do love both albums and lyrics but not all that glitters is gold.

"These days, the stars ain't out of reach
These days, there ain't a ladder on the streets"

"I can't write a love song the way I feel today
I can't sing no song of hope, I've got nothing to say"

"Hey God, tell me what the hell is goin' on
It seems like all the good shit's gone
It keeps on gettin' harder hangin' on"

Of course those were better than what the rock fan was used to. But still those lyrics are far away from being the new Dylan or Bruce.
I think Bon Jovi's success always was about the performance. Like you said, In These Arms has cheesy lyrics as well, but Jon performs it like it's a masterpiece. But the more his voice declined, the less he could do new songs justice performance-wise. And that's why we're sitting here for decades saying "that new song xy is terrible but just imagine the 80s/90s Jon singing it - it would've been a hit!".