The attacks on SeanMH aside, which are 1000% unwarranted, this is a really interesting topic. Recurring themes (rather than rehashed or repetitive ideas) are something that I really appreciate about prolific songwriters and authors and give me a satisfying sense of a connected universe/body of work.
Andrew Bird, for random example, does this very deliberately and revisits phrases and imagery all the time from record to record. It's an evolution of a thought, re-contextualizing it to now mean something slightly different. To me, they're easter eggs referencing their own back catalog and it's really cool when I can pick up on it in real-time.
The connection between "Finger Back" and "Harmony Hall" by Vampire Weekend comes to mind, as well ("I don't wanna live like this, but I don't wanna die"). Not to mention the greats (to me) like Robert Hunter of the Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan, who frequently utilize the same words, phrases, and imagery in slightly different ways.
The point is, to outright dismiss recurring themes or phrases as lazy or perfunctory feels unfair to the writer. Obviously we don't know Dave's intent, for sure, but let's give him a little more credit for his presumed genius rather than lambasting him for phoning it in.
Until he throws in another goddam "baby" or "belly jelly" into the mix, and then I'm out for good