I'm a native English speaker who's passable at Spanish, and I've noticed this as well. One of the ways I try to practice Spanish is by mentally translating the lyrics of (English) songs that I'm listening to, and it's pretty much impossible to fit a direct translation of most lines within the correct number of syllables, so it becomes an exercise in trying to find a way to express the same thing in fewer syllables before the next line of the song comes.