Xalos, that is only if you display it.
OP, try replacing this line:
return getWords(%msg, 0, (%fwl - 1)) SPC getWords(%msg, (%lwl + 1), %wc);
with this:
%blah = getWords(%msg, 0, (%fwl - 1)) SPC getWords(%msg, (%lwl + 1), %wc);
echo("yay");
return %blah;
That way you can see if that return statement is actually causing problems.