Two examples that come to mind are Sly Stone’s druggy but touching cover of “Que Sera Sera” where he sings “when I was just a little girl…” (perhaps he wasnt aware of what he was singing 
) and Suzi Quatro’s cover of “All Shook Up”, which may have caused a stir if it had hit in the US, what with a girl singing “She touches my hand and what a thrill I got/Her lips are like a volcano that’s hot/I’m proud to say that she’s my buttercup…”- any other good examples?
Of all the men who have recorded “Memory,” Michael Crawford is the only one I’ve heard that sings “I remember the old days/I was beautiful then.” All others sing “it was beautiful then” or “life was beautiful then.”
Did Joan Jett change the lyrics of “Crimson and Clover?” I can’t recall…
Ned Flanders also sings it that way.
Jack White begs Jolene not to take his man in the song of the same name.
Great song, too. Much better than the Parton original.
Rufus Wainwright covered the entire “Judy at Carnegie Hall” show live in concert. I haven’t heard his version but I would be willing to bet that he didn’t make any sex-based lyrics changes to songs like “The Trolley Song” and “The Man That Got Away,” nor to “Me and My Gal.”
Van Morrison (from Irish Heartbeat) sings “I’ll Tell Me Ma” in the voice of a young flirtatious Irish girl…
Bryan Ferry did a couple of albums of oldies covers, including “It’s My Party (and I’ll Cry If I Want To).”
I don’t recall either, but she didn’t change them for her version of Little Drummer Boy- my guess would be no, since she’s known for liking the ladies.
At work, we’ve started with the Christmas music. I really, really hate that song “Santa Baby” sung by a girl, but there’s also one we play where there’s a dude singing it. There’s a long running debate at work as to who sings it. My vote is on Steven Tyler from Aerosmith… Kind of not surprising, really. :rolleyes:
On The Pogues’ album If I Should Fall from Grace with God, Cait O’Riordan sang “I’m a Man You Don’t Meet Everyday.”
Lisa Gerard of Dead Can Dance didn’t bother to change the gender of her “true love” when she sang “The Wind that Shakes the Barley.”
And there’s no end of renditions of Danny Boy being sung by men, despite it being written from the viewpoint of a woman waiting for her man to return from the wars.
Cyndi Lauper’s version of “When You Were Mine” (originally by Prince) doesn’t change the gender, so you get an interesting take on lines like “I used to let you wear all of my clothes” and “I know that you’re going with another guy.”
Holly Cole covers “Jersey Girl”, informing us that she doesn’t want the whores on 8th Avenue and that, once she gets her baby, she’s taking her on all the carnival rides.
There’s other covers where she also doesn’t change the genders but that was my first thought.
Joan Baez’s version of “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” It starts out as “Virgil Cane is the name” and mentioned “Back with my wife in Tennessee.”
Dude, sounds like a lady!
from Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash
Didn’t Bob Dylan do House of the Rising Sun without lyrics changes, unlike the Animals?
Ru Paul also does a cover of “Santa Baby” but in his female persona so not really sure how to score that one. He also covers “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” and does swap it to have Daddy kiss Santa.
:smack:
Both Everclear and a guy named Chris Mitchell (who I’ve never heard of) have recorded the song.
Mary Chapin Carpenter does a cover of Tom Waits’ “Downtown Train” without changing any of the lyrics. I like both versions a lot, and it’s very interesting how the feel of the song changes when it’s sung by a woman instead of man.