# Cover versions that changed time signature? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [August 23, 2024, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082 "2024-08-23T03:34:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/21 "2024-08-23T17:39:10Z")
I think you might be confusing time signature (roughly, how many beats per measure) with tempo (how fast the beats are). ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/22 "2024-08-23T18:47:00Z")
Aha - THIS is the version of the M:I theme I was remembering. It starts in 5/4 before segueing into 4/4: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/XAYhNHhxN0A/maxresdefault.jpg "Mission Impossible Theme (Full Theme)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAYhNHhxN0A) > In 1996, two members of U2, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr., remade the Mission Impossible theme track. They made two versions of the song: the main one and another called “Mission Accomplished.” The main version played during the end credits. Unlike the original, most of this version follows a regular beat, except for the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/23 "2024-08-23T19:24:56Z")
It’s not a cover version, but (British) TV show The Bill changed it’s theme tune from 7/4 time to 4/4 time. Thus: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/GVLl39IWGCU/maxresdefault.jpg "The Bill: Original Opening Credits") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVLl39IWGCU) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/bcHzkfa3wbI/hqdefault.jpg "The Bill (Theme)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcHzkfa3wbI) j ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/24 "2024-08-23T21:46:38Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Aha - THIS is the version of the M:I theme I was remembering. It starts in 5/4 before segueing into 4/4: > [@74westy](#): > > I confess I only listened to the first few bars of each. I knew this would come back to haunt me! ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/25 "2024-08-24T04:26:06Z")
Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel is in 7/4 time. [The synth-pop cover by Erasure](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNwD2X3kjlk) is in 4/4, except for one bar of the chorus that reverts to 7/4. - NOT _Salisbury_, by the way. Different place entirely. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/26 "2024-08-24T22:33:16Z")
[Lady Gaga sung the national anthem](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HezPdHTwdGA) at Biden’s inauguration in 4/4 (mostly-ish). It’s normally played in 3/4. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/27 "2024-08-25T00:42:46Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > [Lady Gaga sung the national anthem](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HezPdHTwdGA) at Biden’s inauguration (too late to edit) That should be _sang_, not _sung_. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/28 "2024-08-25T01:36:05Z")
See also Rick Moranis as Mel Torme: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/bYUrc2gapf0/hqdefault.jpg "SCTV Sign Off Mel Torme") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYUrc2gapf0) ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/29 "2024-08-26T05:27:12Z")
(never mind) ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/30 "2024-08-26T05:33:22Z")
Many (most?) covers of “The Impossible Dream” change it from 9/8 to 12/8. [Elvis’s does](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRAluyj2ztA). [Sinatra’s doesn’t](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjI7VeIA7ZI). ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/31 "2024-08-26T12:41:57Z")
“Memory (from “Cats”)” has one measure of 10/8 in the middle of the verse somewhere — the rest of the song is 12/8 — and everyone except Andrew Lloyd Webber (Streisand, Manilow) makes that measure 12/8. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/32 "2024-08-26T13:19:56Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > [Lady Gaga sung the national anthem](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HezPdHTwdGA) at Biden’s inauguration in 4/4 (mostly-ish). It’s normally played in 3/4. It may be my imagination, but most renditions nowadays seem to go briefly into 2/4 time at the end of the first verse (“TWI-light’s LAST-glea MING”). In older recordings, you can hear a clearer 3/4 stress pattern (“TWI-light’s-last GLEAM-ing”). ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/33 "2024-08-27T00:35:57Z")
Novuelle Vague’s cover of Killing Moon is in 3/4 time, whereas the original is in 4/4 (at least the snare is). [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/p9jCwA8mW_E/maxresdefault.jpg "Nouvelle Vague - The Killing Moon (Full Track)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9jCwA8mW_E) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/34 "2024-08-27T00:46:22Z")
Straight No Chaser’s version of “We Three Kings” is in 5/4: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Tv_txDURiDU/maxresdefault.jpg "Straight No Chaser - We Three Kings") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv_txDURiDU) ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/35 "2024-08-27T00:54:43Z")
SCTV’s take on “Turning Japanese” is in some kind of Perry Como meter. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rIHWuz7_cJ0/hqdefault.jpg "Turning Japanese (Moranis)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIHWuz7_cJ0) ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/36 "2024-08-27T04:30:18Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > > [@AHunter3](#): > > > > It’s actually a syncopated 10 — > > > > 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 > > > > … which you’d write as 5/4 time. > > Exactly right. This 5/4 pattern where the underlined notes are emphasized is sometimes called the 5/4 clave. It’s also used in Take 5 and a bunch of other things like the 5/4 songs in Jesus Christ Superstar. Hard for a lot of musicians to play in 5/4 without it. The reason I started off insisting that it’s in 3/4 is that I’m so used to this syncopation: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 …which you can indeed write as 3/4 time. It’s got one more couplet at the end that Mission: Impossible doesn’t have. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/37 "2024-08-27T09:39:28Z")
Still in 4/4, like the original. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/38 "2024-08-27T13:27:16Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > The reason I started off insisting that it’s in 3/4 is that I’m so used to this syncopation: > > 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 Ha! Take 5 and [America](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e2igZexpMs) are close cousins indeed! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/39 "2024-08-27T13:49:40Z")
There was also the Limp Bizkit theme to Mission Impossible 2, “Take a Look Around,” that recontextualizes the theme in 4/4. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082/40 "2024-08-27T13:51:50Z")
And that 3+3+2+2+2 beat is an example of something called “hemiola” which basically gives a feeling of alternating between duple and triple meter. It can be thought of as alternating 6/8 and 3/4. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-that-changed-time-signature/1006082.md?page=3)