# Covers that change what the song means. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 17, 2008, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408 "2008-10-17T17:05:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![uncle\_squeegee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b5e925/32.png) [@uncle\_squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uncle_squeegee)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/21 "2008-10-18T19:45:17Z")
Warren Zevon’s cover of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” Dylan’s original was a folk singer’s take on an event in someone else’s life. Zevon’s was a cry against the dying of the light, being that he was suffering from terminal cancer. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/22 "2008-10-18T21:05:08Z")
> [@Hunter\_Hawk](#): > > [aside]I once saw a striptease act to that song. > Not the best choice of music. > \ > > [/aside] Even worse in that context: the Cantina song from Star Wars. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/23 "2008-10-18T21:23:32Z")
“Happiness is a Warm Gun” is a slightly silly song about sex. Tori Amos made it an absurd anti-gun tirade. Her album of covers, _Strange Little Girls_ also interprets 10cc’s “I’m Not In Love” as an obsessed stalker song (but it is good), and Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” as being about a gold-digger (but it is awful). Paul Anka’s “My Way” (itself an altered take on [Comme D’Habitude](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qmKK0FFhos)) became Frank Sinatra’s signature song. Sid Vicious turned it into a song much more fitting to “his way” - though both do have a similar ‘in your face, world!’ attitude. I suppose every singer can do this their own way (cf. Elvis), but Sid’s is the most unusual. For a bizarrely peppy version of the French song, check out [this one by Pecombo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgthHUUsvEo). I can’t help but like it (maybe it’s the cute women singing it). Dire Straits “Romeo & Juliet” is a sweet and romantic song about young love (with the world’s cheesiest video). The Indigo Girls version is a powerful anthem with gay liberation overtones. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/24 "2008-10-18T23:43:36Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Decades ago, Tom Robinson, one of the first openly gay rockers, did a cover of Steely Dan’s “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number.” > > A gay guy singing that song gives the lyrics a whole different meaning. Rikki then seems like an insecure straight guy, or a guy in denial of his sexuality… someone who “kinda scared himself” but who “might have a change of heart” and give gay love a try. I always thought it was a gay song about an older guy trying to pick up a younger guy. I’ve never heard the Robinson version. My contribution is Springsteen’s Blinded By The Light, covered by Manfred Mann. The original is a Jersey coming of age story told by street teenagers. The cover is about a druggie scoring. I heard the cover a few years before the original. I like both. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2008, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/25 "2008-10-18T23:54:04Z")
The Afghan Whigs used to perform all kinds of crazy covers at their live shows. My favorite that I’ve come across is their cover of “If I Only Had a Heart” from the _Wizard of Oz_. Greg Dulli made that charming, innocent song into the remorseless confession of a snake-eyed psychopath. [Here’s a link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoOjpN4jtWs) to a live performance (the sound’s not that great, but you can get the idea.) You can hear some of their other covers in the related video menu. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/26 "2008-10-19T03:38:16Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > I always thought it was a gay song about an older guy trying to pick up a younger guy. I’ve never heard the Robinson version. > > . Is Donald Fagen gay? I’d never heard anything to that effect, and Steely Dan had loads of songs about women. So, I’d always assumed Rikki was a girl. I’m ready to be corrected. But when a gay guy sings “You tell yourself you’re not my kind,” it has a VERY different meaning than when a straight guy sings it to a girl. ---
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/27 "2008-10-19T03:53:30Z")
When I first heard Vanessa Paradis do the Velvet Underground’s _Waiting For The Man_, I thought it was a travesty turning a hipster song about scoring drugs into a breezy, flirty love song. Now I think it’s a pretty cool interpretation. (It’s also more fun to listen to than millions of awful ‘serious’ VU covers). [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD9qctSL_ho) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/28 "2008-10-19T03:57:40Z")
> [@Hunter\_Hawk](#): > > The [NIN version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc1mP4ae2Io) of “Hurt” is…bombastic. > > The [Johnny Cash cover](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO9dbmJ_2zU) is a painful reminiscence. I came in to mention this one. Sung by Trent Reznor, it’s a teenager whining. Sung by Johnny Cash, it’s a man regretting. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/29 "2008-10-24T19:43:24Z")
“Sweet Child of Mine” by Guns and Roses is about a girlfriend. “Sweet Child of Mine” by Sheryl Crow is about…a child. At least, it seems to be. I don’t think she had a kid when she covered it, but the way it’s sung makes it seem like it’s really about a kid. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/30 "2008-10-24T19:59:41Z")
> [@FallenAngel](#): > > Mine is Faith Hill’s godawful cover of Janis Jopin’s, “Take Another Little Piece of My Heart.” The original is an angst-filled resignation of a lover who knows her heart will never let her escape her relationship, even though the guy’s a right bastard. > > Hill’s is enthusiastic and peppy. It makes me want to stab my ears. I was going to mention that one. I have many covers of the song. Faith Hill’s is criminal. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/31 "2008-10-24T20:08:18Z")
This is probably too subtle a thing to qualify for the OP, but I collect different versions of “'Round Midnight,” but I only have two that actually _sound_ like it’s midnight, and they’re both by Thelonious Monk. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/32 "2008-10-24T21:02:39Z")
When the Pernice Brothers recorded “All I Know” for their first album, it was a bit of an overdone song about how awful break ups are. Honestly, one of the throwaways in _Overcome by Happiness_. But then some band decided a few years later to redo the song by ditching the overwrought strings and piano, adding in vocal harmonies and acoustic guitars, and voila! An almost happy “cheer up, we’ve all been there mate” tune with a fine ear for words (“How her voice can fill a room like singing/The crooked moon upon her face”). Unfortunately, I’m not sure this one counts…that “other band” was also, er, the Pernice Brothers. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/33 "2008-10-24T23:21:17Z")
“Tainted Love” - the Soft Cell version was a perky breakup song. The Coil version sounded like a funeral dirge, and the accompanying video put a whole new spin on the words “tainted love”. The video depicted a guy on his deathbed, presumably from AIDS (“this tainted love you give me”) being claimed by a member of Soft Cell making a cameo as Death. One of the absolute creepiest videos I’ve ever seen. Yes, I know Soft Cell’s version was also a cover, but I’ve never heard the original ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/34 "2008-10-24T23:53:19Z")
Dire Straits’ “Sultans of Swing” was a mellow song about a band that wanted to play the music they liked. The band Detholz! covered it and gave it real **menace**. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/35 "2008-10-25T00:00:51Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Is Donald Fagen gay? I’d never heard anything to that effect, and Steely Dan had loads of songs about women. So, I’d always assumed Rikki was a girl. I’m ready to be corrected. > > But when a gay guy sings “You tell yourself you’re not my kind,” it has a VERY different meaning than when a straight guy sings it to a girl. I never listened closely to the lyrics of Rikki, but the Dan play with many points of view in their songs ISTM: orientations, races, genders. So even if the singer is a straight man doesnt mean that the “speaker” of the song is (for that particular band, that is.) ---
**Author:** ![Headrush042](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Headrush042](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Headrush042)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/36 "2008-10-28T03:13:55Z")
Compare: [Dusty Springfield - Son of a Preacher Man](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJM5K51peVw) - a groovy love song full of nostalgia vs [Collide - Son of a Preacher Man](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AawOrCr0tTo) - creepy industrial darkwave cover that taps into Lewis Carroll’s most bizarre nightmares or… [CCR - I Put a Spell on You](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R6nmKjcSeU) - not the original artist, but arguably the best known – creepy and trippy, psychedelic rock vs [Natacha Atlas - I Put a Spell on You](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tjAtAMGz6U) - sensual and seductive, electronic middle-eastern trip hop ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/37 "2008-10-28T03:35:45Z")
> [@Headrush042](#): > > Compare: > > [CCR - I Put a Spell on You](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R6nmKjcSeU) - not the original artist, but arguably the best known – creepy and trippy, psychedelic rock Whoa. My Bayou Country was destroyed long ago in a fire, but who wrote IPASOY ? ---
**Author:** ![Headrush042](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Headrush042](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Headrush042)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/38 "2008-10-28T05:22:47Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Whoa. > My Bayou Country was destroyed long ago in a fire, but who wrote IPASOY ? Would you believe a blues singer named [Screamin’ Jay Hawkins](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR81PGlBeqE) around 1956? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/39 "2008-10-28T05:42:57Z")
> [@Headrush042](#): > > [CCR - I Put a Spell on You](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R6nmKjcSeU) - not the original artist, but arguably the best known – creepy and trippy, psychedelic rock I dunno…Despite being a CCR fan, I don’t know that I’ve ever heard their version before…every time I’ve ever heard it (played for the sake of playing music, or used in a movie, commercial, or TV show), it’s been the original Screamin’ Jay Hawkins version. ---
**Author:** ![phil417](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@phil417](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phil417)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408/40 "2008-10-28T06:50:38Z")
I don’t know whether it’s been mentioned, but there’s an automobile ad where a female group sings David Bowies [ISpace Oddity]\* (“Ground Control to Major Tom”) I remember that back in the 1970’s when _Space Oddity_ came out, there had been any number of deaths in space, so, even though the outcome of Major Tom’s mission was unexplained, there was a fatalistic element to the whole song. And yet the vehicle sung about is considered a good thing. Love, Phil [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-change-what-the-song-means/468408.md?page=3)