# Covers where they didn't change the gender. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 5, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-where-they-didnt-change-the-gender/591650 "2011-08-05T23:02:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-where-they-didnt-change-the-gender/591650/41 "2011-08-07T04:39:50Z")
A couple of Erasure covers of old Abba songs, particularly [Gimme Gimme Gimme](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFCc_7PXcds). ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-where-they-didnt-change-the-gender/591650/42 "2011-08-07T11:17:04Z")
Talking of ABBA, \*Fernando \*is sung by a young woman, but the words are those of an old man. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-where-they-didnt-change-the-gender/591650/43 "2011-08-07T17:31:04Z")
The Fabs’ _Boys_. Ringo’s greatest moment, IMO. I don’t know if any lyrics were changed, and I don’t much care. It was a great song, so they covered it. . ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-where-they-didnt-change-the-gender/591650/44 "2011-08-07T19:21:45Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > The Fabs’ _Boys_. > > Ringo’s greatest moment, IMO. I don’t know if any lyrics were changed, and I don’t much care. It was a great song, so they covered it. > . The original version was by The Shirelles, so presumably The Fabs sing it as originally written. The Beatles version, apparently, did change the pronouns etc. a bit. > [@](#): > > [Wikipedia:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boys_%28The_Shirelles_song%29) > The Beatles did not concern themselves about possible homosexual undertones that go with singing a song about boys, although they altered the gender pronouns employed on the Shirelles’ version (i.e. “My girl says when I kiss her lips…”). In an October 2005 Rolling Stone interview, Paul McCartney stated: “Any one of us could hold the audience. Ringo would do ‘Boys’, which was a fan favorite with the crowd. And it was great — though if you think about it, here’s us doing a song and it was really a girls’ song. ‘I talk about boys now!’ Or it was a gay song. But we never even listened. It’s just a great song. I think that’s one of the things about youth — you just don’t give a shit. I love the innocence of those days.”[5] (The lyrics talk specifically about boys kissing girls, not each other.) Apparently Pete Best used to do it before Ringo was even in the band. (I agree that The Beatles do make it work.) ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-where-they-didnt-change-the-gender/591650/45 "2011-08-09T06:50:36Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > The original version was by The Shirelles, so presumably The Fabs sing it as originally written. The Beatles version, apparently, did change the pronouns etc. a bit.Apparently Pete Best used to do it before Ringo was even in the band. (I agree that The Beatles do make it work.) I can’t quite tell if you know that “The Fabs” was George Harrison’s later-days nickname for The Beatles, which is how I used it. For no particular reason. Apologies if I’m being dense and misinterpreting your comment. And: Just this moment (literally) it occurs to me that I have the Shirelles’ original version in my collections, but have never paid attention to the pronouns. I think I’ll do it now. . ---
**Author:** ![Renifer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Renifer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renifer)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-where-they-didnt-change-the-gender/591650/46 "2011-08-09T21:56:51Z")
“Crazy” by Patsy Cline. Covered multiple times. Written by Willie Nelson. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-where-they-didnt-change-the-gender/591650/47 "2011-08-09T21:59:31Z")
> [@Renifer](#): > > “Crazy” by Patsy Cline. Covered multiple times. Written by Willie Nelson. Yeah but. . .. I don’t believe there are any gender specific pronouns in this song. Also, calling a guy pretty or beautiful isn’t very gender-bendy either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-where-they-didnt-change-the-gender/591650.md?page=2)