# Last verse switch-ups **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 25, 2020, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949 "2020-01-25T07:54:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/1 "2020-01-25T07:54:35Z")
Drinking a few(ahem)glasses this evening… I was thinking about last minute hard reverses in songs. With reminded me a bit the local thread [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=888795](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=888795) but made me think more about songs where the last verse(or possibly an alteration) in the chorus changed the whole damn thing. My example Lorelei by the Pogues post MacGowan)end a long lost love ballad, for the long lost love Lorelei which suddenly at the end But if my ship, which sails tomorrow Should crash against these rocks, My sorrows I will drown before I die _ **It’s you I’ll see, not Lorelei** _ turns into a second person address. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/2 "2020-01-25T08:12:53Z")
DEVO’s [_Beautiful World_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omEX35pbelI) goes like this: > [@DEVO](#): > > It’s a beautiful world we live in > A sweet romantic place > Beautiful people everywhere > The way they show they care > Makes me want to say > > It’s a beautiful world > It’s a beautiful world > It’s a beautiful world > > For you > For you > For you This scheme repeats 3x and then we hear > [@DEVO](#): > > It’s not for me > > It’s a beautiful world, For you > It’s a beautiful world, For you > It’s a beautiful world, For you > It’s a beautiful world, Not me But my favorite is in [_Freedom Of Choice_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVGINIsLnqU). We hear repeatedly > [@DEVO](#): > > I’ll say it again in the land of the free > Use your freedom of choice > Freedom of choice > > Freedom of choice > Is what you got > Freedom of choice Until the very end when they switch it up and note > [@DEVO](#): > > Freedom of choice > Is what you got > Freedom from choice > Is what you want ETA: Notably, a band called Psychotica did a fairly admirable cover of the song back in the '90s, but they totally fucked it up by singing “Freedom of choice/Is what you want” at the end. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/3 "2020-01-25T10:14:59Z")
Oh favorite example of a song with a “punchline” is The Grateful Dead’s \*Me and my Uncle. \* The narrator tells a story of how he and his uncle jointly cheated some cowboys at a game of poker, and fled with the money after killing a couple of them. He concludes > [@](#): > > I love those cowboys; I love their gold. > I love my uncle, God rest his soul. > He taught me good, Lord, taught me all I know. > He taught me so well I grabbed that gold, > And I left his dead ass there by the side of the road. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/4 "2020-01-25T10:21:47Z")
First word in previous post should be"My" not “Oh”. Damn autocorrect. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/5 "2020-01-25T12:38:20Z")
Jim Croce’s You Don’t Mess Around with Jim. Chorus is: You don’t tug on Superman’s cape You don’t spit into the wind You don’t pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger And you don’t mess around with Jim Then Jim gets beat up by a guy named Slim. The last verse changes to “And you don’t mess around with Slim”. ’ ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/6 "2020-01-25T12:59:10Z")
A famous example is “Green Green Grass of Home” where the idyllic scenes of returning home get flipped in the last verse and we realize the singer is a prisoner on death row: > [@](#): > > Then I awake, and look around > At the grey walls that surround > And I realize that I was o-only dreaming > For there’s a guard and a there’s a sad old padre > Arm in arm we’ll walk at daybreak > Again, I’ll touch the green, green grass of home > Yes, they’ll all come to see me > In the shade of that old oak tree > As they lay me 'neath the green, green grass of home ---
**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:** [January 25, 2020, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/7 "2020-01-25T13:58:41Z")
Parchman Farm by Mose Allison. (Parchman Farm itself is a prison) First verse: > [@Mose Allison](#): > > Well I’m sittin’ over here on Parchman Farm > And I ain’t never done no man no harm The verses lament about the prison life, until the final line: > [@Mose Allison](#): > > Well I’m a gonna be here for the rest of my life > And all I did was shoot my wife ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/8 "2020-01-25T14:26:48Z")
“Margaritaville” goes through that kind of progression at the end of the chorus after each verse. First it’s “But I know it’s nobody’s fault.” Then it becomes “Now I think…hell, it could be my fault.” Finally it ends with “And I know, it’s my own damn fault.” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/9 "2020-01-25T14:31:03Z")
My Girl Bill. The last chorus adds a comma. Best use ever. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/10 "2020-01-25T14:40:03Z")
Tom Paxton’s Saturday Night. In the first two choruses: Mary & Eddie are busy indeed Making up for lost time in the rear. The third one: Mary & Eddie are being arrested For making up time in the rear. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/11 "2020-01-25T15:51:44Z")
Oh one my faves is “Gimme Shelter” by the Stones. Throughout, the refrain is “War, children, is just a shot away.” Then, “Rape, murder, is just a shot away.” But at the end, it switches to, “Love, sister, is just a _kiss_ away.” Brilliant! ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2020, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/12 "2020-01-26T00:32:14Z")
Jim Croce again, this time the first line of the verses. First two times through: “Operator, well could you help me place this call” as he’s trying to call his ex Third and final time through: “Operator, well let’s forget about this call” when he realizes he doesn’t really want to talk to her. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2020, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/13 "2020-01-26T00:37:11Z")
The Mamas and the Papas, the autobiographical _Creeque Alley_: “And no one’s getting fat except Mama Cass” the first four verses while everyone is struggling to get by changes to “And everyone’s getting fat except Mama Cass” the last time as they find success. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2020, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/14 "2020-01-26T00:37:58Z")
Harry Chapin of course does this a lot In Cat’s in the Cradle, we go from “When you coming home Dad” to “When you coming home Son” In “Get On With It” the person who sings “Get on with it” and the person who sings “Let’s take it slowly” switch places, and the meaning of “it” shifts as well. Just to take two examples… ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2020, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/15 "2020-01-26T00:42:56Z")
Those songwriters are wiley ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2020, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/16 "2020-01-26T01:30:31Z")
To those who think country music is only saccharine odes to momma, truck drivin’, and drinking: [Dolly Parton - To Daddy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW3kCIgMBFA) For those who don’t want to listen all the way through, the final verse: She never meant to come back home If she did, she never did say so to daddy Goodbye to daddy ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2020, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/17 "2020-01-26T03:01:54Z")
Probably unintentional but in the last verse of Beatles’ “Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da” McCartney mixes up the character’s names so “Desmond stays at home and does his pretty face and in the evening she still sings it with the band.” (It was Molly doing her pretty face on the previous verse.) ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2020, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/18 "2020-01-26T03:35:10Z")
In Evanescence’s Call Me When Your Sober, the verses are Don’t cry to me, if you loved me You would be here with me You want me, come find me Make up your mind but the last verse is… So don’t cry to me, if you loved me You would be here with me Don’t lie to me, just get your things I’ve made up your mind! ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2020, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/19 "2020-01-26T08:24:51Z")
In the last chorus, City of New Orleans switches from “Good morning, America” to “Good night, America.” This emphasizes that passenger rail is disappearing in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949/20 "2020-01-27T15:50:30Z")
Another Arlo one: You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant. The last chorus adds “excepting Alice.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-verse-switch-ups/846949.md?page=2)