# Song Lyrics That Need One Minor Change - Your Input **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [July 7, 2023, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731 "2023-07-07T14:11:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/41 "2023-07-08T15:58:17Z")
I’ve been through the desert on a horse named Jermaine… ---
**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:** [July 8, 2023, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/42 "2023-07-08T17:02:30Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > You’re confusing your antecedents: “new” vs. “be good.” “Doesn’t” makes perfect sense with the latter. Huh? Not following you at all. The “he” in the third line clearly is in reference to the one in the line immediately proceeding it. Don’t know how else it could be interpreted, and I can’t parse your comments to figure out how you’d finish the third line—“if he doesn’t”…what? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/43 "2023-07-08T17:22:35Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > > > And that if they pronounced “llama” the way it appears on the lyric sheet, they can keep it in Peru. > > Aren’t “llama” and “lama” pronounced identically in English? Only by people who insist on their right to be wrong about things. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/44 "2023-07-08T18:27:13Z")
Sorry, reference too obscure. [Someone Saved My Life Tonight](https://youtu.be/A-2vN3YJ29k?t=149) ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/45 "2023-07-08T18:37:09Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Sorry, reference too obscure. I got it immediately, although I used to listen to that a lot when it was on the charts. Continuing with Elton John, I’ve always liked Crocodile Rock (and I’m not sure why), but there are a couple of parts where “Crocodile” has to be rushed: “_Crocodile_ rockin’ is something shocking…” Just one syllable too many. Not so bad in my ear, but I stumble over it when trying to sing it. I don’t have an alternative to suggest; just felt like posting. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/46 "2023-07-08T18:37:50Z")
> [@minlokwat](#): > > Coffee? Since when was coffee considered some upper crust beverage of the well-to-do? It’s from the point of view of somebody who is in prison. For him, coffee would be a luxury. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/47 "2023-07-08T20:18:56Z")
From the Flobots song “No Handlebars” “I can lead a nation with a microphone, I can split an atom of a molecule” Chromosome is right there! It’s a great song, but that part bugs me to the point where if I’m listening to it on my own I say chromosome out loud. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/48 "2023-07-08T20:55:55Z")
Not really wrong, just a bit (well, very to me) annoying. The Cranberries song [“Zombie”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejga4kJUts) > It’s the same old theme > Since nineteen-sixteen > In your head, in your head, they’re still fighting > With their tanks and their **bombs** > And their **bombs** and their guns > In your head, in your head, they are dying Ugh, they used the word bombs twice in a row when describing tools of violence. But why? Sticking with the Irish uprising theme (and the later “troubles”), you could have used “knives” as a word that works and scans OK. Double ugh in an otherwise rather cool song. But wait, [Bad Wolves - Zombie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNQXWDp765o) covered the song (so did a lot of other bands to be honest), and they used the word ‘drones’ to replace not the second bomb, but instead replaced ‘guns’ (in the first stanza, second stanza they finally got it right) > With their tanks and their **bombs** > And their **bombs** and their **drones** Double word fail score Wolves, great way to run thru a yard full of rakes smacking yourself in the head repeatedly, Sideshow Bob style. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/49 "2023-07-08T21:39:05Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” > > The words she knows > The tune she hums… > > Um, shouldn’t that be just the opposite? > > The _tune_ she knows > The _words_ she hums… Bernie Taupin wrote all of Elton’s lyrics at the time. The song was a love note to Taupin’s wife. Of course she knows the _words_. > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > > > Aren’t “llama” and “lama” pronounced identically in English? > > Only by people who insist on their right to be wrong about things. Huh? I’m over 70 and this is the first time in my life I’ve seen someone claim they’re pronounced differently. And it’s not a mary, merry, marry situation. When I look up lama and llama they’re both pronounced **laa** -mah. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/50 "2023-07-08T21:39:07Z")
Huh, I always heard it as…_the same old **team** since nineteen-sixteen_ ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/51 "2023-07-08T21:50:35Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > > > > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > > > > > Aren’t “llama” and “lama” pronounced identically in English? > > > > Only by people who insist on their right to be wrong about things. > > Huh? I’m over 70 and this is the first time in my life I’ve seen someone claim they’re pronounced differently. And it’s not a mary, merry, marry situation. When I look up lama and llama they’re both pronounced **laa** -mah. Yeah, there’s a bunch of them, all right. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/52 "2023-07-08T21:56:16Z")
Forgot my example. Vampire Weekend’s bouncy little “Horchata” > Winter’s cold is too much to handle > Pincher crabs that pinch at your sandals What else would pincher crabs do? Couldn’t any synonym work better? Nip? Grab? Grasp? Or go weird like the rest of the song. Spit. Leer. Sneer. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2023, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/53 "2023-07-08T22:02:09Z")
I’m so confused. Is this about the “yama”/“zhama” pronunciation? That’s not how we say it in English. If you’re speaking Spanish, sure, you don’t say “lama”. But we’re speaking English, and when words enter English via another language they often change to target language pronunciation rules, or otherwise a mish-mash of stuff. Same thing happens going the other way. Or are we talking something else? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/54 "2023-07-08T22:25:06Z")
N/m hijack. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/55 "2023-07-08T22:49:03Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > And it’s not a mary, merry, marry situation. When I look up lama and llama they’re both pronounced **laa** -mah. I’m guessing that a native Spanish speaker might pronounce the animal as something more like “zhama”. We were taking a tour of Patagonia recently and couldn’t figure out a word that our guide was saying to describe a region. The region was Magellanes – which she pronounced “Mag-a-zhan-ays” ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/56 "2023-07-08T22:51:23Z")
I just heard one while driving today. John Mellencamp’s “Jack and Diane” Suckin’ on a chili-dog outside the Taste-e-Freeze…" Ew. How about “Suckin’ on a chocolate malt…” or “Chewin’ on a chili-dog…” Sucking on a hot dog sounds obscene. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/57 "2023-07-08T22:56:37Z")
I learned to pronounce ll as y in Spanish class. But that’s apparently just a majority usage, not universal > Spanish **ll** is normally pronounced like the **y** in the English word _ **yellow** _, but you may hear some native speakers pronounce it more or less like the **j** in the English word _ **judge** _. Whether that’s ever true at the beginning of a word I can’t say, although all searches for how to pronounce llama in Spanish give me yama. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/58 "2023-07-08T23:03:38Z")
Sesame Street said it, I believe it, that settles it. > **[Sesame Street Me and my Llama going to the Dentist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wsb01ZX-ozs%2F)** ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/59 "2023-07-08T23:03:59Z")
The repetition of “bombs” doesn’t bother me. Bombs were central to the troubles. Knives are more used in ordinary street crime, though I’m sure there were some troubles related stabbings. Repeating the word bombs evokes the sheer frustration people in Northern Ireland must have been feeling. Bombs and bombs, every damn day. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2023, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731/60 "2023-07-08T23:06:31Z")
That’s kind of how I read those two lines as well…emphasizing the bombs and their continuous nature. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-need-one-minor-change-your-input/986731.md?page=4)