# Songs recorded with alternate lyrics to the original but not for humor or satire **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [October 13, 2022, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199 "2022-10-13T17:21:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/101 "2022-10-15T21:17:58Z")
Almost forgot: Chuck Berry’s “The Promised Land” is a rock and roll version of “The Wabash Cannonball”. ---
**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:** [October 15, 2022, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/102 "2022-10-15T21:18:22Z")
And a UK version [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EKSqVV7aIac/hqdefault.jpg "Lucky Starr - I've Been Everywhere (UK Version) - 1962 45rpm") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKSqVV7aIac) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2022, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/103 "2022-10-16T00:14:06Z")
Wow, that Bonnie Hart/Bon Jovi example is something else. Who knew? My contribution: the Stones’ 1969 hit “Honky Tonk Women” had three varieties of verses: “Country Honk” (rural version on the Let If Bleed album); the studio single; and the live one (on Get Yer Ya-yas Out) with the verse about charming sailors in Paris (?!). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/104 "2022-10-17T14:56:44Z")
“House of the Rising Sun” is apparently a centuries-old ballad, and its lyrics have been changed all over the map. The most familiar version, by The Animals in 1964, already has lyrics changed from earlier versions. But the one that really gets me is the one sung by Andy Griffith (!). He so completely changed the lyrics – Good ol’ Andy would _never_ sing about a whorehouse – that it’s unrecognizable. > **[The House of the Rising Sun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_House_of_the_Rising_Sun)** > > "The House of the Rising Sun" is a traditional folk song, sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues". It tells of a person's life gone wrong in the city of New Orleans. Many versions also urge a sibling or parents and children to avoid the same fate. The most successful commercial version, recorded in 1964 by the British rock band The Animals, was a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart and in the US and Canada. As a traditional folk song recorded by an electric rock band, it has been described a Th... [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/MKfsWsVBcuM/maxresdefault.jpg "The House Of The Rising Sun (1959 Recording Remastered)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKfsWsVBcuM) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/105 "2022-10-17T15:28:37Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Austrian singer Falco had a song in 1981, “[Der Kommissar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-bgiiTxhzM),” which was primarily in German, with a splash of English; it was [covered in 1982 by the British band After the Fire](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBfFDTPPlaM), with lyrics which were primarily in English, with a splash of German (though the theme, about drug use, was unchanged). > > However, for purposes of this thread’s topic, the song then was recorded _again_, this time by Canadian singer Laura Branigan in 1983, but with a different name (“[Deep in the Dark](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVNdjglcRvk)”), and mostly different lyrics (though the melody and arrangement was similar to both versions of “Der Kommissar”). There’s even one more layer to this song. The chorus of “Der Kommissar” was based on the riff in Rick James’ “Super Freak”, which is one of the most sampled songs ever. For instance, MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” uses the same sample. All those songs of course have different lyrics. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QYHxGBH6o4M/maxresdefault.jpg "Rick James - Super Freak (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYHxGBH6o4M) ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/106 "2022-10-17T21:37:53Z")
Chinese Rocks has two different versions. Lyrics are mostly the same except when the singer is asking who’s home. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/57nPAqBPGPE/maxresdefault.jpg "RAMONES - Chinese Rock") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57nPAqBPGPE) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/P-M9Ymvgd0A/hqdefault.jpg "Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers - Chinese Rocks") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-M9Ymvgd0A) ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/107 "2022-10-17T21:53:05Z")
In 1959 Tommy Facenda released 29 versions of “High School USA”, each listing the high schools in a particular region. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/108 "2022-10-17T22:01:46Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > In 1959 Tommy Facenda released 29 versions of “High School USA”, each listing the high schools in a particular region This reminded me of the song, “Talkin’ Baseball (Willie, Mickey & The Duke),” a 1981 song by Terry Cashman, a nostalgic piece about baseball and its stars (particularly from the postwar era). Cashman later recorded different versions of the song, with lyrics specific to particular MLB teams. In 1992, he also recorded a satirical version, “Talkin’ Softball,” for an episode of _The Simpsons_. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fWKA9Zi5-_Y/hqdefault.jpg "Willie, Mickey, and the Duke (Talkin' Baseball)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWKA9Zi5-_Y) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Mfl_IoR9Hhw/hqdefault.jpg "Terry Cashman - Talkin' Baseball (Brewers All The Way!)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfl_IoR9Hhw) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/IAJHDiO8Fr0/maxresdefault.jpg "The Simpsons - Talkin' Softball") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAJHDiO8Fr0) ---
**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:** [October 18, 2022, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/109 "2022-10-18T00:28:59Z")
There was at least one version of “Hooray for Hollywood” (ETA: on the _Brady Bunch Variety Hour_) with the celebrity references updated for the 70s. (" …where any person like Laverne or Shirley or Jo Anne Worley is equally understood…") And the version heard in [“A Star Is Hatched”](https://looneytunes.fandom.com/wiki/A_Star_Is_Hatched) changed the line “you might be Donald Duck” to “you might be Daffy Duck,” for obvious reasons. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2022, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/110 "2022-10-18T12:06:56Z")
There were many versions of the song that became Yankee Doodle. And the Star Spangled Banner had the music from To Anacreon in Heaven. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/PWZGDnL0bkc/maxresdefault.jpg "To Anacreon in Heaven (Live)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWZGDnL0bkc) ---
**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/111 "2022-10-18T12:53:36Z")
Did anyone mention Elton John’s “Candle In the Wind” / “Goodbye English Rose” yet? Alice Cooper’s ‘Reflected’ later was reworked as the more famous ‘Elected’. Alice’s original version of “He’s Back (the Man Behind the Mask)” later became “Trick Bag” with entirely different lyrics (though I don’t think the original was released before being included in the box set many years later) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/112 "2022-10-18T12:54:39Z")
In 1983, David Gilmour asked Pete Townshend to write lyrics to go with a melody he’d composed. He wound up not liking Townshend’s lyrics and asked Roy Harper to write a new set of lyrics instead. Gilmour never did record the song himself, but Townshend and Harper both recorded their versions of it, with Gilmour playing on Pete’s version. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_Op3S-xmnKg/maxresdefault.jpg "White City Fighting") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Op3S-xmnKg) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4iQsyf-Dhnw/hqdefault.jpg "Roy Harper - Hope") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iQsyf-Dhnw) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/113 "2022-10-18T14:28:52Z")
The whole concept of **Kidz Bop** is clean versions of real songs, sung by kids. They take out the bad words, change the situation to be kid situations, and keep the music. I haven’t heard a ton of KB music but the songs I’ve heard are pretty grating. [Here’s the KB version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHytHF0uC1k) of a Lizzo song and [the real song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P00HMxdsVZI), see for yourself. Even worse is “Montero” by Lil Nas X. [Here’s KB](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN_l8bkkOzw), [here’s the real one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6swmTBVI83k). I guess if you know “Montero” in full context it’s more cringey. Otherwise parents can be blissfully unaware. ---
**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, 2022, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/114 "2022-10-18T14:53:39Z")
During a tribute dinner for David Sarnoff, Frank Sinatra sang “The Lady is a Tramp” with the chorus, “The Gentleman’s a Champ.” Probably other lyrics of the song were changed to fit the situation. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/115 "2022-10-18T16:23:46Z")
I’m crossposting this from the “Rock songs with non-English lyrics” thread because it fits in here just as well. > [@Rock songs with non-English lyrics?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-songs-with-non-english-lyrics/151804/65): > > I thought of an interesting one: German indie legends Flowerpornoes did a cover of R.E.M.'s “Losing My Religion” in 1993 called, well, “Remcover” in German. The lyrics are only loosely directly translated, but they keep most of the motives of the original. [[Flowerpornoes - REMCOVER] ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq8lvgEKxzs) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/116 "2022-10-18T18:21:20Z")
Thought of another one. A not very well-known part of Monty Python history is the story of them producing two or three episodes in German for the German regional TV broadcaster WDR about 1972 or so. The famous [philosopher’s football match is](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfduUFF_i1A&ab_channel=RosenzweigBenjamin) from it, also the lesser known sketch [“The Bavarian Restaurant Stück”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdPMSd7xA7U&ab_channel=j4uznev1mc0). And they also turned the “Lumberjack Song” into the “Holzfällerlied”: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/aiVOG199X2c/hqdefault.jpg "Lumberjack-Song in German") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiVOG199X2c) ---
**Author:** ![RobotDevilDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@RobotDevilDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobotDevilDog)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/117 "2022-10-18T18:48:57Z")
Since someone else mentioned The Simpsons, there are a few other cases where a song was used with different lyrics. The B-52s redid their song “Love Shack” as “Glove Slap”. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/L0xTCKKAgVk/hqdefault.jpg "The Simpsons - Glove Slap") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0xTCKKAgVk) And a group that sounds like Weezer (but is not Weezer) changed “Beverly Hills” into “Waverly Hills”. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/UoZ5g5Fxk3k/maxresdefault.jpg "Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D'oh - Clausen Credit Classics™") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoZ5g5Fxk3k) There are probably more examples that I can’t think of right now. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/118 "2022-10-18T20:46:22Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > This reminded me of the song, “Talkin’ Baseball (Willie, Mickey & The Duke),” a 1981 song by Terry Cashman, a nostalgic piece about baseball and its stars (particularly from the postwar era). Darn, I wanted to be the one to mention “Talkin’ Baseball.” Not quite quick enough. The Viennese folk song “O du lieber Augustin” (which, despite the rather jaunty melody, is about the inevitability of misery and death) has been adapted into “Did You Ever See a Lassie?” and also “The More We Get Together.” ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2022, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/119 "2022-10-18T21:25:18Z")
More on Elvis - “It’s Niw or Never”, and an earlier 50s song “There’s No Tomorrow” - both based on “O Sole Mio”. “Wooden Heart” - based on “Muss i Denn” “Surrender” - based on “Torna a Sorrento”. “Stay Away” - based on “Greensleeves”. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2022, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199/120 "2022-10-19T15:52:58Z")
Great thread. I was thinking about Peter Schilling’s “Major Tom (Coming Home),” which is the English version of the German original, “Major Tom (Völlig Losgelöst).” The lyrics are essentially the same but if I’m not mistaken in the English version he’s at peace with floating forever in space. In German, it ends with the capsule floating but we never hear from Major Tom again. R.E.M. have “7 Chinese Brothers” which appeared on their second album _Reckoning._ [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Ed31xCO9G68/maxresdefault.jpg "7 Chinese Bros. (Remastered 2006)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed31xCO9G68) A few years later, “Voice of Harold” was released on Dead Letter Office, their B-sides collection. Same music, but on VoH Stipe is reading the credits on the back of a gospel album. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-kkLuSlOE3U/maxresdefault.jpg "Voice Of Harold") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kkLuSlOE3U) I can’t remember if I heard the demo first, or the original, but I tend to hum the words of the demo. I believe the story was that the producer wanted Stipe to emote more, and there is much greater emotional gravity in the demo IMO. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-recorded-with-alternate-lyrics-to-the-original-but-not-for-humor-or-satire/973199.md?page=7)