The Belle & Sebastian song “The Chalet Lines” is a song that is sung by a man, but the lyrics are clearly from the POV of a woman.
“He raped me in the chalet lines
I had just said no for the final time
Although it’s last month it’s like yesterday
I missed my time, I don’t think I could stand
To take the test, I’m feeling sick
Fuck this, I’ve felt like this for a week”
What are some other songs like this? The singer is Gender A but the song’s voice is of Gender B?
I don’t think love songs are going to fit in to this thread at all, but I could be wrong. I’m not looking for songs that say, originally was sung by a man about a woman and was covered by a woman still singing about another woman.
In the example given, the singer sings about being raped (not exclusive to women) but also missing their period - exclusive to women.
A different example might be a female cover of the song “I’m a Man”. The lyrics unmistakably paint the protagonist as a man.
Stevie Nicks did a great cover of the Dave Matthews Band song “Crash Into Me.” She changed some of the lyrics around to try to make it less male perspective-y, but she still sings “I come into you,” which is really something the man does.
The OP seems to both explicitly forbid and also suggest covers, so I’m not sure to make of that. There are a ton of examples of genderbent covers here, as well as a few examples of originals mixed in:
Note: see especially Aversions and Other for examples where the pronouns aren’t messed with
Here’s a terrific compilation of classic 30s & 40s jazz standards written for (and originally sung by) women but covered by men of that period. While this wasn’t generally intended to make things appear more sexually fluid, the end result is often one of some playful gender-bending.
“‘The way I see it’, he said, ‘you just can’t win it’” [Lyrics from memory] I’d say she is relating something an man told her and therefore, um, doesn’t count unless we want to let it. Anyway, the entire song is inside quotes for me.
Nah, not forbidding covers. Just saying that a woman covering a song that originally is a man singing a love song to a woman doesn’t really “count” because unless the song lyrics specifically refer to the singer as a man, it doesn’t really matter who the singer is.
“I love her, Vaaaaaalerie!” - protagonist could be a man or a woman
“I come in to you” - protagonist is clearly a man [ok, a person with functioning male genitalia]
The White Stripes did a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”, without changing the lyrics. So Jack White sings all the, “I’m begging of you, please don’t take my man,” stuff to Jolene.
Instant Records last year put out a compilation called Instant Love (Volume 1) where they asked various female singer-songwriters to do a cover of their choice of a love song originally intended to be sung by a man to a woman.
Paul Kelly wrote and sings the song Sweet Guy on his latest album “Life is Fine”
It’s even better in the versions/concerts where Vika Bull sings the lead, but then Vika and Linda Bull are national treasures.
Also on the same album is “My Man’s Got A Cold” which is sung by Vika but in smaller shows Kelly will do lead vocals.
