# Songs where performer and character are different genders **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [December 16, 2025, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749 "2025-12-16T12:23:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2025, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/61 "2025-12-18T09:14:28Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > _House of the Rising Sun_ is a song narrated from the point of view of an explicitly female prostitute. (It’s been the ruin of many a poor **girl** , and God I know I’m one). At the local pub’s karaoke, one woman took the time to research the original words to this American folk song, and would sing them, including the references that the singer is a woman, disregarding the words on screen. Her rendition was a hit with the audience (most of us either sang or played or both, traditional music), to the point where nobody else dared try it. ---
**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:** [December 18, 2025, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/62 "2025-12-18T09:44:37Z")
> [@Nauplius](#): > > “Luka” by Suzanne Vega Of course! I should have thought of this one. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2025, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/63 "2025-12-18T13:55:53Z")
Jack Black, Jolene. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2025, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/64 "2025-12-18T21:08:22Z")
I hate that song. Look, Dolly, we love you-a great talent and a humanitarian also. But whoever is singing that song- if your man is worth the powder to blow him up, Jolene cant steal him. I mean, get him drunk and seduce him once? Sure, maybe. But not steal him. ---
**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:** [December 19, 2025, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/65 "2025-12-19T00:26:44Z")
How do we count songs from bands with mixed vocalists? ---
**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:** [December 19, 2025, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/66 "2025-12-19T07:16:25Z")
The gender of the lead singer. I cited ABBA, above. The girls sing the main part, with the guys joining in the chorus. That counts, IMHO. I also cited Leva’s Polka, with three girls and a guy. ---
**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:** [December 19, 2025, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/67 "2025-12-19T07:57:04Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Jack Black, Jolene. The White Stripes also covered Jolene, with Jack White singing the lyrics unaltered. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SVyGNS2HOIk/hqdefault.jpg "The White Stripes - Jolene (Studio Version)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVyGNS2HOIk) I can’t recall the artist, but some time back I heard a cover of Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” by a male singer with the lyrics unchanged. I guess that could imply that the singer is a gay man who got drunk and decided to try being with a woman, but it could also just be a man singing as a woman. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/68 "2025-12-19T12:16:00Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The White Stripes also covered Jolene, with Jack White singing the lyrics unaltered. Actually, that was the Jolene I was thinking of. I just remember it for a singing style I don’t much care for. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/69 "2025-12-19T12:49:10Z")
Annie Lennox a couple of these. First [a version of “Waiting In Vain”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj5CCOzJ7nk) (originally by Bob Marley) where she flips “girl” to “boy” in a couple of places, straightforwardly enough. Then in a different dimension of vanity she does [a version of “Train In Vain”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGI0SyrBaZw&list=RDLGI0SyrBaZw&start_radio=1) (originally by The Clash) where she leaves the “stand by your man” unchanged, making it sound like she’s the man. It’s a little dissonant if you focus on it. But honestly, her cover is such a _tour de force_ that details like that don’t even register. ---
**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:** [December 19, 2025, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/70 "2025-12-19T20:47:46Z")
Another category would be duets that are traditionally alternating male and female parts, but all sung by one performer. The first that came to mind is [Paper of Pins](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v_oOZPjh6M), though the version there has different lyrics than I learned (the version I know has the Beloved rejecting the offer of a paper of pins, a dress of blue, and a dress of red, before accepting the keys to the suitor’s heart). ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2025, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/71 "2025-12-20T15:58:04Z")
Margo Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) does a cover of Neil Young’s “Powderfinger” from the same perspective of a young man. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2025, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/72 "2025-12-20T16:19:37Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Leva’s Polka Nitpick: “_I_eva”. > **[Ieva](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ieva)** > > Ieva is a Latvian, Lithuanian, and dialectal Finnish (more commonly Eeva) given name, counterpart of English Eve, derived from a Hebrew name meaning "life" or "living one". It can also mean full of life or mother of life. It is the standard biblical form of Eve in many European languages. > **[Ievan polkka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ievan_polkka)** > > "Ievan polkka" (Finnish for "Ieva's Polka") is a Finnish song with lyrics printed in 1928 and written by Eino Kettunen to a traditional Finnish polka tune. The song is sung in an Eastern Savonian dialect spoken in North Karelia. It is sung from the point of view of a young man, about a woman called Ieva (dialectal for the name Eva or Eeva in standard Finnish) who sneaks out and dances the polka with him all night. The song is often mistaken for a traditional folk song, but the lyrics by Eino K In... ---
**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:** [December 21, 2025, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/73 "2025-12-21T10:11:58Z")
I stand corrected. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2026, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/74 "2026-01-29T14:12:45Z")
Vera Lynn singing Lili Marlene [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fp65qsiL4HQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Lili Marlene") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp65qsiL4HQ) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/75 "2026-01-29T15:41:25Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But whoever is singing that song- if your man is worth the powder to blow him up, Jolene cant steal him. I mean, get him drunk and seduce him once? Sure, maybe. But not steal him. Lotsa folks out there falling in love with people who don’t deserve them. It’s kind of a staple of pop music, really. ---
**Author:** ![Cachalot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@Cachalot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cachalot)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2026, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/76 "2026-02-03T00:16:29Z")
And don’t forget Shindell’s song “Ballad of Mary Magdalene”, where he is singing as Mary ---
**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/77 "2026-02-12T18:55:19Z")
Also by Richard Shindell, “Reunion Hill” is written from a woman’s perspective. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/78 "2026-02-12T19:03:01Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Then in a different dimension of vanity she does [a version of “Train In Vain”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGI0SyrBaZw&list=RDLGI0SyrBaZw&start_radio=1) (originally by The Clash) where she leaves the “stand by your man” unchanged, making it sound like she’s the man. Lennox’s version is one of my favorites, but I think it works as a song from a woman to a man. The original version is a male singer accusing his ex-girlfriend of lying when she said she “stood by her man,” but the Lennox version makes it sound like a woman pointing out the hypocrisy of her ex-boyfriend, who insisted that she had to stand by him, but didn’t hold himself to the same standard. ---
**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/79 "2026-02-12T19:07:32Z")
Alice Cooper’s ‘Genuine American Girl’ is a song sung by a man, apparently about being a girl. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749/80 "2026-02-12T21:24:36Z")
Rilo Kiley’s “A Man / Me / Then Jim” has Jenny Lewis singing all three verses, including the perspectives of “A Man” and “Jim”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-performer-and-character-are-different-genders/1025749.md?page=5)