# Songs whose title is taken from the lyrics, but phrased differently **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 28, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124 "2010-03-28T17:47:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/1 "2010-03-28T17:47:30Z")
There have been threads on songs whose titles don’t appear in the lyrics. I just thought of another variation on this, maybe too obscure, but we’ll see: songs whose titles almost appear in the lyrics, but phrased differently. Maybe a verb is in a different tense, or there’s a word missing or added, or something like that. I’ve had “Don’t Cry” by Guns n Roses playing in my head all week, and I realized that at no point in the song does Axl utter the words “don’t cry” in succession. It’s always “don’t _you_ cry.” Yet this is not the title of the song. Other songs that fit the bill: Collective Soul, “The World I Know”: he sings “the world I _have_ known” Modern English, “I Melt With You”: the closest he gets is “I’ll stop the world and melt with you” Any others? ETA: I just realized that the phrase “don’t cry” does appear in one of the verses, so maybe that one doesn’t count, but you get the idea. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/2 "2010-03-28T17:52:09Z")
Rod Stewart never asks the question, “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” He says, “If you want my body and you think I’m sexy, come on honey, let me know.” ---
**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:** [March 28, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/3 "2010-03-28T19:39:37Z")
The Who: “Won’t get fooled again.” The line in the song is “We _don’t_ get fooled again.” ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/4 "2010-03-28T19:52:54Z")
Genesis: “Follow You Follow Me” The chorus goes “I will follow you, will you follow me” ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/5 "2010-03-28T20:06:27Z")
This is a bit of a stretch, but in Dylan’s “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)”, he never sings the part about bleeding. Took me a few years to get the joke; he’s referring to the last stanza, where the preceding line is “They’d probably put my head in a guillotine”. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/6 "2010-03-28T20:16:08Z")
Alien Ant Farm’s song ‘‘Courage’’ is one of these, with the added bonus of a song lyric taken from the title of the _band_, but phrased differently. > [@](#): > > Traveled far for a lover > Who she was she was not > But honestly it don’t matter > Aliens ain’t Farmers > > You should try not to be so courageous ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/7 "2010-03-28T20:38:04Z")
Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds.” In at least one instance, the lyrics are “against the odds.” I’m not sure that counts since the title was taken from the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/8 "2010-03-28T20:39:52Z")
… ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/9 "2010-03-28T22:47:22Z")
“What’s Up?” by Four Non-Blondes (The lyric is “What’s going on?”; someone explained to the girls that Marvin Gaye already made an iconic song with that title, hence the change). “God Will” by Lyle Lovett (“God does but I don’t/The Lord will but I won’t/That’s the difference 'tween God and me”). ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/10 "2010-03-29T01:03:13Z")
Kiki Dee says “I got the music in me.” When the title is “I’ve Got The Music In Me.” I just listened to it again, and I’m 99% certain she only says: “I got” rather than “I’ve got” though the lack of an “vvv” sound is probably to subtle to be 100% certain. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/11 "2010-03-29T04:04:14Z")
I immediately thought of Won’t Get Fooled Again, but I figured someone would beat me to it. I also immediately thought of Half Acre by Hem that played on the Liberty Mutual commercials has only “half an acre” in its lyrics. Then I decided to waste time doing research, poring over artists I knew. The second (third? I thought Overture/I’m a boy was one song, but this listing I’m looking at separates them) song of Tommy by the Who is listed as being called “1921”, while only the shortened “'21” appears in the lyrics. On the same album “Sally Simpson” has “Mr. Simpson” once and “Sally” throughout the song, but the title does not appear. Pink Floyd’s “Wot’s…uh the deal?” form Obscured by Clouds is listed as being in its lyrics, but on the album I swear he’s actually just singing “Wot’s… a deal” or similar - I don’t hear two words between Wot’s and Deal. In a live performance of Gilmour on YT he fairly clearly sings “Wot’s… the deal”. “Run Like Hell” from The Wall has “You better run” a bunch, but never “like hell”. I’m sure I could find more but I’m being distracted by YouTube… ---
**Author:** ![Rattlehead02](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rattlehead02/32/3944_2.png) [@Rattlehead02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rattlehead02)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/12 "2010-03-29T04:53:39Z")
Megadeth - In My Darkest Hour He sings, “In my hour of need…” and “Through the darkest hour…” but that’s the closest it get to the title. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/13 "2010-03-29T05:06:52Z")
The song titled “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” drops the first word in the lyrics: _For the benefit of Mr. Kite/there will be a show tonight_. ---
**Author:** ![Foldup\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Foldup\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foldup_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/14 "2010-03-29T05:44:48Z")
_Semi Charmed Life_ by Third Eye Blind states, “I want something else to get me through this semi-charmed kinda life.” ---
**Author:** ![sco3tt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@sco3tt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sco3tt)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/15 "2010-03-29T19:32:42Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > Collective Soul, “The World I Know”: he sings “the world I _have_ known” My all-time favorite mondegreen: When I first heard it I thought he was singing “the one-eyed gnome”. Google shows that I wasn’t the only one. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/16 "2010-03-29T19:46:50Z")
Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s atheistic holiday carol is called “I Believe in Father Christmas.” But Lake never sings that line in the course of the song. Rather, he sings, “And I believe\*\*d \*\*in Father Christmas. I looked to the sky with excited eyes.” Past tense, which makes all the difference. He USED to believe in Santa Claus and in God. Not any more. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/17 "2010-03-29T20:04:08Z")
Rolling Stones Star Star. That’s not what they sing. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/18 "2010-03-29T20:27:05Z")
> [@Mixolydian](#): > > This is a bit of a stretch, but in Dylan’s “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)”, he never sings the part about bleeding. Took me a few years to get the joke; he’s referring to the last stanza, where the preceding line is “They’d probably put my head in a guillotine”. Another one from Dylan is “Open the Door, Homer.” The actual line is either “Open the door, Richard” or “Open the door, Rachel”. (The Internet says the latter, but I always figured it was the former, because of the Louis Jordan song of the same name.) ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/19 "2010-03-29T21:13:34Z")
“Let’s Get Together” is never sung in the song. What is sung is “everybody get together”. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124/20 "2010-03-29T21:27:11Z")
This is admittedly something of a hijack, but one of my pet peeves is when the words of the title appear in the song, but the title doesn’t make up a complete phrase (in the grammatical sense) from the song. There’s one or more additional words making up the phrase in the song that change the meaning. The two examples I can come up with at the moment are somewhat obscure, and they’re from country music. 🙂 Mindy McCready, “Cross against the moon.” If you take that as a phrase, then ‘cross’ would seem to be a verb - somebody’s crossing where the moon would indicate not to, or in an perpendicular direction to that of the moon. In the lyrics, it’s “the cross against the moon” - representing two opposing influences in a young woman’s life, her faith and her dreams of stardom, each struggling against the other. (And the moon pretty much wins :D) Adam Gregory, “Only know I do.” This one isn’t as much of a change, but as given, that’s imperative, something you’re telling somebody else. In the song, it’s always “I only know I do.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-title-is-taken-from-the-lyrics-but-phrased-differently/534124.md?page=2)