# Subtle but noticeable changes to a version of a work?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-but-noticeable-changes-to-a-version-of-a-work/705346>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [November 22, 2014, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-but-noticeable-changes-to-a-version-of-a-work/705346 "2014-11-22T16:22:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\
**Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-but-noticeable-changes-to-a-version-of-a-work/705346/21 "2014-11-29T06:32:24Z")

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Other questionable covers:  
The Ataris changing the sticker from the Grateful Dead to Black Flag on their version of the “Boys of Summer”.  
Cake throwing in a random “fuck” in their take on “I Will Survive”.  
The Dead Kennedys stuck to the original lyrics on their cover of “Viva Las Vegas”, but throw in a line about snorting cocaine at the end.  
And the most pathetic, the Osmonds changing “mighty good wine” to “mighty good milk” when covering “Joy to the World”😕.

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**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\
**Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-but-noticeable-changes-to-a-version-of-a-work/705346/22 "2014-11-29T14:17:24Z")

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> [@installLSC](#):
>
> And the most pathetic, the Osmonds changing “mighty good wine” to “mighty good milk” when covering “Joy to the World”😕.

That’s a phrase I never thought I’d _ever_ encounter.

Regards,  
A Die-Hard Milk Hater

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**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\
**Post date:** [November 29, 2014, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/subtle-but-noticeable-changes-to-a-version-of-a-work/705346/23 "2014-11-29T14:56:44Z")

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Well, the problem with that line in “Folsom Prison Blues” is the idea that a murder in Nevada will pop you into a California state prison, so the “They say…” line makes more sense overall.

It’s a niche thing, but David Gerrold has a history of rewriting and “updating” his books with each re-release. Two of his finest shorter works are _When HARLIE Was One_ and _The Man Who Folded Himself_. At some point, he decided HARLIE was too dated, and did a substantial rewrite that changed generic computer terminals to very specific mid-1970s CRT-tech; it was badly dated within years whereas the original has a generic quality that transcends computing eras. He also added the slippery-wet sex scenes verboten in the late 1960s and obligatory by 1980.

Then I bought a copy of _Folded_ from him in 2007, only to find he’d updated a number of small details like the year of the car and suchlike - pretty pointless and jarring to a former reader.

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