Covers That Try Feebly to Modernize the Original Lyrics

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1. "After the Goldrush" - Dolly, Linda, and Emmylou

("look at mother nature on the run in the 20th century" vs. Neil Young's "...on the run in the 1970's")

― King-a-Ling (King-a-Ling), Saturday, 16 September 2006 03:00 (nineteen years ago)

"You Know My Name (Google It)"

― Marmot (marmotwolof), Saturday, 16 September 2006 03:06 (nineteen years ago)

Does changing the lyrics to be more PC count? Christina Aguilera's cover of Car Wash changed the original "There ain't no telling who you might meet/a movie star or maybe even an Indian chief" line to "A movie star or maybe a common thief".

― musically (musically), Saturday, 16 September 2006 03:07 (nineteen years ago)

Seriously though, the first thing I thought of was the Raconteurs singing "Internet Killed the Video Star" at this year's MTV VMAs.

― Marmot (marmotwolof), Saturday, 16 September 2006 03:08 (nineteen years ago)

that awful cover of "boys of summer" that changed "deadhead sticker on a cadillac" to "ramones sticker on a cadillac".

does it count if it's a bad song to begin with?

― Emily B (Emily B), Saturday, 16 September 2006 03:53 (nineteen years ago)

haha

both megadeth and motley crue's covers of 'anarchy in the uk' change uk to usa.

― Charlie Howard (the sphinx), Saturday, 16 September 2006 04:09 (nineteen years ago)

Not so much "modernize" as "topicalize": Fred Durst & Johnny Rzzznzzck's new lyrics to "Wish You Were Here" on the 9/11 "America: A Tribute to Heroes" special

― Hideous Lump (Hideous Lump), Saturday, 16 September 2006 04:13 (nineteen years ago)

George Michael covering "My Baby Just Cares For Me": "and even Ricky Martin's smile . . ."

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Saturday, 16 September 2006 05:48 (nineteen years ago)

Cake changed Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive", because "I should have changed my stupid lock" just wasn't that cool in 1996.

― cosmo vitelli (cosmo vitelli), Saturday, 16 September 2006 06:06 (nineteen years ago)

1. "After the Goldrush" - Dolly, Linda, and Emmylou
("look at mother nature on the run in the 20th century" vs. Neil Young's "...on the run in the 1970's")

neil himself has sung that altered line in concert since 1990.

― Lawrence the Looter (Lawrence the Looter), Saturday, 16 September 2006 06:33 (nineteen years ago)

"ramones sticker on a cadillac"

Firstly, it wasn't an awful cover. Secondly, it was Black Flag rather than Ramones.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Saturday, 16 September 2006 06:48 (nineteen years ago)

I know this is way off topic, but I just want to mention what a douchebag Fred Durst was (redunandant) for covering "Bring The Noise" and changing "Farrakhan's a prophet" to "Farrakhan's a racist."

You know what dude, maybe Public Enemy's not really for you.

― Whiney G. Weingarten (whineyg), Saturday, 16 September 2006 08:17 (nineteen years ago)

Is that all he changed? Was it "Farrakhan's a racist that I think you ought to listen to"? Heh.

― Marmot (marmotwolof), Saturday, 16 September 2006 08:28 (nineteen years ago)

oh that Durst

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Saturday, 16 September 2006 08:35 (nineteen years ago)

Morrissey sorta does this with Bigmouth Strikes Again.

He changed the lyrics from walkman --> discman --> ipod.

Funny guy.

― Torgeir Hansen/MRZBW (MRZBW), Saturday, 16 September 2006 14:10 (nineteen years ago)

"And her Zune player started to melt"

― Erroneous Botch (joseph cotten), Saturday, 16 September 2006 14:42 (nineteen years ago)

Morrissey sorta does this with Bigmouth Strikes Again

Placebo do this on their cover version of that song too, although it being the mid-'90s, they made reference to a Megadrive.

― LC (Damian), Saturday, 16 September 2006 15:12 (nineteen years ago)

Four years ago a friend of mine
Asked me to say some MC rhymes
So I said this rhyme I'm about to say
The rhyme was Meth and it went this way

Yo, we took a test to become an MC
All the withers in the crowd got amazed at me
God threw me inside his Cadillac
The chaffuer drove off and we never came back

Meth cut the record down to the bone
And now I rock solid chrome microphones
Now we signing autographs, with cheers and laughs
Champagne, caviar, and bubblebaths, but see...

That's the life that I lead, you sucka MC, we G-O-D
Take that and move back, or catch a heartattack
Because there's nothing in the world the gods could ever lack

I chill at the party in my b-boy stance
Walk, cap low, 45 in my pants
Fly like a dove, that come from up above
My nigga's Iron Lung but you can stay one love

It's just a one two three a three a two one
Throw your blunts in the air for the god Iron Lung
Blow them right in your face with the bass
You messed up, come in first place, the real rap taste

First come, first serve basis
Coolin out boo, take you to the def places
One of a kind for you people's delight
And to you sucker MC, you know it ain't right
Bet you bite all your life, cheat on your wife
Run in a gun fight with nuthin but a knife
Bangin with your boy, slingin with the crew
And everybody know what you've been through
It's the one two three three two one
Throw your blunts in the air for your dunn Iron Lung
Smoke in your place with the highs and the bass
Come in first place in the real rap race
Go uptown, buy a bag of brown
You sucker MC, a sad face clown
Gettin OD ready to rock crowds steady
You drive a big car get your gas from Getti

(ODB)
I'm ODB in the place to be
Didn't go to St. John's University
In the streets of Brooklyn I aquired the knowledge
A Law of Mathematics that's higher than college
I'm fly on skins that I gets in Queens
She love filthy swine and my collard greens
I'm dressed to kill, you know our style
Cause niggas don't know that Dirty Dogg fly

― xhuxk (xheddy), Saturday, 16 September 2006 18:57 (nineteen years ago)

Also, Not modernization, probably; more likely just utter stupidity:

Anarchy in the UK Lyrics
Artist: Megadeth
Album: So Far So Good...So What

Right now
I am an Anti-Christ,
and I am an anarchist.
Don't know what I want, but I know how to get it,
I want to destroy, possibly?

....I thought it was the U.K., or just another country
and other cunt-like tendencies.
Cause I want to be Anarchy, cause I want to be Anarchy,
you know what I mean?

Cause I want to be an Anarchist, again I'm pissed, Destroy!

― xhuxk (xheddy), Saturday, 16 September 2006 19:25 (nineteen years ago)

Secondly, it was Black Flag rather than Ramones

And this is critical, in addition to scanning properly.

Thirdly, it wasn't a bad song to begin with, I too dislike Don Henley, but Boys of Summer is undeniable. Mike Campbell is the sunshine and ponys of rock'n'roll.

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Saturday, 16 September 2006 19:27 (nineteen years ago)

Not a modernization, more like an alteration, but worth mentioning:

When the Little Boy Blues (this 1960's garage band from Chicago) covered "I'm Ready" (the Willie Dixon blues standard known through Muddy Waters' version), they changed "all you young chicks with your curly hair" to "...with your long blonde hair." Okay, I know interracial dating wasn't as common in the mid-sixties as it is today, but even so, that was plenty lame...

― Rev. Hoodoo (Rev. Hoodoo), Saturday, 16 September 2006 20:09 (nineteen years ago)

haha, mustaine's take on 'anarchy' is probably just the product of serious abuse of hard drugs in retrospect

― Charlie Howard (the sphinx), Sunday, 17 September 2006 14:11 (nineteen years ago)

Firstly, it wasn't an awful cover.

well, i have little patience for pop-punk covers. me first and the gimme gimmes and the like make me want to kill. but that's just me.

fyi amg tells me that cover was done by the ataris.

― Emily B (Emily B), Sunday, 17 September 2006 17:02 (nineteen years ago)

to finish my post:

Secondly, it was Black Flag rather than Ramones.

i just remember the song from the radio a few years back. my bad.

― Emily B (Emily B), Sunday, 17 September 2006 17:19 (nineteen years ago)

It was an awful cover. An awful cover of a great song.

― xhuxk (xheddy), Sunday, 17 September 2006 17:47 (nineteen years ago)

awful cover, awful song. Second act Country Rock and contemporary Pop Punk deserve each other. It could only be worse if it was done as a ska number.

― bendy (bendy), Sunday, 17 September 2006 18:12 (nineteen years ago)

Dolly Parton changed the lyrics in her cover of 'Stairway To Heaven', although she didn't modernise them.

― GLC (ZakAce), Monday, 18 September 2006 00:22 (nineteen years ago)

I think those Megadeth lyrics are a riot. Plus their version blows the original away.

― Bill Magill (Bill Magill), Monday, 18 September 2006 19:50 (nineteen years ago)

I mostly hate the Ataris version because it means that I can't cover the song myself. The original is really awesome.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 18 September 2006 19:56 (nineteen years ago)

"But when you go carryin' pictures of Saddam Hussein / 
 Don't you know everyone's gonna think you're insane"
                                 - Slaughter, 1991

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Monday, 18 September 2006 20:44 (nineteen years ago)

Presumably this is a mishearing by whoever transcribed the lyrics for Ag.

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 09:08 (nineteen years ago)

Is that all he changed? Was it "Farrakhan's a racist that I think you ought to listen to"? Heh.
-- Marmot (marmotwolo...), September 16th, 2006.

this needs disambiguation!

― EARLY-90S MAN (Enrique), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 09:10 (nineteen years ago)

I was at a business conference in the early 00s when a novelty covers band turned up and played a version of "Anarchy In The UK", Parisian cafe style with accordion. They changed the line "your future dream is a shopping scheme" to "your future dream is a housing scheme", much more acceptable to the retailers in the audience.

― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 09:16 (nineteen years ago)

1. "After the Goldrush" - Dolly, Linda, and Emmylou
("look at mother nature on the run in the 20th century" vs. Neil Young's "...on the run in the 1970's")

neil himself has sung that altered line in concert since 1990.

He was singing it as "We got Mother Nature on the run..." at least 30 years ago.

― Dan Heilman (The Deacon), Tuesday, 19 September 2006 15:20 (nineteen years ago)

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