A while back (about as specific as I get now about past events), I wrote a column in which I substituted a line or two of current pop lyrics for the original lyrics of some bluegrass standards, just to see if anyone would notice, or could tell which line was “not like the others.” It fit nicely into our recent theme of bluegrass lyrics, and the fact that so many people are just ignoring them, or thinking of them as filler in between the instrumental breaks.
I thought, as a follow-up to last week’s quiz, it might be worthwhile to try this with a few more standard songs, just to see if you’ve absorbed the lyrics of these songs, or can at least identify vaguely what the song is about.
This week I won’t bother with an answer key, or assign any grades, or do anything else that might make you feel pressured. You probably get enough of that from the leader of your band. Consider this just a semi-enjoyable exercise, though there are definitely right and wrong answers. Don’t blow it!
Each bluegrass song below contains one, or part of one line from a current pop song. Can you identify which one is the outlier? The source of the pop lyrics is identified below each song.
As I mentioned before, if you like the substituted lyrics better than the originals, feel free to sing them that way from here on out (the writers of these songs may feel differently about that plan). If nothing else, it will serve as an experiment to see if anyone is paying attention. Based on recent evidence, we can probably guess how that’s going to go.
Old Home Place (4th verse):
Now the geese fly south and the cold wind moans
As I stand here and hang my head
I was scared of dentists and the dark
And now I wish that I was dead
(Riptide – Vance Joy)
Wild Bill Jones
As I went out for to take a little walk
I came upon that wild Bill Jones
Stumblin’ around like a wasted zombie
And I begged him to leave her alone
(Chained to the Rhythm – Katy Perry)
Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms
I ain’t gonna work on the railroad
I ain’t gonna work on the farm
It’s so typical of me to talk about myself
I’ll roll in my sweet baby’s arms
(Hello – Adele)
Some Old Day
Some old day, the tattoo inside my brain
Oh dear mother I’ll come home some old day
Some sweet day they’ll turn me loose from this dirty old calaboose
Oh dear mother I’ll come home some old day
(Sucker – The Jonas Brothers)
Blue Virginia Blues (second verse)
She called me up in St. Paul, Minnesota
She said I need you here in Richmond right away
I love you for free, and I’m not your mother
Bring some clothes I might want you to stay
(Objection (Tango) – Shakira)
Banks of the Ohio
I asked my love to take a walk
Party girls don’t get hurt
And as we walk oh may we talk
All about our wedding day
(Chandelier – Sia)
I’m a Man of Constant Sorrow
It’s fare thee well, my own true lover
I may be crazy, don’t mind me
For I’m bound to ride that northern railroad
Perhaps I’ll die upon this train
(Shape of You – Ed Sheeran)
Molly and Tenbrooks
Kyper, Kyper, Kyper my son
Sometimes quiet is violent, let old Tenbrooks run
Let old Tenbrooks run, o Lord
Let old Tenbrooks run
(Car Radio – Twenty One Pilots)
