Songs where the artist changes the lyrics for live performances

I see some of these songs like works in progress. Saw a version of Ambulance Blues the other day where Neil changed several lines of the Patty Hearst verse.

 

I heard a live version of "Radio Free Europe" (R.E.M.) where Stipe sang "instead of pleasing others, please yourself." I don't think that is in either studio version.

 

Domino by KISS on Unplugged. Instead of singing "she's got me by the balls" Gene sings "she's got to have it all".

Jim would never do that! "Girl we couldn't get much HIGHER"
Tsk tsk Gene

 

Paul Westerberg does this in everything, just makes up new words all the time.

 

'A brotherhood and sisterhood of man'

Because, you know, that's less sexist.

 

Some bands had to change words at the Ed Sullivan Show.
'Let's Spend Some Time Together' by the Stones...
Or the Doors/Jim Morrison with 'Light My Fire'.
The line "Girl we couldn't get much better" was offered, though Jim ignored that and sang the original lyrics instead. Ed was not amused.

 

“Remember the place in Canada that we smashed?”

 

Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac

 

Jackson Browne on the 2002 (?) tour used to say,
"And we got Ali G. on the video," instead of the original,
"We got Richard Pryor ..."

 

Rather than works in progress, I would see songs as living entities. They can change and grow.

Just as a guitar solo will almost certainly be different from the album, so can the lyrics change. Or the rhythm. etc.

One of the great things about live music is it's ability to evolve. We can go hear Beethoven's 9th at our local symphony one month, then next month when we're visiting another city and they happen to be playing it, we can go see it again and have a vastly different, though similar experience.

Likewise, back in the day I could go see the Dead two nights in a row and a song might be so different from night to night as to be hardly recognizable as the same tune. That's much more fun in my book than seeing it done the same way.

As Joni said, you paint a painting and it's done- not so w/ a song. "Nobody ever said to Van Gogh, paint a starry night again man."

 

For years Springsteen sang an entirely different last verse to Fourth of July, Asbury Park (Sandy), omitting the bit about the girl boppin down the beach and replacing it with the biker part.

 

Bob Dylan does it a lot.

I think "Tangled Up In Blue" alone gets new words each tour.

 

Counting Crows did this A LOT when I saw them 3 times, back in the day. One performance, Mr. Jones had a complete set of alternate lyrics. It was neat to hear

 

U2

ALL the time

 

???? How can you tell?

 

There is an alt version of Tangled, that was on a boot of Blood on the Tracks. Had it years ago, lost it, but recall it had some completely different, yet real interesting, lyrics.

Same goes for Idiot Wind.

 

Joe Walsh, nearly every time he performs "Life's Been Good" lol.

 

I've always liked Elvis Costello's Lee Harvey Oswald version of "Less Than Zero" more than the original.

 

Not to speak ill of the dead, but Wetton did that all the time too. Great bass player, but damn you could never sing along cause you never knew what he was going to sing. I guess you could never feel silly for not knowing the words cause neither did he. Lol peace

 

The Stones notoriously changed Honky tonk Woman on the 69 tour to include ("the never recorded" cough cough) the Paris verse.

 

Now that's Funny! LMAO thank you i needed that! Pax

 

Steven Tyler, too. But the ones I remember I can't repeat.

 

Glad somebody got it!

 

Fripp recently said something similar. Something to The affect that if you wanted to hear a song exactly as it sounds on the record..... go listen to the record. We are not going to be in effect a tribute band or nostalgia band. Each song will be played as a living entity.

Can't argue with the Maestro

 

When Floyd toured with Dark Side of the Moon, both before and after the album’s release, Rick Wright would sing, “Lying supine in the sunshine.” instead of, "Tired of lying in the sunshine.” during Time.