When I listen to a song it’s the beat that gets my toes tapping but it’s the lyrics that decide the length of my relationship with a song. Some songs I’ll listen to forever because the meaning resonates within me.

And while I try to get the words right, I don’t always succeed.

I know I’m not alone in this.

I know I’m not the only one who interpreted CCR’s there’s a bad moon on the rise to there’s a bathroom on the right.

And like an iceberg, that’s just the tip of the lyrics I’ve flubbed, and even liked a little better than the original.

And while I used to think I inherited this particular trait from my father (who should be ashamed of himself for telling an impressionable 7 year old lines that were not part of an actual song), I’ve since learned that the trait is fairly common. Seems soldiers in World War 1 changed the lyrics to a popular melody too. Some were bawdy such as to Parlez-vous, others were sad like the ones to Broken Doll, and some held a purpose (beyond confusing the enemy).

Here is one courtesy of the American Doughboy in France:

Iodine and Pills
Iodine and Pills
Good for rheumatism
Good for chills
Bones my be broken
Mumps in your gills
Iodine and pills will cure you
Iodine and pills

And while I can’t tell you what the original song was, I can say that the lyrics tell a lot about the state of medicine in 1917.