11 times bands changed their original song lyrics

For lots of bands, songwriting means working their way through multiple drafts of lyrics before settling on the right ones.

Sometimes, even the album versions of lyrics aren’t entirely finalized. Musicians toy around with their lyrics at live performances all the time, changing the original words to prove a point, or just to switch things up a bit. Because why not?

Here are 11 instances where bands changed the original lyrics to one of their songs, either during a live performance or the songwriting process.

1. “Stressed Out,” Twenty One Pilots

Twenty One Pilots revealed their feelings on their 2016 hit when they changed the lyrics to be pretty hateful about it. At a Cleveland, Ohio, show, they sang:

“I wish I wrote a different song no one’s ever heard/I wish my mom would just admit she’s sick of every word/Overplayed, overstayed, it was a smash hit/Funny how overplayed songs sound like crap/I was told our true fans don’t like this song/But I hope they sing along/I hope they sing along.”

Read more: 7 times Twenty One Pilots were #FriendshipGoals

2. “Holiday,” Green Day

Green Day have never been shy about getting political at their performances; and since President Trump was elected last year, they’ve been aggressive about it — like, really aggressive. In this performance of “Holiday,” singer Billie Joe Armstrong changes the lyrics from “pulverize the Eiffel Towers” to “pulverize the Don Trump Towers.”

3. “Enter Sandman,” Metallica

When the song was originally written, the lyric “off to Never Never Land” was darker. Singer James Hetfield wrote the lyrics “Disrupt the perfect family” instead, and the song was focused on the theme of sudden infant death syndrome. Producer Bob Rock and drummer Lars Ulrich convinced Hetfield to change the lyric so it would be less depressing and more accessible.

4. “The Dope Show,” Marilyn Manson

During his concerts, Marilyn Manson often changes the line “the cops and queers” to “the pigs and fags.” The performance in the video above shows the switch at a concert in Japan.

5. “All Star,” Smash Mouth

After Smash Mouth posted a photo of the original lyrics to this classic, one small scribble hilariously changed the tone for the entire hit. Before the lyric “only shooting stars break the mold” was decided on, the words “wave bye bye to your soul” were scratched out on the paper. Spooky.

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6. “Buddy Holly,” Weezer

The very title of this song could have been different, since singer Rivers Cuomo originally had a different celebrity in mind for the chorus. During the writing process, he originally wrote, “You look just like Ginger Rogers/Oh oh, I move just like Fred Astaire.” This was, of course, changed to “I look just like Buddy Holly/Oh oh, and you’re Mary Tyler Moore.”

7. “Asthenia,” Blink-182

The demo version of “Asthenia” has different lyrics almost all the way through, but the instrumentation remains recognizable. Even the chorus, “Should I go back should I go back should I,” is different. In the demo, it is “Should I come back should I come back…” instead. It’s a slight wording change, but it really makes the song feel different.

8. “Psycho Killer,” Talking Heads

Talking Heads changed up the second verse to “Psycho Killer” and slowed it down a whole lot, too. The video above shows the sped-up demo.

In the demo, the lyrics in the second verse were “Listen to me, now I’ve passed the test, I think I’m cute, I think I’m the best. Skirt tight, don’t like that style. Don’t criticize what I know is worthwhile.” Later, they changed to “You start a conversation you can’t even finish it. You’re talking a lot, but you’re not saying anything. When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed. Say something once, why say it again?”

9. “My Name Is,” Eminem

The original version of this Eminem song was more graphic and violent than the CD version. On the uncensored version, he raps the phrase “rapin’ lesbians while they screamin/‘Let’s just be friends.’” The line was changed on the CD to: “Running over pedestrians/In a spaceship while they screamin’ at me, ‘Let’s just be friends.’”

10. “Tiny Vessels,” Death Cab For Cutie

After his breakup with actress Zooey Deschanel, Death Cab singer Ben Gibbard changed the lyrics in “Tiny Vessels” during a few live performances to reference the relationship. Instead of singing, “I spent two weeks in Silverlake,” he sang, “I wasted three years in Silverlake” to reference how long the two had been dating.

11. “Bigmouth Strikes Again,” the Smiths

When “Bigmouth Strikes Again” was released in the ‘80s, Walkmans were the prime music-listening device, which created the line “and her Walkman started to melt” in the song. Now, when Morrissey performs the song live, he often changes the line to “and her iPod started to melt.” That’s so very modern of him.

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