Does the tune sound different or what? Or how the hell do I sing this?

So I've been trying to sing a particular song. I know the lyrics, but the problem is that the tune seems to sound drastically different. OK, in places they sound the same, but mostly they sound different. So I have no idea how to sing the thing, even though I know the lyrics. Does anyone have an idea about the reason for this? It's making it very hard to learn how to sing the song, because I have no idea how the tune is supposed to go.

Miguelito Valdes singing "Babalu".

and MIDI of the song.

Can someone please help me figure this out?

edited 20th Aug '12 5:41:51 AM by MorwenEdhelwen

You really need to find a forum dedicated to singers. You're never going to get much of a reply to these questions here.

I think her problem is mostly song-related rather than singing-related.

Singing properly is a thing that's developed over time. It takes a while to develop an "ear" to interpret a melody.

I can generally follow a melody all right, but some songs give me trouble even if they're in my range.

@NEO: It is song-related. And actually I may have posted it too quickly.