Line #57 Main/RewrittenPopVersion


1	When a song, usually from a musical, has a popular version with rewritten lyrics, because the original lyrics were too character-specific or just not commercial enough. This is likely to turn it into a [[SillyLoveSongs love song]] if it wasn't originally.
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3	This phenomenon is related to the AwardBaitSong. See also ForgottenThemeTuneLyrics, ThemeTuneExtended.
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5	For the inversion, see RepurposedPopSong.
6	----
7	!!Examples:
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9
10	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
11	* [=Dream5=]'s songs for ''Anime/{{Tamagotchi}}'' have two versions: the TV size versions, which add in references to elements in the show (and in one phrase, inserting Himespetchi's catchphrase "Gigakyun!" into the lyrics), and the full versions, which lack these references. For instance, "I My Me Mine"[='s=] first verse is "Kyou mo dai dai dai dai daisuki, ta ta ta ta Tamagotchi"[[note]] translating into "Today I lo-lo-lo-lo-love ta-ta-ta-ta Tamagotchi!" in English[[/note]], while the full version goes "Kyou mo I my me mine yume ippai, I my me mine mune ippai!"[[note]] "Today I have dreams that are I my me mine, today my heart is full of I my me mine" in English[[/note]]. At least one song, "Doremifasorairo", not only had the lyrics changed, but the pitch lower than the full version.
12	* The English dub of ''Anime/{{Ponyo}}'' ends with a pop version of the theme song after an English version of the original song plays, sung by Music/NoahCyrus and Frankie Jonas, the English voice actors of Ponyo and Sousuke. There's also a full version of it that was used to promote the film. While the original version is about Ponyo exploring her world, the pop version gives off the vibe of "let's dance and be happy with Ponyo".
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15	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
16	* "Can You Feel The Love Tonight", "Circle of Life" and "I Just Can't Wait to be King" all have very different lyrics in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'' than the versions sung by Elton John at the end of the film's soundtrack album.
17	* "I Will Always Return" is about homecoming and family in ''WesternAnimation/SpiritStallionOfTheCimarron''. The pop version is a paint-by-numbers love song.
18	* Another Disney example is "Reflection" from ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', the pop version of which was performed by Music/ChristinaAguilera.
19	** Also from ''Mulan'' is the less commonly heard "True To Your Heart." The version that plays over the credits is an exhortation to live honestly and stand by what you believe in. The one in the music video (and on the soundtrack album) says that if you're true to your heart, it will tell you to date the singer.
20	** The sequel ''WesternAnimation/MulanII'' got hit with this too, with "Like Other Girls" being changed in the Music/AtomicKitten cover to reflect their modern desires for freedom (no cameras, no platform shoes, etc.) instead of Chinese princesses escaping the culture standards for women of the time period (get rid of the fan, no escorts, etc.).
21	* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersTheMovie'' used a hair-metal version of the show's theme tune, [[ThemeTuneExtended with its full lyrics during the credits]].
22	* The cafeteria song from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'' has a pop version with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwygf4JwVXc a live-action music video]]. Daniel Ingram says he had no involvement in this production.
23	* Two of the {{cut song}}s from ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'', "Proud of Your Boy" and "Call Me a Princess", were given this treatment, by Clay Aiken and Kerry Butler respectively.
24	* Music/DemiLovato's version of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHue-HaXXzg "Let It Go"]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen\|2013}}'' changes the latter two lines of the second verse, completely reworks and shortens the bridge, and retains the same chorus lyrics throughout the song.
25	* The title song from ''WesternAnimation/HelpImAFish'' was covered bubblegum dance pop style by Creamy of [[VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution "I Do, I Do, I Do"]] fame, as well as by The Little Trees, and [[TranslatedCoverVersion in Dutch]] by K3.
26	* The SpecialEdition soundtrack to ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'' includes pop covers of "Part of Your World" by Music/JessicaSimpson, "Under the Sea" by Creator/RavenSymone, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" by Music/TheJonasBrothers, and "Kiss the Girl" by Creator/AshleyTisdale, although only "Poor Unfortunate Souls" has its lyrics altered.
27	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'''s soundtrack album, has a pop version of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI3E11_Im7k "You're Welcome"]] performed by Music/JordanFisher and composer Creator/LinManuelMiranda.
28	** There's also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNra8eK0K6k Alessia Cara's cover]] of "How Far I'll Go", which was released by Disney via Apple Music before the movie version as a preview of the soundtrack.
29	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}'''s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtRa-0hBdbQ "Journey to The Past"]] was heavily rearranged and given a few new lyrics for its [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqUj4rRiWjQ end credits cover]] by Music/{{Aaliyah}}. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyUBdLm3s9U "Once upon a December"]] also has a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4eW30D1p58 pop cover]] during the credits, by Music/DeanaCarter.
30	* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajmbnfBC7SU In This Place]]" by Music/JuliaMichaels, one of the end credits songs from ''WesternAnimation/RalphBreaksTheInternet'', was given different lyrics than those of the original song, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCp29sp0XGc A Place Called Slaughter Race]]", which has LyricalDissonance as it was sung from the perspective of a TomboyPrincess with a desire to live in a violent, chaotic world.
31	* The intro song "Couldn't Be Better" from ''WesternAnimation/{{Uglydolls}}'' has a pop cover exclusive to the movie's soundtrack. It keeps a fair amount of the lyrics of the original, and is also sung by Music/KellyClarkson, Moxy's voice actress in the movie, meaning she technically gets two versions of the song to sing.
32	* ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'' is well-known for the pop version of one of the songs from the film, "Somewhere Out There", which was preformed by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram, that played during the credits of the film. It became so popular that it [[BreakawayPopHit would later break free of its origins and become one of the 80's defining songs]].
33	* In a case where a movie uses a song from another source for this, ''WesternAnimation/MickeyDonaldGoofyTheThreeMusketeers'' was promoted with a music video featuring a pop cover of "Three Is A Magic Number" from ''WesternAnimation/SchoolhouseRock'', which is also owned by Disney. Oddly enough, the multiplication table part of the song is kept as the chorus.
34	* ''[[Anime/PrettyCureAllStars Pretty Cure All Stars: Minna De Utau Kiseki No Mahou]]'' features a pop version of the musical number "Anata Ga Iru Kara" as the ending theme, sung by the voice actors for all the Pink Cures and the characters from the ''Anime/MahoGirlsPrecure'' and ''Anime/GoPrincessPrettyCure''. The original song involved the Cures singing about the town they were visiting, while the end credits one is about friendship.
35	* ''WesternAnimation/TrollsWorldTour'': This is the reason in-universe that the Troll tribes separated and began to live in isolation. The ancient Pop Tribe leader hoarded the lyre of the six strings and began to remix the songs of the other tribes into pop, potentially erasing their music altogether unless stopped.
36	* On the soundtrack for ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGoToTheMovies'', a version of "Upbeat Inspirational Song About Life" sung by Michael Bolton and Scott Menville is included, where the former sings the lyrics the other Titans sung in the original song. Robin's lines are kept intact, however.
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39	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
40	* "The Bad In Every Man" from ''Film/ManhattanMelodrama'' was rewritten at Creator/{{MGM}}'s request as "Blue Moon" (actually the fourth lyric written for the tune), which went on to become a massive hit.
41	** Rodgers and Hart did this earlier, if less drastically, with "Isn't It Romantic?" and "Lover" from ''Film/LoveMeTonight.'' In the movie, the former song is worked into an elaborate montage, and the latter includes a HurricaneOfPuns about horseback riding.
42	* "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" has slightly more downbeat lyrics in ''Film/MeetMeInStLouis'' than in the popular version, which changes the lines "Through the years we all will be together if the Lord allows / Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow" to "...if the fates allow / Hang a shining star upon the highest bough." However, the lyrics were changed even before filming, because Creator/JudyGarland flatly refused to sing such depressing lyrics to little Margaret O'Brien (Tootie). The ''original'' featured lines such as "Have yourself a merry little Christmas / It may be your last". If you've ever wondered about the LyricalDissonance of the song, now you know.
43	* Music/GiorgioMoroder's reworking of ''Film/{{Metropolis}}'' uses a soundtrack written by him; the official soundtrack, however, is changed significantly from the originals. Compare [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwsN4CWA7As "Here's My Heart"]] by Music/PatBenatar with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnL75jrSU9k the reworked version for radio]].
44	** Also compare [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkdwUgd6iMA "Machines,"]] an already poppy song of Main/TheEighties, with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiZGti2eykk the version from the soundtrack]].
45	* Creator/SammyDavisJr's "The Candyman", originally from ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'', changes one line: "Willy Wonka makes" becomes "The Candyman makes".
46	* Those who are used to hearing The Seekers' cheery "Georgy Girl" on oldies radio may be shocked by the version used in the original film, where the lyrics are much darker and more cynical, and reference the title character's specific situation ("Though he's not a dream come true, at least he's a millionaire ...").
47	* In the published version of "Aren't You Kinda Glad We Did?" from ''The Shocking Miss Pilgrim'', Ira Gershwin rewrote the last lines of the verse to specify that the experience the unchaperoned lovers shared was "just one kiss," in the hope that the only mildly suggestive song wouldn't be banned from airwaves. It was banned anyway.
48	* The Music/PussycatDolls have a TranslatedCoverVersion of "Jai Ho" from ''Film/SlumdogMillionaire''.
49	* ''Film/BeautyAndTheBeast2017'', like the 1991 animated film, has a duet arrangement of the title song, this time sung by Music/ArianaGrande and Music/JohnLegend. The [[MovieBonusSong new songs]] "How Does a Moment Last Forever" and "Evermore" received covers by Music/CelineDion and Music/JoshGroban, respectively.
50	* The pop version of "When I Look In Your Eyes" from ''Film/DoctorDolittle'' replaces the line "Isn't it a pity you're a seal?" with "How I love the world your eyes reveal."
51	* In ''Film/TheBreakfastClub'', the theme song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" has two versions: a demo sung by Keith Forsey played at the start of the film and the one by Music/SimpleMinds that plays at the end of the movie.
52	* The version of “I Can Dream About You” played in ''Film/StreetsOfFire'' uses Winston Ford as its vocalist. The version on the soundtrack, which would become the BreakawayPopHit, was recorded by Dan Hartman, who originally wrote it for Music/HallAndOates. And if that wasn’t enough, the duo recorded their own CoverVersion with slightly changed lyrics in the middle eight.
53	* ''Film/BarneysGreatAdventure'' had a pop cover of "I Love You" that was exclusive to the movie's soundtrack that gave the song more lyrics than what is usually sung on the show.
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56	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
57	* Inverted with "Back Where We Belong" from ''Series/{{Roundhouse}}''. The song is Benny Hester's (the show's music director and an early ChristianRock musician) song "Restless Nights" with entirely different lyrics.
58	* The ''Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood'' CoverAlbum "Songs From The Neighborhood" contains a pop cover of "Thank You For Being You" from the ''Series/TheNoddyShop'' episode "Noah's Leaving", but with most of the lyrics changed to be about Mister Rogers (aside from the TitleDrop only two lines were kept from the original ''Noddy'' version). Unlike most examples of this trope, the song's original writer, Dennis Scott, rewrote the new version.
59	** Similarly, a rewritten version of the song "Bubble Trouble" from the ''Noddy'' episode "Following Directions" is used in Dennis Scott's musical children's show ''Just Imagine''.
60	* ''Series/FraggleRock'' had a weird case similar to "Bubble Trouble", as a modified passage from the song "Turn Your Buttons Down" (from the 1985 episode "The Secret Society of Poobahs") appeared in lyricist Dennis Lee's 1987 poetry anthology ''The Difficulty of Living on Other Planets''.
61	* Two songs from the Yuki-chan era (2014-2019) of ''Series/InaiInaiBaa'' were given J-Pop covers, with Yuzu covering "Kanpai!" and [=GReeeeN=] covering "Popopopopose", the latter of which [[BreakawayPopHit became more popular than the original song]] and inspired a dance challenge on Website/YouTube.
62	* Not rewritten per say, but the Birthday Song from ''Series/TheSunnySideUpShow'' became a pop song with a music video in 2015, featuring hosts and Sprout characters dancing to the song.
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65	[[folder:Music]]
66	* An odd example of this happened with Goldo's "Boom Da Boom". Originally a song about Disney characters, a version recorded for the 2018 album ''Ready For The Death Ride'' is about famous celebrities.
67	* Music/{{OutKast}}’s BreakthroughHit "Player’s Ball" is another odd example of this. Originally appearing on ''A [=LaFace=] Family Christmas'', a compilation of ChristmasSongs by their label, the original version features many references to the Player’s Ball happening on Christmas Day. The single version and the version appearing on the album ''Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik'' removes most of the holiday oriented production and uses {{Sound Effect Bleep}}s and record scratches to obscure most of the references to the holiday.
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70	[[folder:Theatre]]
71	* The popular version of "Anything Goes" is a love song; as Music/ColePorter originally wrote it for the Broadway show ''Theatre/AnythingGoes'', it was a straight ListSong.
72	* As Pete Stuyvesant's VillainLoveSong in ''Theatre/KnickerbockerHoliday'', "September Song" included the line "And I have lost one tooth [[EvilCripple and I walk a little lame]]". The popular version has instead "When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame".
73	* Music/StephenSondheim partially rewrote the lyrics of "Putting It Together" from ''Theatre/SundayInTheParkWithGeorge'' for Music/BarbraStreisand's ''The Broadway Album''. "Girl" was substituted for "George," and several lines were changed in less trivial ways.
74	* "Fugue For Tinhorns" from ''Theatre/GuysAndDolls'', with its lyrics rewritten to be a more generic round, was issued under the title "Three-Cornered Tune." However, the original "Fugue For Tinhorns" still got several pop covers. There was also a solo version of "Sue Me," whose verse has completely different music and lyrics ("So you're all the time right and I'm all the time wrong") than the show version ("You promise me this, you promise me that").
75	* OlderThanRadio: "Silvered is the raven hair" from Creator/GilbertAndSullivan's ''Theatre/{{Patience}}'' was made into the Victorian parlour song "In the twilight of our love," with new lyrics by Hugh Conway to Arthur Sullivan's melody.
76	* In the separately published version of "Out Of My Dreams," the lyrics to the bridge are different from those used in ''Theatre/{{Oklahoma}}''. (The refrain is identical to what Laurey sings in the show.)
77	* The antiwar play ''Johnny Johnson'' by Paul Green, with songs composed by Kurt Weill, ended with "Johnny's Song," the philosophical ballad of a WideEyedIdealist turned KnightInSourArmor struggling to survive in a bellicose world. Chappell, who published the songs from the show, had popular songwriter Edward Heyman write entirely new lyrics to "Johnny's Song," and published it as a torch song titled "To Love You And To Lose You." Paul Green was not pleased.
78	* Early in its development/workshopping, the title song from ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' was released as a single (complete with video) with dramatically different lyrics from those in the final theatrical production. If you compare them, both sets of lyrics are totally innocuous -- just different. The Phantom's singer on the single, Steve Harvey, ''was'' in the running for the role, but in the end Creator/AndrewLloydWebber and company decided his rock-trained voice wasn't quite what they needed for the final show.
79	** The version of "The Music of the Night" that Creator/MichaelCrawford performs on the ''Highlights from The Phantom of the Opera'' album, which was released as a single, isn't taken from the Original London Cast Recording, unlike the rest of the tracks on ''Highlights''. It's a slightly lighter, piano-driven arrangement, and the lyrics prior to verse four are often different, most obviously in the first bridge ("Close your eyes, for your eyes will only tell the truth/And the truth isn't what you want to see"). Crawford rerecorded this version with orchestrations closer to the standard version for his 1989 studio album ''With Love'', and the duet versions he performed with Music/BarbraStreisand (in 1993) and Susan Boyle (2012) use these lyrics as well.
80	* "Tessie" from 1902's ''Theatre/TheSilverSlipper'' was played on a whim at the 1903 [[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball World Series]], and became known as a good luck song. In 2004, Music/DropkickMurphys rereleased it with lyrics explicitly about the Red Sox.
81	* Kerry Ellis recorded a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P-cMh4QjYA rock version]] of "Defying Gravity" from ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'', which was reworked to remove the references to Oz. Produced by Brian May of Music/{{Queen\|Band}}.
82	** Idina Menzel also did a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LG5i4K5mzU solo pop version]], which removes Glinda's lines from the "Unlimited" section and covers it by looping in lines from "The Wizard And I"; this is the version found in the published vocal selections.
83	** Music/{{Mika}} rewrote "Popular" as "[[TheSomethingSong Popular Song]]".
84	** "No One Mourns The Wicked," as published in the vocal selections, includes a short vocal bridge that replaces Glinda's spoken lines and the flashback to Elphaba's birth from the show version.
85	* ''[[Theatre/{{Thirteen}} 13]]'' has single versions of the opening theme and "A Little More Homework".
86	* The Creator/CirqueDuSoleil concert tour ''Theatre/{{Delirium}}'' was based around rewritten and/or rearranged pop versions of songs from most of the shows from ''Theatre/{{Saltimbanco}}'' through ''Theatre/{{Varekai}}''.
87	** In ''Theatre/{{Amaluna}}'', all of the show songs are in "[[SingingSimlish Cirquish]]" as usual, but on the soundtrack album, many of the songs have been rewritten in English ("Elma Om Mi Lize", "Ena Fee Alyne", and "O Ma Ley" remain Cirquish). Similarly, ''Theatre/{{Quidam}}'''s soundtrack includes English versions of "Let Me Fall" and others (Music/JoshGroban covered "Let Me Fall" on one of his albums).
88	* "Follow Me" from ''Theatre/{{Camelot}}'' has an alternate lyric having no lines in common with the show lyric except the title and "We shall fly." This was the version sung by Music/FrankSinatra.
89	* "The Party's Over" from ''Theatre/BellsAreRinging'' has a separately issued version with a few different lines in the refrain (reputedly changed at Creator/JudyHolliday's insistence), as well an entirely different verse that makes no reference to Melisande Scott but does CallBack to the song "It's A Perfect Relationship."
90	* "Rhythm of Life" from ''Theatre/SweetCharity'' has one that's popular with choruses.
91	* "On the Street Where You Live" from ''Theatre/MyFairLady'' was published with a slightly altered version of the rather generic original verse, which was cut from the show in favor of a much more character-specific recitative.
92	* A variation: The Peter Allen JukeboxMusical ''The Boy from Oz'' turns "Film/{{Arthur 1981}}'s Theme (Best That You Can Do)" into a falling-in-love duet between Allen and Liza Minnelli, "Best That You Can Do", by dropping the second verse (which is specifically about Arthur) and slightly tweaking the lyrics of the first. Never mind that the original song was released in 1981 and the scene in the musical is set in the mid-1960s; the connection between the love interest and the song -- Minnelli was the female lead in ''Arthur'' -- must be exploited!
93	* The first verse of the pop version of "Only You" from ''Theatre/StarlightExpress'' directly contradicts the characterisation of the character who sings that part in the show. "Look at me a woman calm and in control, no silly girl whose head's always turning" is the direct opposite of Pearl, who ''is'' a "silly girl whose head's always turning." It makes for a lovely song, though.
94	* Music/BarbraStreisand's rendition of "Where Am I Going?" from ''Theatre/SweetCharity'' changed the line "Run to the Bronx, or Washington Square" to "Run where it's foul, run where it's fair."
95	* ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'' has an entire album called ''The Hamilton Mixtape'' with contemporary artists reworking some songs from the show.
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98	[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
99	* The soundtrack version of "(I've Got To) Find a Way" from the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E13MagicalMysteryCure "Magical Mystery Cure"]] includes a [[SecondVerseCurse second verse]] that didn't make it into the show, along with changing the last refrain from "Oh, why" to "I'll try".
100	* The theme of ''WesternAnimation/TheRaccoons'', "Run with Us", was initially sung by Steve Lunt, then re-recorded by Lisa Lougheed, who also voiced Lisa Raccoon and sang several other songs for the show. Her version was featured on her ''Evergreen Nights'' album along with the other songs sung by her.
101	* The theme for ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' was slowed down slightly, had its ska trumpets swapped for pop punk guitars and bass and its final lines and all dialogue chopped off before adding new more lyrics, a bridge and a chorus as "Today's Gonna Be A Great Day".
102	* ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales'':
103	** There was an album of popular Christian artists covering their songs called "Veggie Rocks".
104	** The German dub [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoR8wxKgIcI made a pop version of the theme song]] with new lyrics added to the regular song.
105	** For "Veggies In Space: The Fennel Frontier", they had Jamie Grace perform a pop version of [[https://youtube.com/watch?v=Mtr2z6j8UG8 "Enough to Share"]], a major song in that episode, for the end credits.
106	* "Underneath The Same Sky" from ''[[WesternAnimation/MyFriendsTiggerAndPooh Tigger And Pooh And A Musical Too]]'' got a pop cover by Kenny Loggins.
107	* K-Pop group NMIXX did a pop cover of "Sprinkle Party" from ''WesternAnimation/GabbysDollhouse''.
108	* NCT did a Korean pop cover of "Best Day Ever" from ''WesternAnimation/TrollsTheBeatGoesOn''.
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111	[[folder:Other]]
112	* "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing", a Coca Cola commercial {{jingle}} that proved to be so popular that extended versions of the commercial were made by popular demand, and the song was reworked into a single with the soft drink references re-written. In a way, this is almost a double subversion; not only is the commercial more remembered than the single, omitting the parts about "buying the world a Coke" made the tune less commercial. Well, less ''of'' a commercial, anyway.
113	* Several songs from Creator/TeamStarKid productions were reworked for Creator/DarrenCriss' live music performances. Compare the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f16urHxNpGs&feature=player_profilepage#t=307s theatrical, Potter-ised version of "Stutter"]] to the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnpJFXYt9fo live performance version]].
114	* "Ombra mai fu" from Music/GeorgeFredericHandel's opera XERXES is a love-song to a tree. ({{It makes sense in context}}.) Most published versions make it either a love song ("Slumber, Fair Maid") or a religious song ("Love Ye the Lord").
115	* Music/FrankZappa: ''The Black Page'' is featured twice on ''Music/ZappaInNewYork'' in different versions, with the second version specifically described and announced as the ''New Age'' version.
116	[[/folder]]

Context Main / RewrittenPopVersion