taking up EBarnacle's ball...

If neither lyrics nor tune are wrong, only the combination of them unusual, why do we (including me, of course) talk of the tune being wrong and not of the lyrics being wrong?
Why does a sentence like 'he sings these lyrics to the wrong tune' feel better than a sentence like 'she sings this tune with the wrong lyrics'?

Back to the theme of the thread: The German national anthem can be sung to the tune of the European hymn (which has led to some anti-European comments in the British press). However, it can also be sung to the tune of the anthem of the late (or is 'late' restricted to persons?) GDR. My personal most preferred tune to which our anthem can be sung is 'Hang down your head, T.D.'

Wolfgang