Ye're not wrong, Narelle, There's one old (16 - 17th century?) Borders Ballad, HUGH THE GRAEME, with the line, "If ye meet the Bishop's cloak / Mak' it shorter by the hood..." Lots of impact there which first attracted me to the song.

Maybe not in quite the same way, but there are certainly a few songs with one (or more) lines which will never be the same again for me - and for many of the people I session with from time to time.

F'rinstance

Lakes of Pontchartrain: "The hair upon her shoulders, in jet-black ringlets fell...." none on her head, just on her shoulders.

Spinning Wheel: "There's a face at her casement, the face of her true love/ Who whispered with face bent...." and we usually break up about there with one finger held against the nose and a nasal... "I'm waiting for you, love."

I sometimes wonder if the originators of these songs did it deliberately. It may be blasphemy to some of the purists, but I'll bet most of us amateur students of the Folk scene have some favourites like those...... How about it, or am I the only one with a twisted sense of humour.