Four of us were singing The Nightingale at the Yarralumla Woolshed, years ago, and our eyes met when we got to the line
"This couple agreed to get married with speed"

It is indeed very difficult to sing a straight song once you've bent it.

Earlier, Warren Fahey had organised a folk music based version of Carols & Lessons in a church and, as our repertoire contained lots of relevant items, Pageant were invited to be part of the core singers. In return, we were asked to sing the 'Little Drummer Boy', which meant we had to learn it. We aranged it so that the two women and the two tenors stood in the centre and sang the main parts of the song, while Phil and I (bass-baritones) stood at opposite ends of the stage and, separately, did the "bom, bom, bom, Bomb" an octave lower.

None of us could keep a straight face and we were reduced to poorly stifled sobs of laughter. The audience up to then had behaved very churchlike and solemnly but they couldn't resist cacking themselves either and burst into unchurchy applause when we finally struggled to the end. Warren, as MC, capped it by commenting "There are many traditions in music .... and that isn't one of them!" Much cheering and the rest of the evening was wonderfully convivial. Te Little Drummer Boy has been bent for me ever since.

Regarding parodies, some of the ones mentioned are now quite famous but there has been no mention of
'Amazing grass, how sweet the smell
that made a wreck of me
I once was straight but now I'm stoned
so blind I cannot see'

which is now quite commonly sung around the place. Even in church, occasionally.

Cheers, Rowan