Murray, yes, you can see and hear Dougie here singing "I have tried, and I've kept on trying" instead of "I've kissed the ladies and left them crying," but I don't see the lyric revision as "succumbing" to "political correctness." It could be he just wanted the lyrics to be a little more universally relevant rather than tied so much to his own personal biography. ; D

Personally, when I first heard the song with the "kissed the ladies and left them crying" lyric, that line sort of stood out like a sore thumb in an otherwise beautiful, sentimental (but not saccharine) tribute to one's homeland. I.e., the line didn't really "mesh" well with the rest of the song. Dougie's hardly the first songwriter to tweak a lyric here or there as he got older (and maybe wiser?).

Whatever.   I think when other people sing the song and the line about being a heartbreaker doesn't "clang" with their own experience, the "kept on trying" line is probably a better fit. But if you've been a love-'em-and-leave-'em type, by all means sing the original line. *g*


As Johnny said, " the small variances in what people believe are the 'proper' words, I've noticed that performers (Dougie included) often sing slightly different words to the ones printed in sleeve notes. Sing whichever you prefer, nobody will mind! :0)"

I don't think these minor modifications make much difference -- unless an original line was somehow much more profound or poetic than subsequent modifications.