I can usually establish the gender of the song "narrator" fairly easily by adjusting singing style and quality of voice--gender is cued by more than lyrics. This avoids gender "surprises" later on.

In this feminized age there is more public acceptance of women singing men's songs than of men singing women's songs (not that it stops me), so the original complaint is not only unfounded but a little spoiled.

If a song's lyrics make you uncomfortable from a gender perspective, consider writing a "reply to" or "companion" song modeled on the original. Changing the gender in a song is seldom justified unless the song is practically gender-neutral to start with.