Every song I sing I have to make my own, maybe just a different emphasis here and there or a variation in timing. But often I change words because the ones I've heard before don't seem to fit or make sense.

Then there are those songs which everybody sings differently. I don't think I've ever heard two people sing Seven Dear Old Ladies the same way.

When I write songs, my limited musical knowledge forces me to borrow a lot from existing tunes and styles. Sometimes it is blatant and deliberate as in Silicone Cindy, but other times I will have a tune in my head and it ends up in a song that I am writing. The tune for Bathing Angel is derived from The Eton Boat Song for that reason. Often by the time I get to the end of the verse I will change the tune of last line or two so that it will scan with my lyrics.