......."I'm usually more surprised when a song gets the finer points of grammar right. and I still smile every time I hear the subjunctive ("If I were the king of the world") in Three Dog Night's Joy to the World."

There is no such thing as "Three Dog Night's Joy to the World."! .....I'm sure you meant to say Hoyt Axton's "Joy to the World".....don't give a shit about grammar, but as a songwriter I'm very offended when credit for authorship is improperly given.