You know, when song books are published (especially by a major commercial publisher like Mel Bay), or when lyrics are printed in the liner notes of an album, it often makes me wonder whether the singer (or songwriter) actually wrote down the words himself, or if the publisher merely paid some office worker, maybe a young low-paid intern, to listen to the recording and write down the words as best he could, just as you or I might do. I swear I have seen some awful mondegreens in published lyrics (though I can't think of any examples right now).

I'm not saying that's what happened in this case, because I have no knowledge of how this particular songbook was produced, but as a general rule, I would never trust published lyrics unless I either (1) checked the lyrics myself against a recording made by the singer or songwriter, or (2) knew for certain that the songwriter was personally involved in the writing and editing of the songbook.

Jim, please don't interpret my remarks as any criticism of the lyrics you posted. I'm glad you posted them. I don't even necessarily think mine are better than yours. It's good to have both. Let everyone who wants to sing the song compare the two versions and select the words he likes.

In one case, I like yours better. I think it's unfortunate that Kent ruined the rhyme by changing "claim" to "share."