To me the words are the most important and I do (did) my best to sing them sensibly as I see them intended and may have to bend the tune to do this.
A song sung with a gap between lines that makes nonsense of the remainder always irritates me.
The song 'I remember Dublin city' etc I have so often heard with erratic emphasis I'd decided it was maybe impossible to sing. The verse constrained by the rhythm of the chorus melody something like ring-a-ring-a roses. Yet I heard it sung one Whitby/Glaidale session with not a problem. A man who knew how to sing.