Guest:Chipinder:

Sally Rogers wrote another verse to a song that I wrote, thinking that the guy who wrote it was dead (a traditional song.) She was very embarassed when she found out that I wrote it. I wasn't offended. I told her that if she wanted to add the verse, all I'd ask is that she mention in her introduction that she'd added the last verse. I didn't add the verse, myself because I didn't think it improved the song. I've written an additional verse to songs on occasion to try to clarify the message of the song. I always mention that I've added the verse.

Rewriting someone else's song isn't so bothersome to me, although I don't record or sing rough drafts of songs I've written. What bothers me (and I'll accuse myself of this first) is when someone (like me) doesn't sing the words of the song as it was written or recorded because I'm too LAZY to pull out the record and get it right. I think most songs that get "rewritten" are not because of some deep soul searching that requires rewriting the song in order to make it personal to the performer. I think that the folk tradition is fueled by bad memory and laziness... not seriously deliberated rewrites. Having both a bad memory and being lazy, I can say that with some direct experience. :-)

Jerry