Lyrical Changes from Studio to Live Versions

[TimothyBFan]

You all probably think I'm nuts but watching that new video of Glenn singing Peaceful Easy Feeling at the benefit reminded me of this.

I know all the lyrics say "I like the way your sparkling earrings lay..." and I know that's how it was sang way back when. When did she start moving around a lot and instead of laying, they started swaying? At what point was it changed to "sway"? Or did I just become hard of hearing years ago and he's still saying "lay" and I'm hearing it wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44_rtJxPg0s

or do they swing?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB1_dJrSBrk&feature=related

I'm so confused!!! :headscratch:

[Brooke]

I think we discussed this some time ago, but where, I don't know. No, you're not hearing it wrong.

I think we decided that since Glenn had impressionable teenagers, he changed it to sway. He didn't want them to get the wrong idea about dear old Dad! :eyebrow: lol

[TimothyBFan]

Well crap---so instead of hard of hearing, I'm forgetful! Sorry I was being redundant.

[GlennLover]

Well crap---so instead of hard of hearing, I'm forgetful! Sorry I was being redundant.

I don't rember it either, TBF & I often wondered why he changed it.

[sodascouts]

I think we discussed this some time ago, but where, I don't know. No, you're not hearing it wrong.

I think we decided that since Glenn had impressionable teenagers, he changed it to sway. He didn't want them to get the wrong idea about dear old Dad! :eyebrow: lol

I don't remember that conversation either, but that doesn't mean we didn't have it. It just means Brooke has a better memory than I do!

Now, if that "impressionable teen" explanation was the consensus, I have to disagree with it. "Sleep with you in the desert tonight" has the same connotation regardless of whether the earrings lay or sway. Heck, "sway" connotates doin' the deed even more strongly! Not to mention the fact that the Eagles have many more risque songs and they don't feel the need to tone those down for the teens. "They had one thing in common: they were good in bed - she said 'Faster! faster!'" Ahem.

I think he just decided he liked the sound of it better. I believe he started changing it rather early on, far before the kids were teens, perhaps before he even had kids. I'll check on that later when I have a bit more time.

It's like Don, who since HFO or so has always sung "They didn't know, they were just dying to get off" in LITFL instead of "They didn't care, they were just dying to get off." I find that to be a very significant change.... now I do think I remember talking about that somewhere before.

[Troubadour]

"The had one thing in common, they were good in bed - she said 'Faster! faster!'"

Oh, how I love that line!

Anyway... I guess perhaps over time certain original words or phrases irk them, or they just find a new word slightly easier to sing... I'm not sure. I don't think the lay/sway thing would be anything to do with lessening the sexual impact of the lyrics. At least, I don't see the logic behind it if that was his reasoning!

Interesting discussion though. I hadn't thought about Don's change of the LITFL lyrics until Soda mentioned it. I'm going to be listening out for all of the little alterations now!

[luvthelighthouse]

Hasn't Glenn also sung, "swing"? I'm pretty sure I recall this from some LROOE videos we saw on youtube. To be honest, I don't think any of the changes are that significant.

I actually like it when he changes up or adds something. IE: In TS, when he adds the "go down to Mexico" bit... and I can't think of it now, but wasn't it in 'Ol 55 where he changes it up and makes it funner... something about getting in a Chevy... oh dang, help me out, it's escaped me!

[Brooke]

I don't remember that conversation either, but that doesn't mean we didn't have it. It just means Brooke has a better memory than I do!


That would be a first! My memory gets worse every day! :lol:

But something rings a bell there.

[Prettymaid]

Heck, "sway" connotates doin' the deed even more strongly!

:rofl:I got my laugh for the day!

First of all, thanks Willie for those fine videos. :drool:

I think these little changes are their way of keeping the song somewhat 'fresh' for them to perform. We all know that they try to keep their live performances close to the recordings. If this is the most they're going to change a song, they probably really appreciate being able to make the little changes.

[Freypower]

In the original PEF 'lay' was in the incorrect tense. If he's talking about the present he should have said 'your sparkling earrings LIE against your skin so brown'. If they 'lay' that was in the past. The misuse of 'lie' and 'lay' annoys me. Sad to say he also does it in Some Kind Of Blue where he says 'I lay in bed & stare at the ceiling/I think of you walkin' out the door'. It should be 'lie', just as in Best Of My Love it's 'I'm lyin' in bed'.

I prefer 'sway' or 'swing'. I think he sang 'swing' for awhile but he's now paying homage to a certain Rolling Stones song. :nahnah:

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Brooke - I remember us discussing this before as well, but I have no idea where or when. So maybe both of us are losing it! :lol: However, I agree that the change is fairly insignificant. I think the change that Soda mentioned in the LITFL lyrics though changes the meaning of the line a lot.

FP - in the U.S., we commonly use lay the same way that it is used in the song, so it seems very natural here. Don't want to get into an English grammar lesson but in common everyday use here, we generally differentiate between them by using lay as a transitive verb and lie as an intransitive verb. We use the word 'laid' as the past tense.

[Freypower]

OK - pedantic point. Here, I would say 'I laid the table'* but I would say 'I lay in bed yesterday' and if it's now, I would say 'I lie in bed' or more commonly 'I'm lying in bed'.

*I would in fact be more likely to say 'I set the table'. That's the only time I think I would ever consider using 'laid'.

[sodascouts]

I looked for the convo and couldn't find it, so let's start it again.

To me, the change in LITFL is very significant. The original version:

"They were rushin' down that freeway
Messed around and got lost
They didn't care, they were just dying to get off"

When I hear it in this context, I interpret it as people so focused on "getting off" - seeking pleasure - that they didn't care about the cost. Also, you can see "dying to get off" as literally killing themselves in the pursuit of pleasure, especially in terms of the hard-core drug use.

The new version:

"They were rushin' down that freeway
Messed around and got lost
They didn't know, they were just dying to get off"

Now, they're confused and it's not necessarily about not caring, it's about not understanding what they're doing to themselves or what's happening to them. You can take "they were just dying to get off" as they wanted badly to "get off" the crazy freeway and give up the destructive lifestyle but they don't know how because they're in too deep; they're addicts. That's just one possible interpretation.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

ITA with your assessment there, Soda. It's very interesting the difference that one word can make.

[TimothyBFan]

You know, I don't think I even realized that LITFL had changed? Strange!

Are there more of these that anyone is aware of?

Also, do we know exactly when they were changed?

Remember that thread we had that if you could interview the Eagles and ask them anything you wanted.... I think I just added, "why did you change the words in some of your songs from the original versions?". Really have my curiosity peaked now.

[Freypower]

In Already Gone the original lyric is 'heaven knows it wasn't you who set me free'. Glenn now sings 'it wasn't you TO set me free' which I feel uneasy about in terms of correct grammar because it doesn't sound right. I have no idea why he changed it and to me it doesn't improve the message.

[GlennLover]

Hasn't Glenn also sung, "swing"? I'm pretty sure I recall this from some LROOE videos we saw on youtube. To be honest, I don't think any of the changes are that significant.

I actually like it when he changes up or adds something. IE: In TS, when he adds the "go down to Mexico" bit... and I can't think of it now, but wasn't it in 'Ol 55 where he changes it up and makes it funner... something about getting in a Chevy... oh dang, help me out, it's escaped me!

LTL, I think I have heard Glenn sing the "Mexico" verse 3 different times & the words weren't exactly the same in any of them. Seems almost like an ad libbed verse.

Was it "Outlaw Man" that you were thinking of where Glenn sings "in a '56 Chevrolet" in a video (Seattle?)?

[sodascouts]

Ooh, I love the Mexico verse! I wonder if it was cut from the original track? He sang it pretty consistently back in the day. The lyrics are something like

I'd love to go to Mexico
Somewhere where the pace of life is slow
And there's no one there I know
It's another Tequila Sunrise
I'm wondering if I'm growing wise
Or telling lies

Here's a video from Houston 1976:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IPgJIEEc7I



And I love the Outlaw Man bit too!

Original: "Headed for Oklahoma...I was riding night and day"

Live: "Headed for Oklahoma... in a '56 Chevrolet!"

[luvthelighthouse]

Thanks girls, that's it!!! Outlaw Man. I knew there was another song that Glenn funned up! It was driving me nuts!

[GlennLover]

Here's another version of the "Mexico" verse. The words are slightly different, e.g. "I'd love to go to Mexico".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vuVOqpBBXE

[sodascouts]

Here's another version of the "Mexico" verse. The words are slightly different, e.g. "I'd love to go to Mexico".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vuVOqpBBXE



Ah, that was excellent. Glenn sounds magnificent!

And I can easily overlook the hideousness of his shirt's design by concentrating on the sweaty chest it reveals. Hey, I've got a new lyric - "I like the way your gold medallion lays against your glistening chest." ;)

[TimothyBFan]

That is a great video!!! I just love watching these "old" videos--the memories coming flooding back and I remember how it was when it was all still "new" and hearing these songs for the first time---I was 11. WOW! Glenn's voice was so smooth in this one. Thanks for reminding me of these!

[Brooke]

Ooh, I love the Mexico verse! I wonder if it was cut from the original track? He sang it pretty consistently back in the day. The lyrics are something like

I'd love to go to Mexico
Somewhere where the pace of life is slow
And there's no one there I know
It's another Tequila Sunrise
I'm wondering if I'm growing wise
Or telling lies

Here's a video from Houston 1976:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IPgJIEEc7I


Oh man! What a way to start my day! :thud: How am I going to get any work done now after seeing all that hotness? This is my very favorite look for Glenn. :drool: I can ignore the shirt, like Soda! :inlove:

I love that extra verse, too. And Soda's!

Willie....11? Geez!

[Troubadour]

I love the Mexico verse. And Glenn looks HOT. Probably my favourite era for him, too. Loving the alternate lyrics, Nancy! :thumbsup:

[GlennLover]

Ah, that was excellent. Glenn sounds magnificent!

And I can easily overlook the hideousness of his shirt's design by concentrating on the sweaty chest it reveals. Hey, I've got a new lyric - "I like the way your gold medallion lays against your glistening chest." ;)

Love the lyric! :partytime:

I remember now the other clip from a TV show where they sang the Mexico verse, but I don't see it on YouTube anymore. It wasn't very good quality. I may have saved it somewhere, if I did I'll post it.