Changing a word
Country songs fairly often do this thing where the chorus or another repeated part of the song (possibly slightly altered each time) is recontextualized in each iteration to mean something different.
I recently noticed a particularly well-done (imo) variation on that, in the 1992 song “Two Sparrows in a Hurricane.” The song starts out like this:
She’s fifteen and he’s barely driving a car.
She’s got his ring and he’s got the keys to her heart.
It’s just a matter of time.
They’ll spread their wings and fly.
And then toward the end of the song, that verse is repeated, with one number changed:
She’s eighty-three and he’s barely driving a car.
She’s got his ring and he’s got the keys to her heart.
It’s just a matter of time.
They’ll spread their wings and fly.
Which completely changes the meaning of the verse.
So now I’m interested in other examples of songs in which a part of the song is repeated, with one word different, to change the meaning. Any suggestions?
Feel free to also toss in your own one-word-alterations of lyrics if you like.