Tweet Different Song Lyrics

Just listened to Vaughn Leath's recording of Crazy Words Crazy Tune. When did the practice of continuously providing different lyrics for the same song begin and end? Is it a peculiarly 20s thing?

I think it dates back to the vaudeville and music hall era where songs would often have new lyrics added to pick up current topics.

"Body and Soul" also has two distinct sets of lyrics: the British recordings from early in the year have a chorus that begins

"My heart is sad and lonely,
I wait and sigh for you dear only,
I tell you I mean it,
I'm all for you, body and soul".

Both the chorus and verse were re-written later that year and so the American recordings are sung:

"My days have grown so lonely,
For I have lost my one and only,
My pride has been humbled,
But I am his, body and soul".

-Harold

Songs can get, with permission, different lyrics for special occasions and TV/radio ads. Payment of a fee, of course, in most cases. Different titles for a song is often seen with US & UK versions with different titles & thus slightly, at least, different lyrics. Books in the past sometimes had different title than in UK in USA and collectors in my part of the world, which had the UK versions because of the book publishers' world carve-up, were always looking to get copies of books with their US titles. Films. we know, were no different and can be confusing.