It makes me sad that I can no longer make polls.

[constance]

When you get an email which has been forwarded one thousand times and is all about something awful which is going to happen if you do not read and disseminate immediately (to wit: GANG MEMBERS ARE PLANNING TO KILL YOU PERSONALLY WHERE YOU STAND AS PART OF THEIR NEFARIOUS INITIATION PROCESS PLEASE WARN EVERYONE YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS) or else is all about something wonderful which will only happen if you read and disseminate immediately (to wit: BILL GATES WILL PAY YOU HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS IF YOU FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE), do you:

(a) Forward it immediately, as the instructions demand
(b) ignore it
(c) look it up on snopes.com (or some equivalent thereof), determine its truth or falsehood, and then ignore it
(d) look it up on snopes.com (or some equivalent thereof), determine its truth or falsehood, and then share the info by clicking Reply or Reply All

:::

I've been toying with a story in my head, this morning, one using Neko Case's awesomely gunslinging "Things That Scare Me" as a launching point, and this morning I looked up the lyrics and had to check ten sites before I could even begin to acknowledge that I might be hearing the last two lines wrong. Every lyric site I clicked on says that haunted by American dreams is the line, but I cannot believe this is really true! In my opinion, Miss Case sings hunted by American dreams quite clearly. In my opinion, this is not even a question! Plus, my version is better: not just for purposes of the story I'm telling, but in general. But I do not know for certain! And I must know for certain! Listen to it, why don't you, and tell me what you think.

Comments

[laurelwood.livejournal.com]

I either do (b) or (c)., usually with much sneering and scoffing. If it's my sweet little aunt, I'll go so far as to send her the snopes link, just because I'm ornery like that.

And hahahahahhaha- that is my favorite Neko Case song ever (I think it's been on a mix CD in my car since 2005) and I always thought she was saying "hounded". "Haunted" or "hunted" never even occurred to me. Then again, I am renowned for my mishearing of lyrics.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Ahahahaa, man. Your translation's good too, though, somewhat akin to mine, I think.

I still think it is "hunted," though. I say the knowing that you may never forgive me. Possibly tonight is the beginning of a years-long feud over the proper translation of "Things That Scare Me" (which by the way is one of my all-time faves as well). But I will take that risk. I am adventurous that way.

[laurelwood.livejournal.com]

As my sister says every time I say something she disagrees with, "OMG WE ARE SO IN A FIGHT RIGHT NOW!"

Actually, though, I listened to it again and I think you're right about "hunted". Blast- that probably means Dire Straits isn't saying "Near misses on the dogmeat stairway" in "Down to the Waterline" and Jewel's not singing about a "daring burrito" in "Standing Still".

[tofty.livejournal.com]

OMG WE ARE SO IN A FIGHT RIGHT NOW!

This made me laugh and laugh. I want to try to slip it in to conversation now, myself!

I would hold to my hearings of those songs if I were you. Sometimes the lyrics you hear are so much better than the ones that were written! (And these definitely are!)