Alternate:
Life is life
Current:
Live is life
La-daaaaa da da-da
It's a catchy tune all right, but why do some people have a false memory of the 1984 Opus hit being called "Life is life" when today it's seen as "Live is life"?
Opus are Austrian, so the first thought is that it's just their accent making it sound a little different anyway, to which those not accustomed to that manner of speaking complete the more likely refrain "life is life" since it makes more sense than "live is life".
That doesn't address the several "reside" references to the "Life is life" title seen today, including it spelt out in huge letters behind the band themselves as they were playing it at a concert.
Alternate:
Bandanna in back pocket
Current:
Red cap in back pocket
What's in his back pocket?
Rock Icon Bruce Springsteen cemented his place in music, and American, history with his legendary "Born in the U.S.A." album of 1984.
The cover of the album features a shot of him from behind in front of a huge American flag - an image familiar to millions upon millions of people. His biography states the figure is "standing before a U.S. flag wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, with a red bandanna tucked into his back pocket.". The problem is, today it shows a red cap, not a bandanna.
Some people hearing of this rushed to dig out their old CD of this from the 80's, certain it would show the original bandanna, only to find either they were wrong all along and it was a red cap, or somehow it had been changed...
Alternate:
Drugs overdose
Current:
Heart attack
Elvis has left the building
The King died on August 16th, 1977. His tragic untimely death was even more shocking since he was only 42.
But how did he die? Everyone agrees he was found alone in his bathroom, and all reports today say it was a heart attack. Yet many remember it as being a drugs overdose. Are they experiencing a Mandela Effect, or was the truth manipulated to prevent bad publicity?
It's no secret Elvis had let himself go by the time of his death - he was reported to weigh 25 stones - yet his stage acts and lifestyle was considered so gruelling he was far from the couch potato some portrayed him as.
Is this the 6th verse of the British National anthem?
Lord, grant that Marshal Wade,
May by thy mighty aid,
Victory bring.
May he sedition hush,
and like a torrent rush,
Rebellious Scots to crush,
God save the King.
Do what to the rebellious Scots?
According to various reports, it either is, or it isn't or it once was and now isn't.
Originally written in 1745, the British landscape was at that time a very different place to the one we see today. Wars, heroes and ongoing conflicts meant sentiments throughout all societies were running high, and without the various luxuries we have today for spreading messages such as TV, Facebook or Twitter, incorporating these into a song which everyone could learn may well have seemed appropriate.
Alternate:
Something Gotta Change
Current:
Something Better Change
Don't you like the cut of my clothes?
Here's a Mandela Effect which seems to be openly mocking the people experiencing it. UK punk group The Stranglers had a minor hit in 1977 with a single from their 'No More Heroes' album which some remember as 'Something Gotta Change', whereas in fact the title as seen everywhere today is 'Something Better Change'.
Considering the nature of Mandela Effects, to have one so directly referencing itself seems very suspicious.
Perhaps the confusion comes about from Josh Wilson's 2008 'Something's Gotta Change', but anyone listening to the two songs could hardly confuse them otherwise.
This is reinforced in the lyrics of the song: "Somethings happening and it's happening right now. Ain't got time to wait." That could be the defining phrase for every Mandela Effect!
Alternate:
I began to pray
Current:
I pretend to pray
I got down on my knees and ...
Many people remember the classic Mama's & Papa's hit from the 1960's California Dreamin' as having the line 'Well I got down on my knees and I began to pray'. This isn't how it is today, however - it's 'I pretend to pray'.
Often called "The sound of the 60's", the song wasn't originally recorded by The Mamas & the Papas, but was certainly made famous by them. Representing free spirits, love and the hippy beat culture, it's actually an unlikely one to have become so prominent considering it's lyrics are really only about someone cold thinking of being warm again.
Alternate:
Closing the goddamn door
Current:
Closing a goddamn door
The subject of a Mandela Effect gets involved!
Here's a great twist - a lyric change the original writer can't explain!
Fans of Panic at the Disco's "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" experiencing the Mass Memory Discrepancy Effect were used to hearing the phrase "closing the goddamn door", but references today play as "closing a goddamn door". This seems like a trivial change with the usual "a/the" kind of slurring over time we've seen before, for example with "Interview with a/the Vampire".
The interesting thing this time is when this first came up as an MMDE it generated a buzz on Twitter which the guy singing it, Brendon Urie, responded! His first reply when asked to explain is was "Hahaha I can't. That's some Berenstein/Berenstain shit right there".
Later he tweeted "Btw, there is no answer. I've sung 'Sins' both ways. Doesn't matter. Trust me, it's all right".
So there we have it from the horses mouth, and all cleared up nicely ;-)