Historical Events  Music
If I had words

Alternate:
If I had words to paint a day for you

Current:
If I had words to make a day for you

A special day

The song 'If I had words' was already well-known before it featured heavily in the 1995 movie 'Babe'. It was a catchy reggae vibe sung as a duet by Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley, and was a UK hit in 1978.

The tune was taken from and organ piece, Saint-Saëns' Symphony No.3 in C minor which, ironically, did not have any words.

People are reporting the lyric they remember have changed, and are calling this a Mandela Effect. They remember the line "if I had words to make a day for you" as "if I had words to paint a day for you".

Only four lines

There's another minor mystery with this song - many people assume there are more than the four repeated lines in it, and are sure the part they are familiar with is just a small part of a regular song with a traditional verse and chorus structure. They are correct in thinking it's part of a larger work, because it is from a much longer organ piece by Saint-Saëns', but that's not what they mean. Few are aware of the classical work in any case.

Here's the entire song:

If I had words to make a day for you
I'd sing you a morning golden and new
I would make this day Last for all time
Give you a night deep in moonshine

-- Scott Fitzgerald & Yvonne Keeley

Misheard lyrics are the subject of many Mandela Effects, and quite a few which aren't really considered as such but are often brought up whilst discussing them, for example Jimi Hendrix in Purple Haze with "'Scuse me while I kiss this guy." - an obvious joke on what's actually said. Or is it?