Cover vs. Original

Because the Night

When paying tribute to woman (no, a punk goddess) who spent much of her career fighting censorship and especially radio censorship, what kind of an idiot changes the lyrics of her most popular tune in an attempt to "de-sexify" them and get more commercial exposure? Natalie Merchant and the boys made a noble attempt at this song during their unplugged but by changing or muttering certain lines to make the highly sexual song more friendly for the top 40's chart, I think the whole band deserves to lie in a gutter and rot for the rest of their careers. Plus, Lenny Kaye's guitat solo in the original just makes your spine tingle with angst. Long live Patti the Punk Priestess!

10,000 Maniacs 1993

vs.

Patti Smith 1978

		24.4 %	75.6 %

Click on the cover for listening

Click on the cover for listening

10,000 Maniacs

991 Votes

Patti Smith

I like the Natalie Merchant version of this song, and when I first heard it back in '93 I was very impressed. I didn't hear it again until this week when I downloaded it and it still moves me. I have nothing against the original, but this song showed me how good Natalie Merchant looks and sounds. Without this song I would probably would have never have been exposed to Natalie's music, but once hearing one cannot deny that she has vocal talent. - Jason, Atlanta, United States, 26.09.2006

Generally I hate covers, or at least I much prefer the original, but here I actually like the Natalie Merchant version better. Both are great, because its an amazing song, but I happen to like the cover better, because its a bit more mellow (in my opinion). - Sarah, New York, United States, 29.08.2006

Let's stop being music snobs. First doesn't always mean better. - reality, Chicago, United States, 15.08.2006

I think we ALL know who did better here. - Pedro, West Palm Beach, United States, 13.05.2006

Yes, Bruce Sprungsteen did indeed write Because The Night w/Patti Smith. - thejudge, Nowheresvilles, USA, United States, 24.02.2006

merchant is an ok singer not a great singer. she's lucky to have the carreer she has. compare her (and michael stipe's) version of 'to sir with love' with vonda sheppard's and al green's. ouch! - paul, durham, Canada, 14.02.2006

Kevkov is just plain wrong. His allegation that the Maniacs changed the lyrics to "de-sexify" the song is utter nonsense. Nathalie Merchant sings only one line differently from Patti Smith: near the end she sings "Take me now, take me now, take me now" instead of "Touch me now, touch me now, touch me now". This is of course the opposite of "de-sexifying", it is more explicit. Patti Smith's version of the song is an enduring classic (I saw her doing it live ages ago, and still remember the excitement). This does'nt mean you have to hate every other version. Nathalie Merchant has a decent go at it. - jan van aelst, antwerp, Belgium, 27.01.2006

didn't bruce springsteen actually write this song? - sam, Richmond, United States, 11.01.2006

what kevkov said! Natalie Merchant's version should be banned from the radio. - Steve, New York, United States, 07.01.2006

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