As far as I know, one of my teachers was the only non-music instructor at my grade school to have a piano in her classroom. Once a week, she would have a sing-along, choosing one student to sing the first line of a song. The rest of the class would join the singing at that point. For some reason, I still remember when she chose "Michael, Row The Boat Ashore" as one day's sing-along tune. The sing-along began this way:
Student (singing:) When!
Teacher: No, it's 'Michael.'
Student (singing pleasantly but more insistently:) When!
Teacher: No, the song begins with 'Michael.' Let's try it again.
Student (singing politely but firmly:) When!
Teacher: No, the song begins, "Michael, row the boat ashore..."
The student then relented and sang it correctly. I still wonder if he thought the song began, "When Michael rows the boat ashore, Hallelujah!" In an odd way, that would make sense; in such a version, the singer would emphasize that Michael will only receive praise once he completes his task of getting that boat ashore. Perhaps the student, even at such a young age, didn't care for the implied suggestion of a lyric that suggests it's OK to settle for mediocrity. No "Mike, you got just halfway there. Hey, good try, though," for that student, perhaps.
Then again, maybe he was just being contrarian.
