Word-Request – Term for a Cover with Changed Lyrics

phrase-requestword-request

What do you call a cover that changes the lyrics of the song, for example for a humorous effect (comedians or American late show hosts occasionally do that)? Is there a special term for that?

Best Answer

A parody:

Parody music, or musical parody, involves changing or copying existing (usually well known) musical ideas, and/or lyrics, or copying the particular style of a composer or performer, or even a general style of music. Although the intention of a musical parody may be humour (as in burlesque), it is the re-use of music that is the original defining feature.

In music, parody has been used for many different purposes and in various musical contexts: as a serious compositional technique, as an unsophisticated re-use of well-known melody to present new words, and as an intentionally humorous, even mocking, reworking of existing musical material, sometimes for satirical effect.

(source: the Wikipedia article 'Parody music' – there's also an article about parody in general)

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