Anyone ever run into lyrics sheets on album inserts clearly disagreeing with what is sung on the album, but both versions work equally well and have very similar meanings?
I just noticed that in the Queen song '39 (A Night at the Opera), the second part of the second verse is in the sheet as:
For the earth is old and grey, to a new home we'll away
But my love this cannot be
For so many years have gone though I'm older but a year
Your mother's eyes in your eyes cry to me
However, on the album (at least, the CD I have, which was rereleased in 1991) May seems to sing:
For the earth is old and grey, little darling we'll away
And my love this cannot be
For so many years are gone though I'm older but a year
Your mother's eyes, from your eyes, cry to me
Some of those could be artifacts of hearing what I expect to, but I really cannot hear anything other than "little darling".
I wonder if they are transposed for the lyrics sheet from the original song writings, though during recording they take different takes and mix the ones they like the most. I know some bands (e.g., Belle and Sebastian, I think The Shins as well) sometimes change songs a bit when they perform live, maybe letting the song evolve as it grows older, or something. I suppose if you write a song you might have a number of different versions with slight modifications, and different ones could end up in different places?
Also possible they took a different mix on the remasterings from the original record, but the insert was the same as the record.