The #WhatIfSong meme as genre… OR deconstructing the #WhatIfSong meme…

~Sunday~  I have become completely obsessed with this meme that's going around the web, where you ask a "What if?" question about a song's title or lyrics. Here's an example of one:

What if Harper Valley had no PTA?

I've got it so bad that I am channeling Seth Rudetsky, who—if you've never seen him—rather brilliantly deconstructs songs, analyzing such things as rifts, phrasing, bravado, compare and contrasts, and other facets of musicality. This is one of my favorites if you're interested in seeing his schtick: Seth Rudetsky deconstructs Stoney End.

Being the word lover that I am, I've been intrigued by the different variations of the posts being made in this meme, so much so that I've decided to catalog variations of it. Here's what I've done so far. I’m still wrestling with whether these should be changed to the subjunctive mood.

Form: A “What if?” question that plays off the title or lyrics of a popular song.

Here are the variations I've devised, and five examples of each one:

The negative variation

• What if the sound of grace wasn't amazing?

• What if our flag wasn't still there?

• What if she wasn't an uptown girl?

• What if you didn't let it go?

• What if these boots aren’t made for walking?

The positive variation

• What if I will last a day without you?

• What if papa does preach?

• Do cry for me Argentina.

• What if I’ll always fall in love again?

• What if we do need another hero?

The antonym variation

• What if I go out walking before midnight?

• What if there were huge bubbles in the wine?

• What if bluebirds fly somewhere under the rainbow?

• What if in restless dreams I walked accompianed?

• What if you are the wind above my wings?

The Boolean-manipulation variation

• What if it was right and okay?

• What if you could both check out and leave the Hotel California?

• What if rainy days or Mondays, but not both, always get me down?

• What if it was only you and a dog named Boo?

• What if I only shake and rattle?

The doesn’t-measure-up variation

• What if Philadelphia freedom only took me ankle-high to a man?

• What if the water with the bridge over it wasn’t troubled at all?

• What if losing everything was nothing like the sun going down on me?

• What if there was only four hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes?

• What if she was fifty-one and her daddy still called her baby?

The artist-as-narrator variation

• What if John at the bar wasn't a friend of Billy Joel?

• What if Celine’s heart won't go on?

• What if someone did rain on Barbra’s parade?

• What if Cher was a pure-breed?

• What if Barry Manilow didn’t write the words that make the whole world sing?

Are you participating in this meme? Can you see what variation(s) any of yours fall into? Can you define a variation of your own and give some examples?