To Sing a Different Tune - Theatre Etymology - Part 48

If somebody sings a different tune, it means they have changed their opinion about an issue or a person. This often means from bad to good. However, it does not have to be that way. It just means that the opinion has changed. Many dictionaries define the phrase as changing the way one talks about something. This would show some literal type of sound, but that does not have to be how it is, either. Of course, this does not have to do with literal singing.

While the exact source of the phrase is not clear, it might have its beginnings in the theatre. TV Tropes has an article about a Counterpoint Duet. This is where one character sings one tune to a set of chords and another character sings a different tune to that set of chords. This is to show that the characters have different opinions. If the characters come to have the same opnion, they may both end up singing a different tune to the set of chords. If only one changes his or her opinion, the tune may change to the other character's tune.

The word sing comes from the Middle English word singen or the Old English word singan. It cold also be derived from the Dutch word zingen, the German word singen, the Old Norse word syngva, or the Gothic word siggwan. The word different comes from Middle English which comes from Anglo-French which comes from the Latin prefix different- (which is a stem of differens). It also comes from the present participle of the Latin word differre. The word tune comes from Middle English variation of tone which comes from Middle English which comes from the Latin word tonus which comes from the Greek word tónos meaning strain, tone, or mode. It literally means a stretching and is akin to teínein meaning to stretch.

You can watch a video about the idiom "to sing a different tune" from USEmbassyBogota below.



An example of a counterpoint melody is "I Think I Got You Beat" from Shrek: The Musical. You can watch the video below and hear how Sherk and Fiona disagree, but then in their disagreement start to have a moment where they come to "sing a different tune" about each other even though it isn't shown outright.



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