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September (Earth, Wind & Fire) - Custom Celebration Lyric Swap

Earth, Wind & Fire's September rewritten to celebrate Kim on the twentieth night of September. Hear the full before and after audio side by side.

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September custom lyric swap celebrating Kim on the twentieth night of September

Gayle ordered a ChangeLyric swap with the brief of my dreams: keep the song as it is, just make it about Kim. Earth, Wind & Fire's "September" is already a wall-to-wall celebration, so the job was surgical. Change a handful of words, keep the party.

What Changed

The opening line carries the whole thing. "Do you remember the twenty-first night of September" became "Do you remember the twentieth night of September," the date being honored, and "never was a cloudy day" became "celebrating Kim today."

A few more threads get pulled through the verses. "Love was changing the minds of pretender" became "Kim was changing the minds of pretenders," and the December verse flipped from looking back to looking forward: "Now December found the love we shared in September" became "Now December, we'll look back on this sweet September." The ba-de-ya hooks stay exactly where Earth, Wind & Fire left them.

Listen & Compare

Hear the original song and the custom version side by side

Original
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Custom Version
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Transcripts are auto-generated and may not perfectly reflect the audio.

Original Lyrics
Do you remember the twenty-first night of September? Love was changing the minds of pretender, while chasing the clouds away Our hearts were ringing in the key that our souls were singing As we danced in the night, remember how the stars stole the night away Hey, hey, hey, ba-de-ya, say do you remember? Ba-de-ya, dancing in September Ba-de-ya, never was a cloudy day Ba-du-du, ba-du-du, ba-du-du, ba-du-du Ba-du-du, ba-du-du, ba-du-du, ba-du-du Ba-du-du, ba-du-du, ba-do-da My thoughts are with you, holding hands with your heart to see you Only blue talk and love, remember how we knew love was here to stay Now, December found the love we shared in September Only blue talk and love, remember true love we share today Hey, hey, hey, ba-de-ya, say do you remember? Ba-de-ya, dancing in September Ba-de-ya, never was a cloudy day There was a, ba-de-ya (de-ya, de-ya), say do you remember? Ba-de-ya (de-ya, de-ya), dancing in September Ba-de-ya (de-ya, de-ya), golden dreams were shiny days The bell was ringing, ha-ha, our souls were singing Do you remember never a cloudy day? Yow There was a, ba-de-ya (de-ya, de-ya), say do you remember? Ba-de-ya (de-ya, de-ya), dancing in September Ba-de-ya (de-ya, de-ya), never was a cloudy day And was a, ba-de-ya (de-ya, de-ya), say do you remember? Ba-de-ya (de-ya, de-ya), dancing in September Ba-de-ya (de-ya, de-ya), golden dreams were shiny days Ba-de-ya, de-ya, de-ya Ba-de-ya, de-ya, de-ya Ba-de-ya, de-ya, de-ya, de-ya Ba-de-ya, de-ya, de-ya Ba-de-ya, de-ya, de-ya Ba-de-ya, de-ya, de-ya, de-ya
Custom Lyrics
Do you remember the twentieth night of September? Kim was changing the minds of pretenders, while chasing the clouds away Our hearts were ringing in the key that our souls were singing As we danced in the night, remember how the stars stole the night away Hey, hey, hey, ba-de-ya, say do you remember? Ba-de-ya, dancing in September Ba-de-ya, celebrating Kim today Ba-du-du, ba-du-du, ba-du-du, ba-du-du Ba-du-du, ba-du-du, ba-du-du, ba-du-du Ba-du-du, ba-du-du, ba-do-da My thoughts are with you, holding hands with your heart to see you Only blue skies and joy for Kim, too, 'cause we're celebrating you today Now December, we'll look back on this sweet September Only blue talk and love, remember Kim's love we share today Hey, hey, hey, ba-de-ya, say do you remember? Ba-de-ya, dancing in September Ba-de-ya, celebrating Kim today There was a, ba-de-ya (de-ya, de-ya), say do you remember? Ba-de-ya (de-ya, de-ya), dancing in September Ba-de-ya (de-ya, de-ya), golden dreams were shiny days The bell was ringing, ha-ha, our souls were singing Do you remember never a cloudy day? Yow There was a, ba-de-ya (de-ya, de-ya), say do you remember? Ba-de-ya (de-ya, de-ya), dancing in September Ba-de-ya (de-ya, de-ya), celebrating Kim today And was a, ba-de-ya (de-ya, de-ya), say do you remember? Ba-de-ya (de-ya, de-ya), dancing in September Ba-de-ya (de-ya, de-ya), golden dreams were shiny days Ba-de-ya, de-ya, de-ya Ba-de-ya, de-ya, de-ya Ba-de-ya, de-ya, de-ya, de-ya Ba-de-ya, de-ya, de-ya Ba-de-ya, de-ya, de-ya Ba-de-ya, de-ya, de-ya, de-ya

“Great job - just wow - thank you so much! Great value for this special gift!!!”

— Gayle B.

How We Made It

Gayle paid on September 14, 2026, and the order came to me the next morning. Her note asked for the song to remain an edit of the Earth, Wind & Fire performance as fans know it, and she added that she was open to recommendations. That openness is gold, because it lets the producer protect the parts of a record that must not move.

I kept the arrangement untouched and rebuilt only the swapped phrases inside the original mix, matching the vocal to the record's own groove so the new words read as something the band had always sung. The first full master went out on September 16.

One revision followed the same day. Gayle's note was that the word "twentieth" in the opening line, the most important word in the song, could not be heard clearly enough. I rebuilt that line, sent the second master a few hours later, and she accepted the order on September 17.

Why It Works

"September" is already about remembering one specific night, so pointing it at a real date costs the song nothing. Every change makes the memory more specific: this night, this person, this celebration.

Restraint did the rest. A song this familiar cannot survive a heavy hand, and Gayle's edit keeps the record's joy intact while turning it into a keepsake, which is exactly what she called it in her review: a special gift. If that idea appeals to you, our James Blunt wedding gift swap tells a similar story.

Browse more projects like this in our lyric swap showcase, or start your own custom lyric swap.

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