In the 1978 (‘classical’) version Gloria Gaynor had this text:
“It took all the strength I had not to fall apart,
Kept trying hard to mend the pieces of my broken heart…”
She was then conversed to Christianity and decided to re-record her most famous track: she needed to advertise the fact by substituting the two lines for —
“Only the Lord could give me strength not to fall apart,
Though I tried hard to mend the pieces of my broken heart…”
Listeners all over the world are at a loss: musically the 1981 version is better, but they love it more with the strength inside, not God outside.
Original title (English): Gloria Gaynor “I Will Survive”
First published in the Levinarium Telegram Channel (now closed and deleted)