Pigs singing the Happy Wanderer

[MartyMuppets]

Your weird opinion is very interesting Caroline

First of all I would agree with you that "Watch your step" is probably more often said than "Mind your step" when telling somebody to be careful how he or she walks. So I suppose my first thought concerning the change was that it might make it sound more novel.

Sometimes the caution "Watch your step" really has nothing to do with literally being careful how you walk at all. It can be to do with how you conduct your behaviour. Eg. If you don't watch your step you may end up losing your business deal. I don't recall mind ever being used in such a context so I can see how watch may well appear the stronger of the two words in some ways.

I also thought since "Watch your step" isn't commonly said by woman to woman as we discussed before, the change may sound better smoothly. But it probably wouldn't really make all that much difference and perhaps is a far weaker word.

 

[Skye]

Hehe, why thank you, Marty!

That is true that it may make it sound more novel and (I'm going to combine this with your statement on the woman to woman topic too) while "Watch your step" isn't commonly said by women, "Mind your step" isn't really said by women either, lol. So as I agreed, it would make it sound more novel, but perhaps it would make it sound out of place as well for that same reason.

That's a really interesting point that "Watch your step" or "Watch yourself" is often said about being careful about your behavior as well, and you're absolutely right. I hadn't thought about that before. And I do agree that it adds to the word "watch" being stronger than the word "mind" as it definitely gets the message across in many different situations.

I'm really glad that for the most part, you do agree with me that "watch" is a stronger word and therefore saying that instead of "mind" could indeed be better. It's definitely an interesting idea that you have come up with regarding "Mind your step," though!

 

[MartyMuppets]

Also, I do think saying "Watch your step" sounds a little bit more caring. To me, the word "watch" is a little bit of a stronger word so it would make a bit more of an impact. Like saying "mind your step" seems like something you'd say if the situation were smaller (like, if there was something on the ground you'd want your friend to notice and maybe walk around to avoid, like a puddle or something)

This is a very very good point you gave me to think about Caroline.
Cautioning somebody about a puddle on the ground and being faced with the possibility of falling down hundreds of feet off a mountain are about as close to opposite extreme ends as you can get. If the leader piggy was really caring about his/her buddies and suspected that there was danger of loose rocks he/she would have immediately said "Watch your step" to both of them at once before they began the first verse. Though I can't help but wonder how the nervous piggy would have taken the impact of it since he/she was already so nervous as it was.

 

[Skye]

Thanks, Marty! Hehe, I thought that was a pretty good example, and it's exactly the idea that I was going for. And it is definitely how I imagine each saying would be presented... in those very different situations. That's a good point that the leader piggy would probably have said it right at the beginning if they anticipated they would run into loose rocks (.... or loose goats ) but like you said, that nervous piggy sure would probably have other things on his/her mind!

 

[MartyMuppets]

Loose goats? heh-heh I'm afraid that watching your step is really no assured safeguard against that sort of danger at all. Of course you'll have to agree with me on that one, won't you Caroline?

 

[MartyMuppets]

Seriously another point that's crossed my mind about this is that I suppose all the piggies of both male and female versions would really have technically already been minding their step during the first verse. Even the nervous one on the end who may have been worried about the height they were at.

Like you've said before with mountain-climbing they all would have had to be concentrating upon keeping their footing with care ie. minding their step.
You don't necessarily have to keep closely watching the steps that you are carefully minding. Even the nervous piggy probably really thought it was safe at heart despite his/her apprehensiveness over how far up they were so they were all being sensibly careful.

But after what happened then the other two would logically be wanting to be extra careful from that moment on. So Watch your step on second thought seems to make perfect sense. What do you think of this point Caroline?

 

[crazed gonzo fa]

Oh that's cool, I hope you had an awesome time in Ohio, crazed gonzo fa! And it's nice to see ya back!

PIOL right back atcha!

Hey there cgf. Great to have you back. Hope you had a fun time with your family while you were in Ohio.

THE PIOL HAS RETURNED!

Thanks BBG and Skye! We did have a great time in Ohio. PIOL!

 

[muppet baby]

Hey, crazed gonzo fan , i am glad that you are back as well i hope that you had a great trip in ohio . you have been missed .

 

[crazed gonzo fa]

Thanks muppet baby! God Bless You All!

 

[Skye]

Yay, I'm so glad to hear you had a great time there, crazed gonzo fa!

Loose goats? heh-heh I'm afraid that watching your step is really no assured safeguard against that sort of danger at all. Of course you'll have to agree with me on that one, won't you Caroline?

Ha! I'm glad you liked my loose goats, Marty! And that is a very good point... it can be so hard to avoid any of those evil goats that may be around, as our piggies learned firsthand!

Like you've said before with mountain-climbing they all would have had to be concentrating upon keeping their footing with care ie. minding their step.
You don't necessarily have to keep closely watching the steps that you are carefully minding. Even the nervous piggy probably really thought it was safe at heart despite his/her apprehensiveness over how far up they were so they were all being sensibly careful.

But after what happened then the other two would logically be wanting to be extra careful from that moment on. So Watch your step on second thought seems to make perfect sense. What do you think of this point Caroline?

I think that's a great point, Marty. I really like what you said here, and that makes perfect sense. I can definitely see how that would work. Minding turns into watching... I like it! I do think you're right that even the nervous piggy probably figured it would be safe since they were being careful and also since he was there with his friends and his friends seemed so confident as well. And you're absolutely right that after he fell, his buddies would realize that there could be real danger and they'd want to be extra careful, and in turn watching their steps much more closely. That's a terrific way to think it through and sort it out, Marty. Sounds great to me, and works our own personal ideas about the two words into the situation wonderfully!