Martin,

As long as the melody still "works" then feel free to slightly alter the phrasing in each verse as required.

Some people are real sticklers for "melodic perfection" - I know Burt Bacharach insists that his lyricists always stick exactly to his melodies as written - but the vast majority of songs are not so precise. Even the Beatles sometimes varied the melodies in their verses slightly to fit an extra syllable or two in.

Personally I think that a little variation can make things more interesting.


--Paul--