Substitute "sing" for "sin" and strike "me" and you get what I heard.
Misheard Lyrics
- Thread starter Gryffindorian
- Start date
I'd heard Bon Jovi's No Apologies as "Oh a pile of cheese."
Yeah, Aerosmith used to play around with phonemes and totally distort the meaning of their songs. Elton John was one of the worst. Raise your hand if you didn't understand much of what he sang in "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road".
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, by Elton John.
Just an example of what I thought I heard:
Original song:
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, by Elton John.
Just an example of what I thought I heard:
So goodbye yellow brick road, where the doctor's so sign a big house.
You can't blame me in your pen house. I'm goin' back to my blah-oww.
Back to the Holland, go down. Not to the hard to fight town.
You can't blame me in your pen house. I'm goin' back to my blah-oww.
Back to the Holland, go down. Not to the hard to fight town.
Original song:
So goodbye yellow brick road, where the dogs of society howl.
You can't plant me in your penthouse. I'm going back to my plough.
Back to the howling old owl in the wood. Hunting the horny back toad.
You can't plant me in your penthouse. I'm going back to my plough.
Back to the howling old owl in the wood. Hunting the horny back toad.
^ Win! 
Listened to Nirvana's "Come As You Are" earlier and wondered why Kurt Cobain sang about his old aunt Mariah. Had to look up the lyrics to find out he actually sang "old Memoria".
Comedian Peter Kay has an entire routine on misheard lyrics:
(Link for those who can't see embedded Youtube videos: youtube.com/watch?v=UMYorpYNMKc)
(Link for those who can't see embedded Youtube videos: youtube.com/watch?v=UMYorpYNMKc)
"Sue Lawley" by The Police.
Sarah McLachlan's song Posession has a line in it that to some sounds like
The misheard lyrics
Listen as the wind blows from across the great divide
Horses trapped in urine, and we're trapped in time.
The actual lyrics
Listen as the wind blows from across the great divide
Voices trapped in yearning, memories trapped in time.
The misheard lyrics
Listen as the wind blows from across the great divide
Horses trapped in urine, and we're trapped in time.
The actual lyrics
Listen as the wind blows from across the great divide
Voices trapped in yearning, memories trapped in time.
Me! The "owl in the woods" came as a total surprise when I bothered to look up the lyrics, I thought it said "Back to the house on Long Island".
Not mis-heard but one that always stands out to me because of the emphasis in the meter is Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams": "When the rain wa-SHEZ you clean you'll know".
Others:
"I Melt With You" by Modern English:
"The future's open wide"
I heard:"Confucius, open wide"
"Redemption Song" by Bob Marley:
"Minutes after they took I from the bottomless pit"
I heard:"Minutes after they took I from the Bottomley Spit" (I figured it was some Jamaican location).
Steely Dan "Your Gold Teeth":
"Even Cathy Berberian knows
There's one roulade she can't sing."
I heard:There's one roulade she can't sing."
"Every café Bavarian knows..."
Steely Dan "Bodhisattva", I head "Buddy Cypher".
The Who "Baba O'Reilly":
"Don't cry, don't raise your eye"
I heard:"Don't cry, don't plagiarize"
Then there are the lyrics that I didn't really misunderstand, but think of something I find funnier. As an example, Paul Simon "Love Me Like a Rock", "I'm a constipated boy" instead of "consecrated boy." Or substitute a different rhyme, which are usually too off-color to give an example here. Luckily my wife has the same sense of humor, as well as great patience.
I don't know which is a better example of truly misheard lyrics:
- "Louie, Louie", which actually has absolutely no dirty words in it whatsoever, but people still think it does, because: 1) the real lyrics have a fair amount of Caribbean/Jamaican slang in them, and 2) during recording, the Kingsmen were very poorly miked up,
OR
- the chorus of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", which nobody seems to agree on what word it is. Weem-a-wack? Weenie wrap? Wingle whip?
- "Louie, Louie", which actually has absolutely no dirty words in it whatsoever, but people still think it does, because: 1) the real lyrics have a fair amount of Caribbean/Jamaican slang in them, and 2) during recording, the Kingsmen were very poorly miked up,
OR
- the chorus of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", which nobody seems to agree on what word it is. Weem-a-wack? Weenie wrap? Wingle whip?
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I thought it was Uyimbube, Zulu for "he is a lion"?- the chorus of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", which nobody seems to agree on what word it is. Weem-a-wack? Weenie wrap? Wingle whip?
Oh and why does the lion sleep so well?
Because he doesn't concern himself with the opinions of sheep.
That's how you pronounce Uyimbube, it means "he's a lion".I looked it up...apparently the word is "Wimoweh".
Whatever the hell that means.
I've heard song where I heard alternate lyrics, but nothing legimately mishearing pops to mind.
Alternate lyrics examples includes:
"Electric Avenue"
Sing along:
We're gonna go down to, Erection Avenue. And then we'll take it higher!
"Doctor! Doctor!"
Thompson Twins
Sing along:
* I curse you there. Then once again.
* Doctor, doctor -- can you see I'm burpin' burpin'?
* Chips at night, with such delight. We all eat befffffooooorrrrreeeee her morning light.
* Cum with me, and make me pee.
* Please don't leave your love on me.
* We can trobble tooooo eternity!
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=trobble
Alternate lyrics examples includes:
"Electric Avenue"
Sing along:
We're gonna go down to, Erection Avenue. And then we'll take it higher!
"Doctor! Doctor!"
Thompson Twins
Sing along:
* I curse you there. Then once again.
* Doctor, doctor -- can you see I'm burpin' burpin'?
* Chips at night, with such delight. We all eat befffffooooorrrrreeeee her morning light.
* Cum with me, and make me pee.
* Please don't leave your love on me.
* We can trobble tooooo eternity!
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=trobble
Destiny Child’s “Bootylicious”
I thought I heard “Holla if you're ready for Ben & Jerry's
Holla if you're ready for Ben & Jerry's
Holla if you're ready for Ben & Jerry's
My body too bootylicious for ya babe”
It’s actually:
“ I don't think you ready for this jelly
I don't think you ready for this jelly
I don't think you ready for this
'Cause my body too bootylicious for yo babe…“
I thought I heard “Holla if you're ready for Ben & Jerry's
Holla if you're ready for Ben & Jerry's
Holla if you're ready for Ben & Jerry's
My body too bootylicious for ya babe”
It’s actually:
“ I don't think you ready for this jelly
I don't think you ready for this jelly
I don't think you ready for this
'Cause my body too bootylicious for yo babe…“
Charlie Puth's Attention:
you've been runnin' round, runnin' round, runnin' round throwing that dirt all on my name
What I heard:
you've been runnin' round, runnin' round, runnin' round throwing that turtle on my face
you've been runnin' round, runnin' round, runnin' round throwing that dirt all on my name
What I heard:
you've been runnin' round, runnin' round, runnin' round throwing that turtle on my face
@tharpdevenport - That Peter Kay spot is hilarious!
There was one song from decades ago that always perplexed me. It was probably the first "rap" song ever made. It's called "Spill The Wine" by Eric Burdon & War. The group "War" had Eric as a guest singer for this song. He basically talks through most of the song (kind of soft rapping), singing only part of it. What he speaks is very articulate and easy to understand. But then when he breaks into song, it all goes into apparent "gibberish." I could never understand why the song was called "Spill The Wine," because I never heard those words.
Original lyrics:
"Spill the Wine, take that girl.
Spill the Wine, take that pearl."
What I heard:
"Do I, dig that girl?
New wine, did that pearl!"
And in other verses:
"Take a wine, did that pearl.
Knew why, did that burl? Did that burl?!"
There was one song from decades ago that always perplexed me. It was probably the first "rap" song ever made. It's called "Spill The Wine" by Eric Burdon & War. The group "War" had Eric as a guest singer for this song. He basically talks through most of the song (kind of soft rapping), singing only part of it. What he speaks is very articulate and easy to understand. But then when he breaks into song, it all goes into apparent "gibberish." I could never understand why the song was called "Spill The Wine," because I never heard those words.
Original lyrics:
"Spill the Wine, take that girl.
Spill the Wine, take that pearl."
What I heard:
"Do I, dig that girl?
New wine, did that pearl!"
And in other verses:
"Take a wine, did that pearl.
Knew why, did that burl? Did that burl?!"
From the second verse of Bob Dylan's "Tangled Up in Blue":
We drove that car as far as we could
Abandoned it out west
Split up on a dark sad night
Both agreeing it was best
I always heard that line as "Split up on the docks at night."
Well, if you're running away from something, I guess the docks are a good place to split up and catch separate boats!
We drove that car as far as we could
Abandoned it out west
Split up on a dark sad night
Both agreeing it was best
I always heard that line as "Split up on the docks at night."
Well, if you're running away from something, I guess the docks are a good place to split up and catch separate boats!
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