Have you ever come across the lyrics to a favorite song and realized you’d been singing it wrong for years? It’s happened to me – several times, in fact. If you’ve ever discovered that what you were singing wasn’t what the artist was singing, then you’ve encountered a mondegreen, and will no doubt appreciate this next list. Here are 10 songs whose lyrics we get wrong:
- Purple Haze – Jimi Hendrix This lyric has been sung wrong so often by so many that there’s even a website named after it. It’s among the all-time classics of misheard lyrics.
- Misheard lyric: ’Scuse me while I kiss this guy.
- Actual lyric: ‘Scuse me while I kiss the sky.
- Get Back – The Beatles I have to admit, as much of a Beatles fan as I am, this one had me stumped for years. Although, there’s a similar line in the song (re: Sweet Loretta Martin) which would actually fit with this.
- Misheard lyric: Jo Jo was a man before he was a woman.
- Actual lyric: Jo Jo was a man who thought we was a loner.
- Blinded by the Light – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band A cover of a Bruce Springsteen song, whose original line “cut loose like a deuce” – referring to a deuce coupe cutting loose off the starting line – was changed in this version:
- Misheard lyric: Wrapped up like a douche.
- Actual lyric: Revved up like a deuce.
- Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival Also considered a classic; so much so that it’s reported to have actually been used in concert by CCR’s John Fogerty, complete with a gesture toward stage right:
- Misheard lyric: There’s a bathroom on the right.
- Actual lyric: There’s a bad moon on the rise.
- Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds – The Beatles Of course, there are instances where the misheard lyrics seem to make about as much sense as the actual ones:
- Misheard lyric: The girl with colitis goes by.
- Actual lyric: The girl with kaleidoscope eyes.
- Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin On the other hand, how does one explain the presence of a drunk along the ethereal path to the hereafter? I guess we just never really thought this one through (or perhaps glimpsed ourselves?):
- Misheard lyric: And there’s a wino down the road …
- Actual lyric: And as we wind on down the road …
- Living on a Prayer – Bon Jovi Then again, what we hear could have something to do with what’s on our minds at the time. Just saying’:
- Misheard lyric: It doesn’t make a difference if we’re naked or not
- Actual Lyric: It doesn’t make a difference if we make it or not
- Winter Wonderland – Various Artists How many of us know all the words to every Christmas carol we’ve ever heard, no matter how often they’re played every season?
- Misheard lyric: Later on we’ll perspire, as we sit by the fire.
- Actual lyric: Later on we’ll conspire, as we sit by the fire.
- Message in a Bottle – The Police OK, I’ll be honest. I really did believe these were the actual lyrics for the longest time – right up until I wrote this ‘note’:
- Misheard lyric: A year has passed since I broke my nose.
- Actual lyric: A year has passed since I wrote my note.
- Money for Nothing – Dire Straits Well, they did, after all have their own vitamins; so why not an appliance line named after them too?
- Misheard lyric: We got the Flintstones microwave ovens
- Actual lyric: We got to install microwave ovens
No comments:
Post a Comment