This is topic When you mishear the lyrics... in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 
...things just don't make sense. There is a song, Speedo, that I was sure went "Well, now they often call me Speedo but my real name is Raymond Burr". Raymond Burr was on the TV tonight in some old movie, and I asked my husband why in the world anyone would call him "Speedo". Blank stare. Silence. Then (because he knows me so well) "No, his real name is not 'Raymond Burr', his real name is 'Mister Earl'".

And I can't be the only one who has been caught singing "There's a bathroom on the right."
 

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Posted by littlemissattitude (Member # 4514) on :
 
You know, Tante, even John Fogerty sings it that way sometimes now.

You know the old song, "Secret Agent Man", by Johnny Rivers? I swear, there are times when it sounds like he's saying "secret Asian man". Sorry if that's politically incorrect, but that's what it sounds like. Go listen if you don't believe me.

When I was in sixth grade, there was a guy in my class who swore that instead of the Beatles' lyric being, "Penny Lane is my ears and in my eyes," that it was really, "Then Elaine is in my ears and in my eyes." And because he thought that was the lyric, he insisted further that the song must have been written for me (my name is Elaine). Silly.

I love misunderstood lyrics.
 

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Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
 
That horrible Pussycat Dolls song...I always thought it was, "Don't you wish your girlfriend was wrong like me?"

Really, it's "don't you wish your girlfriend was raw like me."

I like my way better.

-pH
 

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Posted by Tstorm (Member # 1871) on :
 

quote:

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"secret Asian man"

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So I'm not the only person who thought that was the actual lyric at one time? And I can't listen to that song without thinking about it, either.



I can't recall anything recent. I look up lyrics for new songs, to avoid any confusion. I already learned my lesson more than once.
 

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Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by littlemissattitude:

You know the old song, "Secret Agent Man", by Johnny Rivers? I swear, there are times when it sounds like he's saying "secret Asian man".

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Definitely.

She's a muscular boy -- a complete impossibility.
 

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Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
 
There's a song by my favourite band (Carbon Leaf) called "Blue Ridge Laughing." The first line of the song is "Caught a red moonrise..."

I heard it forever as "Carter at moonrise," which is actually funny because the guy who plays the mandolin (and various guitars) in the band is named Carter. I thought it was some sort of secret desire to be in NASA or something.
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 

quote:

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You know the old song, "Secret Agent Man", by Johnny Rivers? I swear, there are times when it sounds like he's saying "secret Asian man". Sorry if that's politically incorrect, but that's what it sounds like. Go listen if you don't believe me.

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Yeah, my brother-in-law used to think that's what it said when he was little; now every time we hear that song, my husband and I can't help looking at each other, cracking up, and singing with really bad 70's-tv Asian accents, "Deah's a man who rive a rife of dan-jah... Seek-uh-rut, Asian man!" I know, it's really bad.
 

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Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
 
Blinded by the light, wrapped up like a douche, another runner in the night...

Yeah, what was I thinking?

And then there's 'scuse me while I kiss this guy
 

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Posted by docmagik (Member # 1131) on :
 
In the song "Ball and Chain" by Social Distortion, there's a line that says:

"Well I passed the bar on the way to my dingy hotel room
I drank all my money; I've been drinking since a-half past noon."

I didn't so much mishear as misunderstand--I always hear "Passed the bar" in the sense that he can now legally practice law . . .
 

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Posted by littlemissattitude (Member # 4514) on :
 
I used to think that, in CCR's "Traveling Band", the lyric that ends "trying to get a hand/playing in a traveling band" was "trying to get a hand/hey, a little traveling band." Took years for me to figure out all the lyrics, especially in the fast parts. But, not only have I figured them out, I can keep up with them on a good day.

Oh, and I'm glad I'm not the only one on the "Secret Agent Man" thing.

Edited to add: I just remembered another one. In the Rascals' "Groovin'", there's one line that says, "You and me, endlessly." For years I thought it said, "You and me and Leslie". I always wondered, when I heard that song, just exactly what those three were up to.
 

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Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
 
I had the hardest time with "We Didn't Start the Fire," because I was five and had no idea of recent American history.
 

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Posted by Tinros (Member # 8328) on :
 
Misheard Lyrics database.

Some of them are really funny.
 

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Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
 
This forum is gonna have to

excuse me, while I KISS THIS GUY!
 

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Posted by SC Carver (Member # 8173) on :
 
When it first came out I thought John Mellencamp's "What if I Came Knocking" Was "What if I didn't like it"
 

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Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by pH:
That horrible Pussycat Dolls song...I always thought it was, "Don't you wish your girlfriend was wrong like me?"

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quote:

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Originally posted by Orincoro:
excuse me, while I KISS THIS GUY!

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I knew someone would have gotten this one already.
 

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Posted by Papa Moose (Member # 1992) on :
 
Someone did -- Goody Scrivener. She just didn't capitalize it.

Personally, I live my life like a canary in a coma.
 

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Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
 
What exactly is a Comma Chameleon anyway? Does it turn into some other kind of punctuation?
 

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Posted by Uprooted (Member # 8353) on :
 
Oh no fair everybody, I'm too culturally illiterate to get the joke if you just put the misunderstood lyric without linking to or writing out the real one! Bathroom on the right? Canary in a coma?

And Blinded by the Light is just plain incomprehensible. Has anyone ever understood those lyrics just by listening?
 

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Posted by Uprooted (Member # 8353) on :
 
Now, Comma Chameleon I get!
 

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Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
 
I assumed Canary in a coma was Canaray in a coal mine.

I don't get Bathroom on the right.

Actually, the most disturbing lyric I've ever heard was "Hike up your skirt little boy and show the world to me."
 

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Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Goody Scrivener:
Blinded by the light, wrapped up like a douche, another runner in the night...

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quote:

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Originally posted by The Pixiest:
Actually, the most disturbing lyric I've ever heard was "Hike up your skirt little boy and show the world to me."

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quote:

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Blinded by the light, wrapped up like a douche, another runner in the night...

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quote:

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Originally posted by Uprooted:
Oh no fair everybody, I'm too culturally illiterate to get the joke if you just put the misunderstood lyric without linking to or writing out the real one! Bathroom on the right? Canary in a coma?

And Blinded by the Light is just plain incomprehensible. Has anyone ever understood those lyrics just by listening?

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quote:

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Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head:

quote:

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Blinded by the light, wrapped up like a douche, another runner in the night...

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I actually don't know what the real words are.

"You're a candle in the window and a corndog when it's night."

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Love your version.

"Revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night." Which is, of course, meaningless, and I would have never known without the Internet.
 

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Posted by Uprooted (Member # 8353) on :
 
I always thought it was "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" -- and I have no idea what the rest of the song is about, which I guess proves your point!
 

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Posted by Uprooted (Member # 8353) on :
 
OK, starLisa, just went and looked it up online and it IS Long Cool Woman. But you're right, they lyrics tell this story which I never caught at all before -- although it's sure a catchy tune to work out to.
 

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Posted by littlemissattitude (Member # 4514) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by The Pixiest:
I don't get Bathroom on the right.

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It's really "There's a bad moon on the rise", from Creedence Clearwater Revival. It's one of the most famous of the misheard lyrics. The funny part is, once it was pointed out to John Fogerty that so many people thought that the line was about a bathroom on the right, he began singing it that way in concert sometimes.
 

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Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
 
Thanks LMA =)
 

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Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
 
There actually is a song called "Secret Asian Man." I believe it's by DaVinci's Notebook.
 

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Posted by Ben (Member # 6117) on :
 
Everytime I listen to "Low Low Low" by James i always hear "I'm a member of an eggplant race..."

Lindsay thinks i have hearing problems.
 

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Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
 
"Revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night."

Why is that meaningless?

How about "She's so popular" Or "In the thunder crash, you're a thousand miles, within a flash"(Peter Gabriel)?
 

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Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
 
Not exactly a mishearing of the lyrics, but when I first heard the Snow Patrol song "Spitting Games," not knowing they were foreign, I for some reason thought that they were mocking Chingy (of "Right Thurr" fame). There's this line:

I find it easier to sit and sturr
Than push my limbs out to what's you right thurr

I realized later that they just have accents.

It still cracks me up.

-pH
 

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Posted by Uprooted (Member # 8353) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Glenn Arnold:
"Revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night."

Why is that meaningless?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Will B:
Blinded by the light; wrapped up like a douching of the roller in the night...

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That's the best one yet! Wrapped up like a douching...

-pH
 

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Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 
My kid must have been between 3 and 4 years old at the time. He was riding his tricycle on the sidewalk and managed to scrape his knee. I cleaned it up and covered it with band-aids and kisses, and he went back to riding his tricycle. Singing loud as you please, "Oh Susanna! Don't you cry for me. I come from Alabama with a band-aid on my knee."
 

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Posted by pfresh85 (Member # 8085) on :
 
My brother had a friend who insisted that the Hanson song "Mmm Bop" contained the lyric "Wanna be a flower." That's stuck with the song now, even though our whole family knows it's not really in there.
 

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Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
 
I think Mmm Bop does say something about planting flowers. Like, plant a flower, plant a rows, see which one grows, or something.

-pH
 

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Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
 
Speaking of Hanson, the chorus of "Where's the Love?" says:

Where's the right in, all of our fighting?

I, as an eleven-year-old kid, heard:

Where's the ridin'? Or lover fighting?

I was so confused. Well, confused beyond trying to figure out if Hanson were male or female.

-pH
 

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Posted by pfresh85 (Member # 8085) on :
 
It does contain a lyric about planting flowers like you said, but it says nothing about wanting to be a flower. And this person was insistent that the lyric "I wanna be a flower" came during the mmm bop part of the song. *shrugs*
 

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Posted by skillery (Member # 6209) on :
 
I always had difficulty with the "finger popping" part of Blondie's Rapture
 

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Posted by signal (Member # 6828) on :
 
The only one I can remember at the moment is that All American Rejects song "Swing Swing". I always heard "Swing swing swing from the table saw..." I think the actually lyrics are "swing swing swing from the tangles of", which doesn't make that much sense to me. Every time I hear that song though, it reminds me of my seventh grade shop teacher who was telling us about safety around the tools and told us about this one time when a women he worked with got her hair caught in a drill press. I always picture someone swinging by their hair from a table saw.
 

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Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
 
signal, it's "Swing swing swing from the tangles of my heart is..something something..."

It's like that children's song about like. "Behind the frigerator, there was a piece of glass. Miss Suzy sat upon it and broke her little ASK me no more questions, tell me no more lies! The boys are in the bathroom, zipping up THE FLIES are in the medow, something something..."

Edit: And by that, I mean that one line carries into the next.

-pH
 

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Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
 
Louie louie, Oh baby,
if you gotta know, why why why why why why

A bald little girl, from cross the sea,
blind little baby, wake and see

BTW the history behind this song is that the Kingsmen all got really stoned, hooked a mike to the ceiling and did it in one, take, thus it is icomprehensible and awesome.
 

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Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :
 
Here's something not misunderstood, but incomprehensible to me:

From Sheryl Crow's "Good is Good"
"And everytime you hear the rolling thunder
You turn around before the lightning strikes"

My problem with the song is that lightning strikes, then you hear thunder. (Light travels faster than sound.) It's impossible to go the other way. Just hearing that song bothers me. (I guess I'm too picky.)
 

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Posted by dawnmaria (Member # 4142) on :
 
My husband has an awful time with lyrics. He claims to be deaf in one ear from his Mom screaming at the dinner table. His Dad claims to be deaf in the opposite ear. She sat between them! My Hubby used to think "Rollercoaster of Love" was "Cornecopia of Love"! Now we sing it that way just to be goofy. We're also big fans of Secret Asian Man! And when I was little, I always wondered where Orientar was because I thought that's where the Kings in the Christmas carol were from....."We 3 kings of Orientar....Bearing gifts....."
 

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Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by CaySedai:

My problem with the song is that lightning strikes, then you hear thunder. (Light travels faster than sound.) It's impossible to go the other way. Just hearing that song bothers me. (I guess I'm too picky.)

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quote:

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Originally posted by vonk:
one of my friends thought that in the Blind Mellon song "No Rain" they sang "pull some teeth or two," instead of the actual lyric, "pour some tea for two."

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quote:

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Originally posted by dawnmaria:
And when I was little, I always wondered where Orientar was because I thought that's where the Kings in the Christmas carol were from....."We 3 kings of Orientar....Bearing gifts....."

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Just think how confused you would have been if you had heard the version that my cousins taught me:

"We three kings of Orient are/Tried to smoke a loaded cigar..."
 

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Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
 
There are some I deliberately sing incorrectly to entertain myself. My favorites are from the same relatively obscure Indigo Girls song:

"Well you can go to the east
to find your
your inner keg of beer."

and

"It's just a raisin cycle."
 

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Posted by Mabus (Member # 6320) on :
 
I seem to remember encountering a tale of some children singing "Onion version mother and child." Unfortunately, while I frequently mishear lyrics, I'm having trouble remembering music at the moment. Maybe a little later, something will come to me.

Ah....here's an amusing one. I first heard "I want something else/to get me through this/semi-charmed kind of life" as "cyberpunk kind of life". I hadn't realized that cyberpunk sci-fi had made it into pop music, and I was thus muchly confused.
 

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Posted by dawnmaria (Member # 4142) on :
 
Could it be "Round yon virgin mother and Child"?
 

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Posted by Mabus (Member # 6320) on :
 
Yes, dawn, that's the correct lyric. I suppose it wasn't clear, but I meant that I couldn't think of anything more, um....recent at the moment. The second mis-hearing is an edit from a few minutes later.

Oh, and...(edit again)...anyone familiar with the song "Go, go, Jason Waterfall!"
 

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Posted by Will B (Member # 7931) on :
 
"Round John Virgin, mother and child." My sister. She thought it was about a fat kid named John.
 

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