Misheard Lyrics (Mondegreens): There's A Bathroom On the Right

[PrincessLuceval]

Talking Heads - Making Flippy Floppy:

 

Right lyrics: Doctor doctor, we have nothing in our pockets....

 

Wrong lyrics (but hilarious to sing): Doctor doctor, we have nothing in our codpiece....

[Tabbyclaw]

There's a song they play constantly at work. I have no idea what it is, but I know that the hook is "I feel invincible with my headphones on." Not, as I originally heard it, "I feel invincible till my head falls off." I thought it was a song about self-destructive behavior.

[DeLurker]

 

I've been listening to Taylor Swift's Blank Space for a week now (yeah, I know, but it's really catchy) and I just realised that she's not singing "go along those Starbucks lovers, they'll tell you I'm insane" but "got a long list of ex-lovers, they'll tell you I'm insane".

Heard this yesterday on the car radio and thought it was Starbucks too.

 

 

Was listening to the Doobie Brothers singing "China Grove" and I thought that they said:

 

Oh, Charlie Rose

I had a friend who thought they sang "Oh, tally ho".  So she always sang it that way.  And none of her friends ever corrected her.

[Princess Sparkle]

I used to have a friend that was convinced that the beginning of La Isla Bonita by Madonna was "Last night I dreamt of some bagels", instead of the actual line "Last night I dreamt of San Pedro."   

[Rick Kitchen]

There's a song they play constantly at work. I have no idea what it is, but I know that the hook is "I feel invincible with my headphones on." Not, as I originally heard it, "I feel invincible till my head falls off." I thought it was a song about self-destructive behavior.

 

Tabbyclaw, that's "Headphones" by Matt Nathanson:

 

[potatoradio]

Correct lyrics:

 

"Roller coast-ah...of loooove..." (Ohio Players, Love Rollercoaster)

 

Accent emphasized so maybe it's slightly more clear why my brain heard the incorrect lyric:

 

"Don't cut mustard...." 

 

I thought it was a song about someone trying to succeed and failing. I guess that's not entirely wrong...

[Jeebus Cripes]

I used to have a friend that was convinced that the beginning of La Isla Bonita by Madonna was "Last night I dreamt of some bagels", instead of the actual line "Last night I dreamt of San Pedro."   

 

This is amazing and I will sing it this way from here on.

[BatmanBeatles]

Rocket Man

 

Right lyrics: "She's got electric boots, a mohair suit..."

Wrong lyrics: "She's got electric boobs, her mom has two..."

[AntiBeeSpray]

Rocket Man

 

Right lyrics: "She's got electric boots, a mohair suit..."

Wrong lyrics: "She's got electric boobs, her mom has two..."

 

I thought it was that too XD.

[Princess Sparkle]

This is amazing and I will sing it this way from here on.

Oh, it's totally how I sing it now.

[DeLurker]

My friend thought Our House by Madness was Our Couch.

 

He swore the lyrics were:

Our couch,

In the middle of our beach.

 

And we so loved it because we were tanorexic beach buddies who spent an unDogly amount of time there.  There might have been some alcohol involved too, but I am sure that had nothing to do with it.

[nicepebbles]

I was listening to Dark Horse by Katy Perry while driving home with the kids. Juicy J says, "She'll eat your heart out like Jeffrey Dahmer" in his rap. My 4yo son says, "He'll eat your fart out." I about died laughing. He cracked himself up for about 5 minutes over thatm

Edited February 3, 2015 by nicepebbles

[Jeebus Cripes]

Just heard someone cover Collective Soul's "The World I Know" and realized I've been singing this crap all along:

 

Wrong:

I drink myself a new found deity

 

Actual lyric:

I drink myself of new found pity

 

No wonder it never made much sense.

[Rick Kitchen]

I don't think the real lyric makes a whole lot of sense, either.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Rick Kitchen

[nicepebbles]

Someone upthread posted (for some reason I can never quote someone)

"I just heard this song on the radio and it made me remember my misheard lyric for Rihanna's "Only Girl in the World" -

What I heard:  "I want you to love me, like I'm a hot guy."
What it actually is: "I want you to love me, like I'm a hot ride.""

 

I always heard:  "I want you to love me, like I'm a hotline." That made no sense but that's what I always hear.

 

Another song that I heard wrong is Trey Songz's "Mr. Steal Your Girl"

 

What I heard:  "Mr. Studio Guy is back."

What it actually is: "Mr. Steal Your Girl is back."

 

 

[Bastet]

I'm not sure this evening was the first time I heard Taylor Swift's Blank Spaces, but it was definitely the first time I paid attention to it, and I see from searching this thread I am not the only one who thought she was saying something about "Starbucks lovers."  I knew that couldn't be right, but I had to look up the lyrics to see what the hell she did say ("Got a long list of ex-lovers"), because it was indecipherable to me.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Just finally got this lyric from 'Photograph' by Def Leppard:

 

I've thought it was this:

 

I'm outta luck, outta love
Gotta photograph, picture of
Marshall Dillon, you're too much
You're the only one I wanna touch

 

 

Instead of this:

 

I'm outta luck, outta love
Gotta photograph, picture of
Passion killer, you're too much
You're the only one I wanna touch

[Princess Sparkle]

I was listening to Dark Horse by Katy Perry while driving home with the kids. Juicy J says, "She'll eat your heart out like Jeffrey Dahmer" in his rap. My 4yo son says, "He'll eat your fart out." I about died laughing. He cracked himself up for about 5 minutes over thatm

I like your son's style.

[DeLurker]

In David Bowie's Jeam Genie I always hear:

 

The Jean Genie lives on his back
The Jean Genie loves kidney snacks
He's outrageous, he screams and he bawls
Jean Genie let yourself go

 

Instead of The Jean Genie lives on his back
The Jean Genie loves chimney stacks
He's outrageous, he screams and he bawls
Jean Genie let yourself go

[Sandman87]

See, I learned something here today. I always thought it was:

The Jean Genie loves Jimmy's stacks

[Jeebus Cripes]

See, I learned something here today. I always thought it was:

The Jean Genie loves Jimmy's stacks

 

This is what I heard, too.

[potatoradio]

Correct lyrics from "Strut" (Sheena Easton):

 

"I said, 'Honey, I don't like this game
You make me feel like a girl for hiii-re'"

 

What I'd always heard until I recently downloaded the song for my guilty pleasure listening:

 

"I said, Honey, I don't like this game

You make me feel like a girl from Io-wa"

 

I'd always just thought Scots had trouble pronouncing Iowa.

 

 

[Archery]

Blinded By The Light by Manfred Mann's Earth Band

what I hear: Blinded by the light, wrapped up like a douche, another runner in the night

actual lyrics: Blinded by the light, revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night

And I know I'm not the only one...

I always heard "wrapped up like a douche another roller in the night," and thought, Doesn't really make sense to me, but maybe it's a cultural thing. When I learned the real lyrics, "revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night," I thought . . . exactly the same thing.

Pride (In The Name of Love), I thought was "three blasts, they took your life," and never knew it was "free at last" until just now. I have been singing this song wrong for, literally, THIRTY YEARS.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Archery

[AntiBeeSpray]

I just remembered an old one from the song "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies.

 

What I thought it was: Birchmont Cd, hold off the Rally's (XD any way this line never makes sense to me)

 

What it actually was: Birchmount Stadium, home of the Robbie

[Vixenstud]

 

Blinded By The Light by Manfred Mann's Earth Band

 

what I hear: Blinded by the light, wrapped up like a douche, you know you running with the night

actual lyrics: Blinded by the light, revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night

 

Yikes, that song gets so misquoted....still a kick ass track, love the Chopsticks part near the end.

 

The River of Dreams by Billy Joel

 

This is during the chorus where the choir sings with Billy (in the middle of the, I go walkin' in my, etc.)

 

Actual lyrics:  I go walkin' in my

What I hear:  I go wocka-wocka

[Sandman87]

What I hear:  I go wocka-wocka.

Not many people realize that Billy Joel and Fozzie Bear are the same person.

[WendyCR72]

Rocket Man

 

Right lyrics: "She's got electric boots, a mohair suit..."

Wrong lyrics: "She's got electric boobs, her mom has two..."

 

I think you meant "Benny and The Jets" here, not "Rocket Man", but your lyric cracked me up!  :-)

[Mini-Mart]

I sang "secret giraffe" instead of Ticket To Ride for years.  

 

She's got a secret gira-a-affe

and she don't care.

[DeLurker]

A commercial for Cadillac (I think) uses the music from The Who's Eminence Front.  Back when the song was first released and getting radio play, a friend thought that instead of Eminence Front they were singing Livin' in a Swamp.

[Sandman87]

I sang "secret giraffe" instead of Ticket To Ride for years.

A friend of mine used to think it was "Chicken to ride." Edited March 13, 2015 by Sandman87

[AntiBeeSpray]

Just listening to a bit of "Yellow Bedletter" -- Pearl Jam

 

And this is how I misheard a line of it:

 

What I heard: On a weekend on a wizard on a whale, yeah.

 

What it really is: On a weekend I wanna wish it all away, yeah.

[beadgirl]

I heard (well, saw the video) Tove Lo's new song, "Talking Body," and heard "Our baby-making bodies we just use for fun" and thought to myself "That's a remarkably frank description of casual sex!"  But according to closed-captioning, the lyric really is "Oh baby make 'em bodies, we just use them for fun."

[Jeebus Cripes]

A friend of mine used to think it was "Chicken to ride."

 

I so wish this was the actual lyric.

 

Just listening to a bit of "Yellow Bedletter" -- Pearl Jam

 

And this is how I misheard a line of it:

 

What I heard: On a weekend on a wizard on a whale, yeah.

 

What it really is: On a weekend I wanna wish it all away, yeah.

 

This is amazing. The whole song is gibberish. He might as well be saying this.

 

For a huge chunk of my childhood I thought "Boys of Summer" by Don Henley was "Poison Summer" and used to sing it that way all the time. Never made much sense, but hey.

[DeLurker]

Going back to the early days of MTV...Asia's Heat of the Moment.

 

A friend misheard scrotum for moment and from that point on that was all I could hear...

 

It was the heat of the scrotum....

[Rick Kitchen]

Teens React to the lyrics from the Beatles' "I am The Walrus"

 

[AntiBeeSpray]

One I just remembered from The end of the innocence by Don Henley:

 

Instead of: For this tired old man that we elected king

 

I heard: For the tired old man with the electric cane 

 

XD

[Bastet]

For this tired old man that we elected king

 

Okay, well, here's where I admit I've been singing, "for this tired old memory we elected king" all these years.

[funkopop]

I'm not sure this evening was the first time I heard Taylor Swift's Blank Spaces, but it was definitely the first time I paid attention to it, and I see from searching this thread I am not the only one who thought she was saying something about "Starbucks lovers."  I knew that couldn't be right, but I had to look up the lyrics to see what the hell she did say ("Got a long list of ex-lovers"), because it was indecipherable to me.

 

Taylor mentioned in an interview that after hearing the song her dad contacted her and asked what a Starbucks lover was.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Was listening to Christopher Cross's song, "Ride like the Wind"...

 

Turns out I was mishearing a line big time XD.

 

What I heard: I was born the son of a Amish (or at times, Honest) man

 

What it was: I was born the son of a lawless man 

 

Way different interpretation XD.

[Archery]

Maybe that was the inspiration for that dumb "reality" show, Amish Mafia.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Finally got this line from Hotel California by the Eagles

 

I thought it was: Her mind was definitely twisted... (for years, even after finding out what the real line was)

 

When it really was: Her mind was Tiffany twisted...

 

XD

[emma675]

 

I heard: For the tired old man with the electric cane

Wait a minute, that's not the line?!? I've been singing that wrong for years.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Wait a minute, that's not the line?!? I've been singing that wrong for years.

 

Nope. It was about Reagan. The tired old man who we elected king.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Yahoo put out an interesting article about why we mis hear music today. Here it is if you guys want to check it out.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Just heard someone cover Collective Soul's "The World I Know" and realized I've been singing this crap all along:

 

Wrong:

I drink myself a new found deity

 

Actual lyric:

I drink myself of new found pity

 

No wonder it never made much sense.

 

Wow. I got it wrong too. 

 

I thought it was: I dream myself a new found deity.

[Sandman87]

The other day I encountered a rare spoken mondegreen when our local NPR station played an old Ink Spots tune called "Your Feet's Too Big." Right at the beginning I heard:
"What's the matter Jew boy?"

What they actually said was:
"What's the matter wit'choo, boy?"

[DeLurker]

Same line is in a Rolling Stones Miss You and I've misheard it the same way.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Just rediscovered an old favorite by Paula Abdul, Blowing Kisses in the Wind.

 

And rediscovered that I still mishear it like I used to XD.

 

What I thought I heard:

 

So please baby, please release me

If time after time your heart's growing cold

I'm saying, if you don't believe in believing ooh ooh <-- I thought it was code for sex or something for years XD, gee thanks Paula for that weird extra bit of that line O_0

Then how could true love ever be so?

 

The real lyrics:

 

So please baby, please release me

If time after time your heart's growing cold

I'm saying, if you don't believe in believing <-- which makes a heck of a lot more sense

Then how could true love ever be so?

[roseha]

Well I'm glad I'm not the only one to mishear Stones Lyrics...

 

Honest, back in grade school this is how I heard the last verse of Satisfaction: 

 

Instead of "Cause you see I'm on a losing streak"

 

I heard "Cause you see I'm on Illusion Street"

 

Maybe I got the idea from hearing Bob Dylan around the same time :)

 

[Shannon L.]

You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC:

 

What I heard:

 

"She had thankless eyes....."

and

"We weren't faking it......"

 

Real lyrics:

 

"She had sightless eyes..."

and

"We were making it...."