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Many of you might recall last year’s post on mondegreens [misheard song lyrics]. Here’s how it started:
Long before I ever knew what a mondegreen was, I used to think the lyrics of David Bowie’s “Suffragette City” went like this:
Hey man, oh leave me alone, you know
Hey man, oh Henry, get off the phone, I gotta
Hey man, I gotta straighten my face
This malaprop chick’s just put my spine out of place
Of course, now I know the original malaprop chick is actually a “mellow-thighed chick,” and my head hangs low in shame.
Today’s Word Wrap tackles a similar phenomenon, misheard words.
For example, when I was kid, many of us thought we were pledging allegiance to widgets stands. Some years ago, I recall reading a piece by Bill Safire in the Times saying many people grew up thinking they were pledging allegiance to a guy called Richard Stands, whoever he was. Recently I had a student who wrote a novel and kept calling a wife-beater a white-beater and another student who wrote about a lawyer ready to assist anyone facing false allocations, which really made me smile.
So I ask you, loyal Word Rappers, what embarrassing misheard words do you have to share with us?
Comments (116)
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“For all intensive purposes.” Fortunately, I figured out “for all intents and purposes” before college.
posted by Andi on 4-27-2007 at 6:15 am
I used to think the section in Radiohead’s “idioteque”, which goes “we’re not scaremongering”, was “we’re not scared/i’m on the rag”…
posted by Russ on 4-27-2007 at 6:43 am
Andi beat me to it: I’ll never forget that day in college when my prof clearly enunciated “intents. and. purposes.” It was like a lightbulb over my head. (What the heck did I think “intensive purposes” were anyhow?)
posted by Karen on 4-27-2007 at 6:45 am
I once had someone with a thick N’Yawk accent tell me something cost “a nominal egg.” Only later did I realize he was saying “an arm and a leg.”
posted by Wayne Boenig on 4-27-2007 at 7:01 am
“for all intents and purposes”?! are you kidding me? i’m set to graduate from college in a matter of days and i never figured that out!
posted by Amar on 4-27-2007 at 7:11 am
Until I was in my late twenties I misinterpreted “just as soon” (i.e. ‘I’d just as soon jump in the lake’) as “just assume”.
And Karen/Andi — don’t feel bad. I didn’t know ‘intents and purposes’ until . . . um . . . 5 minutes ago when I read your posts. This is the part where I really probably shouldn’t mention I have a grad. degree in English.
I feel shame.
posted by EV on 4-27-2007 at 7:11 am
about 15 years ago i wathced an episode of the John Larroquette show where they were arguing about “intents and purposes” and “intensive purposes”
when the argument was finally settled when someone explaind that they have the whole thing wrong…
it’s actually
“for all in TENTS and PORPOISES”
so unless you are a wigwam dweller or a sea mammal this conversation doesn’t pertain to you
posted by melanie on 4-27-2007 at 7:23 am
A cousin who worked in an ER had a patient tell her he took peanut butter balls (phenobarbitol). I always tell people I have caramel truffel syndrome even though this is intentionally wrong.
posted by Scott on 4-27-2007 at 7:27 am
It still makes me clench my teeth to see “should of” or “could of” in print… not in the least because I occasionally did that until college.
posted by CJ Casey on 4-27-2007 at 7:33 am
Up until recently, I thought the song Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel was about a “slavedriver.”
posted by Kate on 4-27-2007 at 7:40 am
Jon Carroll has been compiling “mondegreens” for years- check out his website at the SF Chronicle’s website sfgate.
posted by Dave on 4-27-2007 at 7:46 am
A lot of my friends will gossip w/ the preface of “supposably” she said this or “supposably” he did that. Of course, I live in New Orleans, where we don’t talk right anyways. (Yep, I meant to write it that way.)
posted by Mary on 4-27-2007 at 7:57 am
Growing up in a house full of Trekkies, I always thought the intro to Star Trek was “To bold Lego, where no man has gone before.” It wasn’t until years later that I saw it on a poster correctly. Maybe it was Shatner’s bad acting….
posted by Mamasoo on 4-27-2007 at 8:06 am
O, for heaven sakes!
posted by Anne on 4-27-2007 at 8:15 am
About five years ago, I saw “beck and call” in print for the first time. Prior to that, I always assumed it was “beckoned call.” After a quick google of each phrase, I realized I am not alone. “beckoned call” had a respectable (or shameful – not sure which) 4,280 hits, one of which is a business solutions company, beckonedcall.com.
I missed the original lyrics post, but my favorite misheard lyrics are, “slow motin Walter, fire engine guy” for “smoke on the water, fire in the sky.”
posted by elizabutt on 4-27-2007 at 8:33 am
I had been ordering a Roman Coke(Rum and Coke) for a long while.
posted by Rebecca on 4-27-2007 at 8:35 am
It’s not “the smell of that chick”???
posted by Dave on 4-27-2007 at 8:48 am
When I was a really little kid, whenever they said “Hosanna in the highest” at church, I thought they were saying “lasagna in the highest.” I thought it meant everybody ate Italian food in heaven. It made sense – I mean, the Vatican’s in Italy, right?
posted by Margie on 4-27-2007 at 8:50 am
These are priceless! “a nominal egg” killed me… you guys never fail to disappoint!
posted by David on 4-27-2007 at 8:52 am
My grandmother kept her ‘unmentionables’ in “Chester’s drawers” ~
her “chest of drawers.” I was embarrassingly old before I figured that out.
Also- when I was in a mood- she’d say I was “te’-chous” … contemptuous?
That’s what I have decided….
posted by Ann on 4-27-2007 at 9:00 am
In a hospital room in upstate New York, I kept hearing this poor woman down the hall screaming “Noise! Noise!” The only noise I heard was her. Then I realized she was a New Yorker and was calling for the NURSE.
posted by Steve on 4-27-2007 at 9:01 am
Several years ago, while preparing to go whitewater rafting, the guide offered me a pair rain gear pants. I looked at her like she was crazy, and refused.
I thought she had said ‘reindeer pants’.
Things like this happen more often than I would like to admit.
posted by Lindsay on 4-27-2007 at 9:06 am
My favorites are all in Barbara Kingsolver’s book, The Poisonwood Bible. A character, Rachel, often mixes up words, such as “taking things for granite” and “You’re chances of getting a boyfriend are dull and void.” Makes me groan every time!
posted by Allison on 4-27-2007 at 9:07 am
Ann,
Could Grandmother have been calling you “tedious”?
posted by Alice on 4-27-2007 at 9:24 am
My favorite is a line from “I’m going home” in Rocky Horror Picture show. Frank sings “like I’m outside in the rain” … I heard “Like a mai tai in the rain.” I think my line is better than the original
posted by Jackie on 4-27-2007 at 9:26 am
I led the pigeons to the flag…
one nation, invisible…
posted by KJ on 4-27-2007 at 10:07 am
A new friend once said to me, “My husband’s from Czechoslovakia” and I heard, “My husband’s in the Mafia.” We had a hell of a laugh when we figured out why I looked so shocked!
posted by Lori on 4-27-2007 at 10:18 am
I’ve always been very uncomfortable with the term “wife-beater” – not sure I’m much happier with “white-beater.”
posted by Betsy on 4-27-2007 at 10:31 am
One of my friends was an elementary school teacher, and one of her 4-year old students began the pledge of allegiance like this: “I feed the pigeons to the flag of the United States of America…”
When I went rock climbing with a group of friends we were all confused by why the guy giving us instructions kept talking about a ‘blade of ice’…it took us quite a while to realize he was saying ‘belay device’.
posted by Marie on 4-27-2007 at 10:57 am
When I was teaching a college course, one of my students turned in a paper with the phrase “it’s a doggie dog world . . .” and I could not convince her that it was really just a dog eat dog world!
posted by tina on 4-27-2007 at 11:21 am
Ummm….Revved up like a douche? Hello…
posted by David on 4-27-2007 at 11:22 am
My friend’s younger brother was so excited when his parents decided to buy a Toyota and kept asking when they were going to get it. When they did, he was extremely upset that it was just a car and not a “toy Yoda” as he thought :-)
posted by CB on 4-27-2007 at 11:29 am
As children my sister and I would listen to the song about “Juan got a medal..”. It was years before we found out it was “Guantanamera”, a patriotic Cuban song. We still sing along “Juan got a medal” when we hear it (rarely) on the radio….
posted by Annette on 4-27-2007 at 11:34 am
“And to the Republic, where witches stand, one nation…” I remember in my Catholic elementary school, I thought the two Marys at the base of the cross were the “witches” yessh.
posted by Jess on 4-27-2007 at 11:44 am
My Italian professor in college was telling us about the popular music in Italy. My favorite: “I’m a tree, I’m a river,” –”I’m a creep, I’m a weirdo.” Radiohead tends to have these mondegreen issues a lot.
posted by ac on 4-27-2007 at 11:55 am
I have yet to figure whether they’re saying “stark cards” or “star’s hearts” in Stonesour’s song Through Glass
posted by Korin on 4-27-2007 at 11:58 am
I caught my sister-in-law singing in the car to CCR’s Bad Moon on the rise, “theeere’s a bathroom on the right!”
posted by Jane on 4-27-2007 at 1:01 pm
And its the starrrssss
The sttarrrsss
That shine for you.. yeah-ah
And its the starrrssss
The sttarrrsss
That lie to you.. yeah-ah
And its the starrrssss
The sttarrrsss
That shine for you.. yeah-ah
And its the starrrssss
The sttarrrsss
That lie to you.. yeah-ah yeah
posted by A. James on 4-27-2007 at 1:03 pm
My favorite has always been “Excuse me while I kiss this guy,” instead of “Excuse me while I kiss the sky.”
posted by Beth on 4-27-2007 at 1:13 pm
David,
That was the first line (from Blinded by the Light)that popped in my head after reading this post. That has to be one of the most misheard lines in our country’s history. I’m still never sure what they are saying when the song is playing.
There’s a burger place in OKC called Charcoal Oven. As a child, I was in awe of their glorious, large neon sign featuring a burger chef cheerfully practicing his craft. Before I could read, I thought the name was Charco’ Lovin’. They have great burgers, but I’m convinced the lovin’ (still) comes from that neon chef.
posted by elizabutt on 4-27-2007 at 1:25 pm
In Blinded by the Light by Manfred Mann, I always thought she was “dressed up like a duke”. Of course, the real drug-induced lyrics didn’t make any more sense (revved up like a deuce)
Ann – maybe your Grandmother thought you were tetchy?
posted by Karen on 4-27-2007 at 1:26 pm
My husband, who is Spanish, swears that I am not speaking English most of the time, but it is just my nasal Midwest accent that prompted him to ask what were the “pinnows” I was planning to make for dinner. (pinto beans – he says peen-toes)
posted by Germaine on 4-27-2007 at 1:33 pm
The Chevy II (Muscle car) was called a Deuce as in two. Hence, revved up like a deuce
posted by Steve on 4-27-2007 at 2:05 pm
“Revved up like a deuce” refers to a car (or the car’s engine). It’s a deuce as in ‘my little deuce coupe”
posted by EV on 4-27-2007 at 2:35 pm
When I started college I FINALLY found out that it was ‘euthanasia’ and NOT ‘youth in Asia.’ I found out in time, so that I didn’t embarrass myself. Thankfully.
A friend’s brother thought the lyrics to ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ were ‘Sweet Home and My Llama.’ Why? :)
posted by cmk on 4-27-2007 at 2:50 pm
I always thought the song went “Jesus is just a rat with wings”, instead of “Jesus is just alright with me.” I kind of like the first one better.
posted by David on 4-27-2007 at 3:37 pm
Back in my highschool days I thought the song “It’s so funny” was “Disco Bunny”
posted by tom on 4-27-2007 at 4:06 pm
I thought it was “Barnyard Canibals” for the longest time until I saw their CD “Fine Young Canibals”
posted by beth on 4-27-2007 at 4:11 pm
One of my favorites is from an episode of Northern Exposure. Adam, the misanthropic chef, makes coq-au-vin for Shelly. She says he made her cocoa van, “but there isn’t any chocolate in it…it’s chicken” (or something like that).
posted by Emily Jane on 4-27-2007 at 4:26 pm
my stepfather would always sign “captan midnight” instead of “after midnight”- i would smile to myself but never corrected him
also the word is saw not sall
posted by joe on 4-27-2007 at 4:40 pm
Oh Mandy, you kicked me and stopped me from shaving…
posted by Pointy-Hatted Geek on 4-27-2007 at 5:05 pm
I heard a good friend of mine recently saying “they read her the right act” at least twice. I didn’t have the heart to tell her it’s “riot act”.
posted by Susan on 4-27-2007 at 5:38 pm
The smashing pumpkin song that goes “despite all my rage” was “The spy in my radio” in my head for the longest time.
posted by john on 4-27-2007 at 5:47 pm
David Bowie’s song “Fashion” goes:
We are the goon squad
And we’re coming to town
Beep-beep.
I used to thing it said “bourgeoisie” instead of “goon squad.”
I even made a reference to it in tenth grade World History, but thankfully, I think that no one got it.
posted by Alison on 4-27-2007 at 5:58 pm
i came to texas from colorado for college, and encountered two friends who made great mistakes out of song lyrics.
one of them heard “trade your walk-on part on the wall for a negro in a cage” in a led zepplin song,
and another heard “i’ve been living on caffeine and n**ger tea” in cheryl crow’s “every day is a winding road.
to their credit, they both were horrified and vowed never to listen to those songs again. until we told them they were idiots.
posted by kevin on 4-27-2007 at 7:42 pm
“ray charles – mess around” the line goes “everyone was juiced you can bet your soul” i heard “everyone was jewish” until my friend pointed it out…
posted by thomas on 4-27-2007 at 8:39 pm
I couldn’t figure out the title of the Bee Gees song “Staying Alive” for the longest time. At first I thought it was “Sailin’ the Nile,” and then I thought it was “Spendin’ the Night” until I was embarassingly corrected by my mom.
posted by Louisa on 4-27-2007 at 8:39 pm
Kevin: the first set of lyrics is from Pink Floyd, not Led Zepplin. It’s “Wish You Were Here”.
posted by Emily Jane on 4-27-2007 at 10:24 pm
Blinded by the light has to be the best one.
Revved up liek a douche?
xD
posted by Cody on 4-28-2007 at 12:16 am
It’s not a song… but my sister, up until she was about 45, always used the phrase half-fast instead of half-assed. She would even use it at work, in front of clients, not knowing it was wrong.
So she would say, “your file is a mess, someone did a half-fast job on it.”
posted by jennifer on 4-28-2007 at 9:02 am
I always thought “I can’t hide” in the Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was “I get high”.
posted by Rachel on 4-28-2007 at 9:22 am
I realize these comments are for words misheard, not song lyrics, but my favorite mondegreen is from a Cat Steven’s song “ride on the peace train.” My friend’s mom heard in as “ride on the g-string.”
posted by Amanda on 4-28-2007 at 11:21 am
Through 4th grade or so, our nation was invisible in the pledge and in the song that followed, well, the pilgrims didn’t have pride, they FRIED!
Shamefully, I also thought it was “intensive purposes”, wow.
posted by Crayl on 4-28-2007 at 5:41 pm
My husband says it’s off-keelter instead of off-kilter. He also dated a woman who said (and pronounced) dwadle instead of dawdle, and would argue that her way was correct.
I’ve known people who called mayonnaise mayoneggs. Also, if you google ‘eggcorn,’ you will find a whole database documenting instances where eggcorn was used in place of acorn – and other misheard words.
posted by Laura on 4-28-2007 at 10:39 pm
If I had a nickel for every time I misheard something…
Recently, I received a call from a Mom whose son was “in the rack”…
Could she mean in jail? Or in trouble of some sort? Then she started talking about the military…
Oh! She said her son was “in Iraq”!
=o whoops!
posted by What? Say Again? on 4-29-2007 at 12:10 am
For my part Fallout Boy’s song: this ain’t a scene, it’s a goddamn arms race sounds a whole lot like: this ain’t a city it’s a goddamn arse face. (there’s a really cute video on youtube about mishearing all the lyrics to that song. “also into cats”)
posted by megaera on 4-29-2007 at 1:48 am
This is a really obscure one, but it drives me nuts. There’s a Phil Collins or Genesis song that starts with Collins singing what sounds like “she’s so f***ing weird.” If anybody can answer this question for me, I’ll be very grateful.
posted by brad on 4-29-2007 at 7:24 am
you know the the song “bad moon on the rise”? in my formative years that song really went “there’s a bathroom on the right.”
posted by jenni on 4-29-2007 at 10:38 am
I managed to hear “another turnip boy at a fork stuck in the road” for the longest time. I even made up this complex explanation so it would make sense…
posted by Aemi on 4-29-2007 at 12:27 pm
Dropped a girlfriend off at her home one night and her younger sister and her friend were singing the Eagles’ “Take It To The Limit”. My favorite line was “Pussy on the highway, sure feels fine”
posted by Dave on 4-29-2007 at 1:25 pm
For the longest time I thought the Lord’s Prayer went as thus:
“Our Father, who art in Heaven, hollow wed be thy name…”
posted by hifidigitalboy on 4-29-2007 at 2:14 pm
My sister always makes fun of me because I was at least in high school before I learned that the words to the Canadian national anthem are “We stand on guard for thee” and not “We stand on God for thee.”
posted by srah on 4-29-2007 at 3:18 pm
I was in a training class at work and I winced whenever the instructor said “pacificly.” He topped that when he meant to say autistic but instead warned us we could not always recognize an accoustic child!
posted by Jeff on 4-29-2007 at 3:57 pm
What about hunger pangs vs. hunger pains?
and bald-faced lie vs. bold-faced lie.
posted by Kevin on 4-29-2007 at 5:10 pm
“like ah rockem’ butterflies, oh weeooooh.”
posted by Andrew on 4-29-2007 at 6:08 pm
When I was a kid my pediatrician asked me if I had any trouble with my “valve movements”…. at least that’s what I heard.
posted by Jack on 4-29-2007 at 6:37 pm
another word is ’spigot’ (people incorrectly say ’spicket’)
posted by Susan on 4-29-2007 at 8:51 pm
one my sister mom and me all had wrong was dirty deeds and the thunder chief instead of dirty deeds done dirt cheap from AC/DC and the one that always makes me laugh is my brother in law thinking it was she will shampoo you down instead of she will push and pull you down from living la vida loca
posted by Adam on 4-30-2007 at 12:56 am
There was an old song from the 50’s that was “Poetry in Motion”, I thought they were saying “Oh A Tree in Motion”.
I also remember a funny story about a young kid, when asked where his dad was, responded by saying he was at his ‘ami’. No one figured out what he meant, until the kid repeated what his dad said: he was going to Miami!
posted by Michele on 4-30-2007 at 3:17 am
There’s a gal in my x-ray tech program who says a lot of these. ‘Pacific-ly’, ‘Lar-nix’ (instead of lar-inks for larynx) and ‘Mammy-o-gram’ for mammogram.
My dad’s got a few (intentional) ones as well: filum for film; chimbley; warsh; craylon. I think he grew up with somone who said these and he exaggerated them when we were kids so we wouldn’t make the same mistakes.
Thanks Dad!
posted by lynnderella on 4-30-2007 at 6:23 am
When I went to college in Boston it took me a while to understand that locals pronounce Khaki as “kah-kee”, not “kack-ee”. Where I worked we wore khaki pants, and a coworker told me he couldn’t find his “kah-kees” this morning, and I asked what he meant, since he was clearly wearing them. He looked at me like I was crazy and said “No, my KAH-KEES. The KEES with which to drive my KAH!” (car keys, a la Boston)
posted by Elizabeth on 4-30-2007 at 7:46 am
“Dirty deeds and they’re done dirt cheap”
Vs.
“Dirty beans and the thunder Jeeps”
also…
“Groove is in the heart”
Vs.
“Rubies in the heart”
posted by Frank S. Besner on 4-30-2007 at 7:54 am
When I was 12, I thought the title of the Beatle song was Got Puppy Love. I finally bought the 45 to Can’t Buy me Love
posted by DebTran on 4-30-2007 at 8:49 am
I think I’ll jam with the light on = big old jet airliner
save the back riser (at a high school sporting event) = paperback writer
life’s a spider dream = life is but a dream
little red corvette = let go of it
My son wondered (rather nonchalantly) what ducklings would taste like after I told him we were having dumplings for dinner.
posted by elizabutt on 4-30-2007 at 9:54 am
My father, up until 3 years ago, thought the chorus of “Ohio” was “Oh Daddy, Ohio” vs “Four dead in Ohio”.
posted by Karen on 4-30-2007 at 10:04 am
I can’t stand to hear people say “cranns” instead of “crayons”.
I confess to saying (back in the early 80’s when it was a new thing) “arabic dance” instead of “aerobic dance”
posted by Karen on 4-30-2007 at 10:56 am
That line in “Suffragette City” should be “The smell of fat chicks just put my spine out of place,” right??
posted by John on 4-30-2007 at 11:10 am
My wife is forever mangling the English language and common used phrases (much to my delight). My favorite was once when I asked her how work was she exclaimed “We fell to the floor and started rolling.” She meant to say “We hit the ground running.” True story. I love her.
posted by Capt Grayson on 4-30-2007 at 12:30 pm
My grandfather had a tendency to mangle the English language, and we still laugh about it. He said “elite” as “e-light”, “tostada” became “tastedo”, and he tried to convince us the ham was Ko-zher.
Just after the last misheard lyrics post, I was in the car with my boyfriend and Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff” was playing. My boyfriend goes “boy, she really wants some pasta.”
posted by Sara on 4-30-2007 at 9:56 pm
I had read this last week but I just got this from my daughter’s school, talking about snopes.com: “Find out if what you are hearing is fact or wise tail.” Her school, mind you. Sigh.
posted by Eileen on 5-1-2007 at 7:03 am
I was 20 years old before i was told that it was “all the young dudes” that “carried the news”, not “all the young jews”!
posted by michelle on 5-1-2007 at 7:56 am
Just to clarify – in ‘Blinded By The Light’ (Manfred Mann, later covered by Bruce Springsteen), the line “revved up like a deuce” refers to a 1932 Chevy – a car that was a favourite vehicle for 50’s hot-rodders due to its light body and relatively large engine compartment. Referred to as a ‘deuce’ because of the last digit in the model year number, you could find many a modified ‘deuce’ on the Main Streets and informal dragstrips back in the hot-rod heyday … light cars with massive V-8’s wedged in that went like stink.
My faves for this category include:
From ‘Angel of the Morning’ – “just brush my teeth before you leave me, angel”
My mother-in-law complaining about men drooling over “laptop dancers” (almost makes sense …)
My mother bragging about her new George Formby grill (Formby was a vaudeville star, as opposed to George Foreman)
posted by Another Flosser on 5-1-2007 at 11:51 am
well mine is somewhat funny, i thought the song “cat scratch fever” was “cat scratch beaver” i was young back then
posted by Mark on 5-1-2007 at 12:41 pm
I have an old friend who always thought the song “Every time you go away, you take a piece of me with you.” went, “every time you go away, you take a piece of MEAT with you.”
posted by Jess on 5-1-2007 at 1:10 pm
As a undergrad at UNC I worked as the night manager of a nondiscript motel. One night during a unseasonably heavy snowstorm, a trucker decided to pull off the highway and stay the night. Shortly after checking in he returned to the lobby to ask where he could, “get some aise?” Shocked at his brazen inquiry, I told him he’d have to fend for himself…I’m just the night manager.
Indignate as he turned to leave, I heard him say, “Why the hell put an aise bucket in the room, if you ain’t got no aise machine?”
I still crack-up.
posted by Mike on 5-1-2007 at 2:29 pm
i think mondegreens have also been called “egg-corns” i guess because the hyphenated term sounds like the word “acorn” an example would be “honing pigeon” warping into the popularly used “homing pigeon” however incorrect the latter may be.
posted by nisa on 5-1-2007 at 11:34 pm
i have a misheard lyrics now
when my brother was younger he used to love to say the prayer about the witch…..
“our father the WITCH in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come…..”
posted by nisa on 5-1-2007 at 11:38 pm
“Rock the Casbah” by the Clash was always “’cause we don’t like it, f–k the cashbar, f–k the cashbar”
“Constant Craving” was “Toast and gravy”
“Almost Paradise” was “All those pairs of dice”
posted by Tony on 5-2-2007 at 9:56 am
I went to the doctors office once and the nurse took me back and asked if i was visiting for specific problems or just my anal exam….well, thankfully to my relief she actually said “annual exam” whoo!
posted by michelle on 5-3-2007 at 12:35 pm
Alanis Morissette – Uninvited
real lyrics –
“Must be strangely exciting
To watch the stoic squirm”
what I heard –
“Must be strangely exciting
To watch the stoic squirrel”
Sorry, I like mine better.
posted by Brian on 5-4-2007 at 1:55 pm
kevin (post #55), i’m shocked and angered that you could even think to say that the line you spouted is from a paltry led zeppelin song when in fact it is from Wish You Were Here by the most talented band of all history: Pink Floyd.
posted by steve on 5-6-2007 at 3:08 pm
My friend used to think the words “Le Freak” where it goes “Freak out!” were “Pretty cow!”
posted by Bethany on 5-9-2007 at 11:27 pm
My great-grandma had a favorite saying but I always thought it was her best friend, Helen Hiwater. Took me forever to figure out she meant Hell and High Water! Duhhh!
posted by Lisa on 5-10-2007 at 11:25 pm
All through Spanish 3, as juniors in high school, my friend Michelle and I would have bet our lives that Guantanamera was really pronounced “One ton tomato, I need a one ton tomato” and everyone knows that Blinded By the Light really says “Wrapped up like a doosh, cause she was running in the night” although, I feel slightly embarrassed singing this when my kids are in the car with me
posted by readinggeek on 5-10-2007 at 11:46 pm
that White Stripes song called “Blue Orchid”
i still swear he says:
you tickle my honkie,
you tickle my honkie, turned him blue
oh, and there’s an oldies tune that still sounds like “sugar-pie, honey-butt…you know that i love you!”
posted by mikey on 5-11-2007 at 11:34 am
I remember an old Paul Harvey one, “Gladly the Cross-eyed Bear”. They use to sing it in church often. He couldn’t figure out who Gladly was but was thankful for a bear in the worship service… a little more animated. When he grew up he realized that it was “Gladly, the Cross I’d Bear”.
posted by Greggy on 5-11-2007 at 4:01 pm
A friend in his late 50’s at the time thought the lyrics in the Salt-N-Pepa song Push It were saying:
“Ah, pussy”
“Pussy real good”.
Sorry, just calling it like he heard it.
posted by TC on 5-15-2007 at 12:16 am
The words to Shania Twain’s “That Don’t Impress Me Much” sounded to me like, “I can’t believe you kiss your cock at night”.
It’s really “I can’t believe you kiss your car good night”!
Also, a friend of mine thought the words to the Christmas hymn said “Gloria…in a Chelsea stable”.
posted by Nan Thomson on 5-27-2007 at 8:44 am
This is actually backwards from the rest. In the song “Love” by Keyshia Cole she sings “I can’t believe you hurted me” … yes she actually sings “hurted”. I always laugh when people sing it as “I can’t believe you’re hurting me…”.
Also, another favorite of mine is Catcher in the Rye. The whole book (well at least Holden’s dreams of the future) are based on an oronym. He wants to protect kids and be the Catcher in the Rye, but sadly he matures when he finds out that the gig is really a “A catcher of the Rye”
posted by S.D. on 5-30-2007 at 10:15 am
i heard, and sung, Nelly Furtado’s “promiscuous girl, you’re teasing me” as “but miss jewish girl you’re teasing me”
oopsies
posted by laurel on 7-9-2007 at 6:44 pm
Remember that old song that goes, “Every time you go away, you take a piece of me with you”? It came out when I was about four, and I used to sing it, “Every time you go away, you take a piece of MEAT with you.” And I always imagined it was about a little girl who always ran away from home, but brought cold cuts with her so that she wouldn’t starve.
posted by Christine on 8-10-2007 at 11:21 am
For the longest time, I thought Gwen Stefani (the Hollaback Girl) was simply telling us that her most beautiful posterior was both slim and shapely with her proclamation she “ain’t no haulin’ back, girl.”
posted by Dave M on 8-12-2007 at 6:22 pm
Drives me crazy to hear someone say, “I could care less.” when what they really mean to say is “I couldn’t care less.”
posted by Sharon on 8-12-2007 at 9:20 pm
When I was a child I thought that “Chevrolet” was “chicken leg.”
posted by Keshia on 8-30-2007 at 1:46 pm
“I shot the sheriff, but I didn’t shoot him dead, you see.”
posted by Kay on 9-6-2007 at 11:57 am
You guys are making me cry! Hilarious! This is a misinterpretation my husband will not let me live down: the Queen lyrics “another one bites the dust-Uh!” I thought it was “another one bites the doctor!” seemed to make sense to me!Poor dentists!–Oh, can someone clear this up for me? my sister-in-law and I always argue over this one: my thought is “nip it in the bud” instead of “nip it in the butt”
posted by rcartwright on 10-18-2007 at 11:44 am