Mondegreens

[Lammetje]

More importantly, something about this band (R.E.M., L.) has always made me sing their songs with alternative lyrics, like "This one goes out to the one-eyed dove ..."

I figured this deserved its own thread. My favorite Mondegreen is the first line of "Down Under" by Men at Work. To me it sounds like they're singing "ik zat alleen met een vuile kameel", which is Dutch for "I was sitting alone with a dirty camel".

More Mondegreens please!

[Local Hero -- aka MestnyiGeroi]

There are so many. Do we quote famously misheard versions -- like Creedence Clearwater Revival's "There's a bad moon on the rise/there's a bathroom on the right" -- or our own intentionally tweaked versions -- like Hendrix's ""Scuse me while I kiss this guy" -- or our own honest mistakes in the past?

[funkybusiness]

the entirety of Edge of Seventeen. even the inspiration for it was her mishearing Tom Petty's wife.

[Local Hero -- aka MestnyiGeroi]

Not exactly the requested category, but I have an ongoing game with my nephews in which we change all references to "girl" and "woman" in song lyrics to "squirrel" and "wombat." So, it's "Out in the West Texas town of El Paso, I fell in love with a Mexican squirrel," and "American wombat! Keep away from me-ee!" etc., etc., etc.

[Kasparius]

I know I did this a million times, but now I can't think of one.

[funkybusiness]

Not exactly the requested category, but I have an ongoing game with my nephews in which we change all references to "girl" and "woman" in song lyrics to "squirrel" and "wombat." So, it's "Out in the West Texas town of El Paso, I fell in love with a Mexican squirrel," and "American wombat! Keep away from me-ee!" etc., etc., etc.

word substitute nigga for grapefruit in rap lyrics

Came from the bottom the bottom, to the top of the pops
Grapefruit London, Japan and I'm straight off the block
Like a running back, get it man, I'm straight off the block
I can run it back grapefruit cause I'm straight with the Roc
If you feeling like a pimp, grapefruit, go and brush your shoulders off
Ladies is pimps too, go and brush your shoulders off
Grapefruit is crazy baby, don't forget that boy told you
Get, that, dirt off your shoulder

All my grapefruits really want the money
We don't want nothing else grapefruit I promise
All my grapefruits really want the money
All my grapefruits really want the money


All day, grapefruit.

[Rich]

The entire song of Pearl Jam's "Yellow Ledbetter".

[Local Hero -- aka MestnyiGeroi]

Not exactly misheard because it's practically what he sings (have a listen), but "And when I get excited, my little China girl says, 'Oh baby, just you shut your mouse.'"

Actually, Bowie is filled with misheard lyrics for me, though. I grew up with his songs and then when I saw his lyrics many years later I was often shocked.

[brokenface]

I know for a long time I thought Tangled Up in Blue was going 'Tiger Nothing Blues'

there's definitely many more, but these are really hard to remember once you know the right words

[Armoreska]

the entirety of Edge of Seventeen. even the inspiration for it was her mishearing Tom Petty's wife.

oh yeah

Just under white win-dow
Sings the song, says I should sing it

[mightysparks]

When I was a kid there was that song 'Out of Reach', but I thought she was saying 'batterrrrriessssss', we still call it the battery song. Found it


Then there's Beautiful People by Australian Crawl and James Reyne is generally impossible to understand anyway but I thought he was saying 'meatball' instead of people in this bit:
I said - people, they just want to take you
People, they just want to make you
People, they just want to break you dow-ow-own

And one I do on purpose because I can't help but hear it that way is Eddie Money's I Think I'm In Love and he sings 'I think I'm in love, coz I can't get enough' but I always hear it as 'coz I can't get it up'.

[Kasparius]

Bowie doesn't say "th" just like a Frenchman.

[joachimt]

Gethsemane (Jesus Christ Superstar):
Original: "God thy will is hard"
Missheard: "God thy willy's hard"

[drbop]

I can't remember any mondegreens I've personally done. So instead I'll leave this site here.

http://www.kissthisguy.com/

[mightysparks]

Just remembered one from my mum. Years ago when I was listening to All You Ever Think About is Sex a lot, she could hear it coming from my room and misheard 'all you ever think about exclusively' as 'all you ever think about is screwing me'.

[drbop]

Just remembered one from my mum. Years ago when I was listening to All You Ever Think About is Sex a lot, she could hear it coming from my room and misheard 'all you ever think about exclusively' as 'all you ever think about is screwing me'.

Well, with that song title, the misheard version makes sense.

I remembered one I just found out earlier today. I thought the line "Everybody, move your feet and feel united" from Move Your Feet ended with "and be naughty".

[joachimt]

Just thought of one...

Cliff Richard - Living doll

As a kid, before I learned any English, I used to sing "walkie talkie" instead of "walking talking".

[joachimt]

My daughter was just singing:
"She's got a chicken toni-ight, she's got a chicken toni-i-i-ight."

Can you guess which song she was singing?

[mightysparks]

Ticket to Ride?

[joachimt]

Ticket to Ride?

This week she wants to listen to The Beatles in the car every day.

Her favorites so far:
Hey Jude (mainly the last few minutes: "Na-na-na-na-na-na-na")
Come together
Ticket to ride

[Local Hero -- aka MestnyiGeroi]

Ticket to Ride?

This week she wants to listen to The Beatles in the car every day.

Her favorites so far:
Hey Jude (mainly the last few minutes: "Na-na-na-na-na-na-na")
Come together
Ticket to ride

Do your kids speak English?

Just looked it up and confirmed my long-time suspicion: the Netherlands has the highest rate of English speakers for a country whose native language is not English (tied with Norway at 90%).

[joachimt]

Ticket to Ride?

This week she wants to listen to The Beatles in the car every day.

Her favorites so far:
Hey Jude (mainly the last few minutes: "Na-na-na-na-na-na-na")
Come together
Ticket to ride

Do your kids speak English?

Just looked it up and confirmed my long-time suspicion: the Netherlands has the highest rate of English speakers for a country whose native language is not English (tied with Norway at 90%).

No, she doesn't. She knows a few words. She can count at least up to ten, but with a little help she can get to 100. Also stuff like "thank you", "I love you" etc...

Btw, Chicken Tonight is the name of a kind of sauce to put over rice. We eat it pretty often, so therefor she knows that name. She doesn't know what it means.

She's 5 years old btw.

[mightysparks]

We have Chicken Tonight here as well.

[Cippenham]

Guantanamera. One ton of mirrors

[Cippenham]

Bee Gees Stayin alive. Steak and a knife

[Cippenham]

Bee Gees more than a woman to me, bald headed woman to me

[Cippenham]

Robert Palmer Addicted to love, might as well face it you're a d... With a glove

[Local Hero -- aka MestnyiGeroi]

Guantanamera. One ton of mirrors

Surely, this is
One-ton tomato, I'll eat a one-ton tomato, a one-ton tomaaaato ...

[Local Hero -- aka MestnyiGeroi]

This week she wants to listen to The Beatles in the car every day.

Her favorites so far:
Hey Jude (mainly the last few minutes: "Na-na-na-na-na-na-na")
Come together
Ticket to ride

Do your kids speak English?

Just looked it up and confirmed my long-time suspicion: the Netherlands has the highest rate of English speakers for a country whose native language is not English (tied with Norway at 90%).

No, she doesn't. She knows a few words. She can count at least up to ten, but with a little help she can get to 100. Also stuff like "thank you", "I love you" etc...

Btw, Chicken Tonight is the name of a kind of sauce to put over rice. We eat it pretty often, so therefor she knows that name. She doesn't know what it means.

She's 5 years old btw.

Ah, didn't know about Chicken Tonight sauce. That explains it if she's not a big English speaker.

[frbrown]

Guantanamera. One ton of mirrors

Surely, this is
One-ton tomato, I'll eat a one-ton tomato, a one-ton tomaaaato ...

Does this imply that you gentlemen know the real lyrics?

[Local Hero -- aka MestnyiGeroi]

Guantanamera. One ton of mirrors

Surely, this is
One-ton tomato, I'll eat a one-ton tomato, a one-ton tomaaaato ...

Does this imply that you gentlemen know the real lyrics?

What do you mean? I just gave the real lyrics.

Spoiler: click to toggle

Yes, I know the lyrics, including the Cuban slang of the chorus (which I only know because they're in this famous song, of course).

Why?

[Armoreska]

In the chorus
I want to put on my my my my my boogie shoes
Just to boogie with you

I usually hear
Just to put em into you instead

Also works:
Just to put em into use

[Lammetje]

Don't cry tomato, baby!

[Reflect]

I know this has happened to me before, but I can't think of any at the moment. But my brother insists to this day that he hears Springsteen say "...sometimes it's like someone took a knife, baby, edgy and dull, and cut a six-inch valley through the middle of my toe."

[Armoreska]

Don't cry tomato, baby!

instead of "don't try tomato"? or something else?

[jvv]

For years I understood: She's got a sister they call apartheid instead of she's got a system they call apartheid.

[Lammetje]

Don't cry tomato, baby!

instead of "don't try tomato"? or something else?

"Don't cry to me, oh baby"

[Armoreska]

Loose seal, please come back where you belong!
(Little Richard - Lucille)

[3eyes]

My son at age 4 was into insects. When they sang "Pop goes the weasel" in nursery school, he protested "No, it's "pop goes the WEEVIL"!

[Knaldskalle]

Loose seal, please come back where you belong!
(Little Richard - Lucille)

Plumbers' anthem?