General Question

gimmedat's avatar

What is your favorite misunderstood lyric?

Asked by gimmedat (3951points) April 17th, 2008 from iPhone

My nephew was singing, “Goodnight sweet hardware…” instead of, “Goodnight sweetheart.” He really thought the guy loved his tools! Another one I love is, “Wasting away again in my gorilla suit,” as opposed to the real lyric, “Wasting away again in Margaritaville.” Any other good misunderstood lyrics?

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25 Answers

Babo's avatar

That Steve Miller song, “Jet Airliner”. For YEARS I thought it was, “Big ‘ol Jed had a light on…”!!!

buster's avatar

Blinded by the light wrapped up like a douche a penguin in the night.

loser's avatar

there’s a bathroom on the right!

srmorgan's avatar

the girl with colitis goes by
SRM

peedub's avatar

“Deuce” versus “douche” in Manfred Mann’s version of Blinded by the light.

gimmedat's avatar

How about Jimi Hendrix singing, “Excuse my while I kiss this guy.”

Seesul's avatar

One ton tomato. Oh she’s a one ton toe MAY toe.

tupara's avatar

useless fact of the day : the word for the misinterpretation of a lyric is ‘mondegreen’. It was coined by writer Sylvia Wright in 1954 after she misheard a line in the ballad, ‘The Bonny Earl o’ Murray’; she interpreted “and laid him on the green” as “and lady Mondegreen”.

b's avatar

Just about any lyric from CCR.

peedub's avatar

I really hate how the HIre’s root beer commercial eternally ruined this great Otis Redding song.

For the longest time I actually thought the song went: “I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay, drinkin’ Hires.”

SuperMouse's avatar

wasting away in my gorilla suit.

goldilocks's avatar

“just like the white winged dove” from the edge of seventeen by stevie nicks. For years I thought she was saying “just like the wide window” and it didn’t make any sense! Haha

peedub's avatar

haha- I thought “white wingggaaaa”

JMCSD's avatar

well, funny thing is a friend of mine thought that blue by eiffel 65 was “I’m blue and I’m in need of a guy, and I’m in need..” rather then “I’m blue a badee ba de dah…” another funny thing was his father was homosexual and now I can’t help but be reminded of that when I hear it.

ezraglenn's avatar

lock the cash box/rock the casbah

wildflower's avatar

Billy Jean: “The chair is not my son”
And a large part of Bohemian Rhapsody that I thought were just sounds, not words…
Learning lyrics before you know the language can be tricky!!

breedmitch's avatar

I had a friend in college that mistook “There’s a balm in Gilead” for “There’s a bumbling idiot”.

wildflower's avatar

And now I’m more awake I remember how I used to think Bohemian Rhapsody goes:
“he’s just a poor boy, from a poor family, swearing his life from his warm sausageee…...easy come, easy go, will you let me go…..be-spil-a-no, we will not let you go”
.......yes, I found English to be a very strange language at first!

Babo's avatar

Oh yeah, “Rock the cat box!”

figbash's avatar

I used to think it was “It’s cold and I’m freezing” as opposed to “More than a Feeling” – in that Boston song.

Seesul's avatar

@Babo. Wonderful! Rock the cat box with a one ton tomato.

freerangemonkey's avatar

SMB: “cause i speak of the pompatus of love.”

WTF is pompatus?

ezraglenn's avatar

help miranda/help me rhonda
beach boys.

waterskier2007's avatar

@figbash, that is an amazing song, just as boston is an amazing band

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