Mondegreens: Stop the Cat Box?

[shaveice]

everyone's misheard lyrics and i just thought i'd ask which lyrics you misheard. the song i always remember is CCR's down on the corner. it goes

Down on the corner, out in the street
Willy and the Poorboys are playin'
Bring a nickel; tap your feet

but i swear i heard

Down on the corner, haoles in the street...

of course, there's the fairly wellknown site
http://www.kissthisguy.com/

in case you wanna see what others have heard....

[Menehune Man]

Wrapped up like a "duece" in the middle of the night. Lyrical line from a song that I definitely misheard. :eek:

[shaveice]

yeah, that song is probably the MOST misheard song ever!

http://manfred-manns-earth-band.lyrics-songs.com/lyrics/24218/

i don't know if you're right and they're wrong or vice versa. they have it thus:

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

whatever the case may be, i have some clothes to douch!

[cezanne]

When I was five or so, my older sisters had the 45 of the Beatles "Ticket to Ride". Me and my friends would sing "She's gotta chicken to ride, she's gotta chicken to rah- ah- ide..." for days walking home from school. We thought it was the coolest song.

[kimo55]

Some wahine I had a crush on back late 60's early 70's or so, Leila Clifton used to sing;

"Christmas is over, over and over..."

We asked her who sang that and she said:
Tommy James and the Shondells...
then we knew which song she meant...

[Moto]

How about England Dan and John Ford Coley's I really like to see you tonight,
I always thought the line was "I'm not talking about millenium" instead of "I'm not talking about moving in"

[alohabear]

I knew a guy in high school who thought Men At Work's "It's a mistake" was "Midsummer's Day" and Billy Squire's "Stroke me Stroke me" was "Strong man Strong man"! :D

[Glen Miyashiro]

Our love is like a ship on the ocean
Spinning in a tidal pool of love and devotion...

What, you mean that's not it? :p

[cezanne]

"And you come to me on a submarine..." How Deep Is Your Love-- BeeGees ... supposed to be "and you come to me on a summer breeze" (I think) ... but it used to bug the crap out of the disco geeks in highschool when I would "ruin" the song.

[Glen Miyashiro]

Yes it was ninety-six degrees in the shade
Ten thousand soldiers on parade
Drinking iodine to see the sour wine
Sent from overseas the Queen and I

:p

[cezanne]

Anyone see the end of Bad Boys 2? The two are cruising in the pool singing the too familiar "Bad Boys, Bad Boys, whacha gonna do?..." etc. Then Martin Lawrence sings the main verse all messed up... that cracked me up because that's how I sing that part too. :D

[MadAzza]

I thought Bachman Turner Overdrive's "Takin' Care of Business" was "Take a Caribbean Trip." But only for about six years.

[melorama]

When I was a kid, I thought that when the Clash were singing "Rock the Casbah", they were saying "Rock the Cat-box."

Another one that immediately comes to mind is Van Halen's "Panama." For some stupid reason, I always thought they were singing "Twenty-One" during the chorus, instead of "Pa-na-ma!"

I guess that even way back then, I must have thought local radio DJ's to be so inane that I didn't even pay attention to them when they'd blabber off the songs that they just played!

[toeknee]

Another Credence song:
My hubby sings "There's a bathroom on the right" instead of "There's a bad moon on the rise."

[MadAzza]

How about England Dan and John Ford Coley's I really like to see you tonight,
I always thought the line was "I'm not talking about millenium" instead of "I'm not talking about moving in"

I thought it was "I'm not talking about a living." Like he wants to live off his girlfriend instead of making a living, I guess?

I've got a million of these!

[kimo55]

"I'm not talking bout Bolivia and I don't wanna cage yer mind..."

[toeknee]

Elton's Bennie and the Jets had me giggling with my own version: "She's got electric boobs, a mohair suit.....
(Should be electric boots.) Hope I can say that "b" word on H.T. :rolleyes:

Bolivia? That's pretty funny. You come to me on a submarine. That's a good one, too. Heck, they're all hilarious. I love this thread.

[Moto]

Bread's "Make it with you". I used to think that the end of the first verse went:

"And if you're wondering what this song is leading to" instead of "And if you're wondering what this all is leading to"

[cezanne]

So for 20+ years until yesterday, my wife's been singing "The clock's a hazard in the classroom..." instead of
"No dark sarcasm in the classroom..." --Pink Floyd, Another Brick in the Wall. :D

[pzarquon]

"...life could be ecstasy, you and me and Leslie..."

Ooh, kinky!

Funny thing is, ever since I sang it this way in front of my wife, she can't stop hearing it that way.

[tiptoetulip]

For the longest time, this is what I heard for "Secret Agent Man":

There's a man who leads a life of danger.
To everyone he meets he stays a stranger
With every move he makes,
Another chance he takes.
Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow.

Secret ASIAN Man.
Secret ASIAN Man.
They've given you a number.
And taken away your name.

I had to laugh when I finally learned the lyrics. :p And I was totally picturing this Asian spy dude!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A former co-worker of mine used to like the song "Windy"...but would say "Wendy" all the time. He was like, "Hellllooooo, it's a girl!" and I'd tell him, "HELLOOOOO, listen to the lyrics! :

Who's tripping down the streets of the city
Smilin' at everybody she sees
Who's reachin' out to capture a moment
Everyone knows it's Windy

And Windy has stor-my eyes
That flash at the sound of lies
And Windy has wings to fly
Above the clouds (above the clouds)
Above the clouds (above the clouds)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

And a more recent "wax in da ears" for me, was Gwen Stefani's "Cool." My husband was saying he liked the song and when it was on the radio, he was like, "that's it! that's the song!" and I was like, "THAT'S what she's saying??...'I know we're cool'...?" So then he asks, "what did you THINK she was saying??" I told him, "I dunno...I couldn't get it!! I kept hearing things like, "I know wecull"...!!" I felt like a total lame-o not knowing what she was saying for weeks on end. But the goofy, fun-natured side of me just let out a big 'ole LAUGH! HAHAHAHAHA! :D

[Moto]

I also had to listen twice when I first heard Wild Cherry's line "Play that funky music, white boy". You all can guess what I thought I heard.

[sinjin]

My wife and stepson argued with me over Moby's lyric swearing it was, "I have to praise you like a shoe."

[shaveice]

it's laughable but i continue to discover that i was so wrong when it comes to the lyrics of some songs that i've been humming for ages. the latest...

eric burton and the animal's san franciscan nights

...old cop young cop feel alright
on a warm San Franciscan night
the children are cool
they don't raise fools

but i thought they said

the kids are cool
they don't play pool!

:::::::::::::::::::::::

from herman's hermits

Mrs. Brown, you've got a lovely daughter
Girls as sharp as her are somethin' rare
But it's sad, she doesn't love me now
She's made it clear enough it ain't no good to pine

but i thought he said "...it ain't no good to whine!"

[Pomai]

"Sherrie, she don't like it... stop the cat box! stop the cat box!"

That IS the lyrics, right? Not.

There was a commercial recently (I can't remember by whom) that touched on the topic of making up lyrics while singing to popular radio tunes. Obviously the song is ROCK THE CASBAH by THE CLASH.

Surely we've all sung to songs on the radio that's had us lyrically-stumped. At least I definately have!

Take for instance, Tom Sawyer by RUSH. The correct opening lyrics are:
A modern-day warrior
Mean mean stride,
Today's Tom Sawyer
Mean mean pride.

(what does that mean, anyway?) lol

Though out-of-the-know, one might interpret and sing along as:
Monday warrior
mean mean strive
today Tom Sawyer
mean mean pry

AC/DC's Brian Johnson is certainly one of the hardest vocalists to understand, lyrics-wise. Almost every verse sounds like one, entirely integrated word...

Backinblack
Ihitthesack
beentoolong
I'mgladtobeback
youknowI'm...

:eek:

What songs' lyrics have thrown you off? Please share your "take" on it! :D

Sit next to someone singing along with (iPod) headphones on. That's the funniest!

[Hellbent]

I knew this girl in the 90's who thought an MC Hammer song was "Turn This Meat Out"

[Pomai]

Sorry 'bout that Admin. Didn't know this subject already existed here, nor would I have known what keyword to search for it. :o

[Pomai]

I knew this girl in the 90's who thought an MC Hammer song was "Turn This Meat Out"Hard to imagine how "mutha" (mother) can sound like "meat". Interesting twist though.

[anapuni808]

in the Rolling Stones' "Beast of Burden", I could swear Mick Jagger says he can "suck a duck". Classic case for me was Whoopi Goldberg in her movie "Jumping Jack Flash" trying to figure out the lyrics of said song while getting stoned, dancing around her living room in a ratty old robe & big huge slippers. Very funny scene

[Bard]

I had a friend who would purposefully sing lyrics wrong to get it stuck in another friend of mine's head. Almost always worked..

"Maaaan I got the runs... Maaan I got the runs." ("Man on the Run")

Another good one, from the 80s: "I'm your Venus.. I'm your fire, your desire" He sing a 'P' instead of a 'V'. To this day I can't listen to that song without hearing it his way. :D

[MadAzza]

I had a friend who would purposefully sing lyrics wrong to get it stuck in another friend of mine's head. Almost always worked..

"Maaaan I got the runs... Maaan I got the runs." ("Man on the Run")


Do you mean "Band on the Run" by PM&W, or is that a different song?[/QUOTE]


Another good one, from the 80s: "I'm your Venus.. I'm your fire, your desire"

It's "at your desire," but I used to think it was "joy, desire," which still sort of makes sense, doesn't it?

ETA: OMG ... I was just goofing around on KissThisGuy.com, and found out I have had the lyrics to a popular Doors song wrong for almost 40 years. Aaaaagh!

Not only that, but a few months ago I actually *corrected* someone else who had the lyrics wrong, and now that person thinks the lyrics are the wrong ones I gave him!

Edited again: OK, I did some research, and the way Morrison sings the lyric on the album does match what I thought he sang, but their record label made them change the liner notes so the lyric doesn't make a drug reference. So if you look up the lyrics online, the first line of "L.A. Woman" is wrong. He does, in fact, sing "Well, I did a little down(er) about an hour ago."

This begs the question ... why would the label want to change only that lyric? Did they not know about all the Doors' other lyrics? Jeez ...

[craigwatanabe]

I hate it when this site logs you off in the middle of posting and you lose everything you just wrote:mad:

Anyway, Steve Miller had a radio edited version of Jet Airliner that replaced this line: the funky shit going down in the city, with the funky ship going down in the city.

Another song, Abracadabra was this verse:

I see magic in your eyes
I hear the magic in your sighs
Just when I think Im gonna get away
I hear those words that you always say

I always thought he was saying: I hear the magic in your thighs.

[Bard]

Do you mean "Band on the Run" by PM&W, or is that a different song?

Mmm... maybe so. Maybe my post was more on-topic than I thought. :) I know the original song sounded like "man on the run" so maybe it was "band" instead.

[LikaNui]

I know the original song sounded like "man on the run" so maybe it was "band" instead. You must be pretty young, brah. :p
I first realized that I was getting old when a girl asked me "Wasn't Paul McCartney in some band before Wings?" :eek:

[GeckoGeek]

Mmm... maybe so. Maybe my post was more on-topic than I thought. :) I know the original song sounded like "man on the run" so maybe it was "band" instead.

Yeah, I used to have that wrong too. "Man on the run" seems to make more sense then "band", but that's not what they said.

[Bard]

You must be pretty young, brah. :p

Guess it depends on your perspective. :) Some music it just seems like I never heard until recently, inexplicably. I'm, err.. moderately young :) but even I've had my "get off my lawn" moments when nieces, nephews, and such, had never heard of some famous 60s, 70s, and 80s music.

[speedtek]

Being a DJ back in the 80's I always had to explain why I played Erotic City by Prince.....

This is the official lyrics:

Erotic City come alive.
We can FUNK until the dawn.
Making love 'til cherry's gone.


go figure....

[Leo Lakio]

Being a DJ back in the 80's I always had to explain why I played Erotic City by Prince....."Official" lyrics, indeed. Perhaps Hawaiian songs are not the only ones with kaona?;)

It's a challenge to us sometimes when we are picking songs for a business' program; even if we know/can prove what a lyric actually is, we have to be concerned with what it will sound like to a less-trained ear.