# Blinded by the Light **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 11, 2020, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421 "2020-06-11T01:09:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/1 "2020-06-11T01:09:34Z")
Wrapped up like a douche … gave my anus curly-wurly … etc. You know what I’m talking about. I assert that this goes beyond misheard lyrics and that Manfred Mann deliberately ambiguously pronounced lyrics in order to cause controversy and/or make more money. Do you agree or disagree? Can you name more examples in this particular version of the song by Manfred Mann. Can you name other songs and/or artists in which the same thing happened? I nominate “Just like the one-winged dove.” Remember, I am asking about things that go beyond mere misheard lyrics. I am talking about artists that did it on purpose. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/2 "2020-06-11T01:43:38Z")
He’s definitely making an ‘sh’ sound with ‘deuce’, but I’m not convinced it’s for controversy. Not hearing “gave my anus curly-wurly.” What’s the controversy behind “just like the one-winged dove”? That sounds like a run-of-the-mill misheard lyric to me. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/3 "2020-06-11T01:59:41Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > Wrapped up like a douche … gave my anus curly-wurly … etc. You know what I’m talking about. I assert that this goes beyond misheard lyrics and that Manfred Mann deliberately ambiguously pronounced lyrics in order to cause controversy and/or make more money. Do you agree or disagree? Can you name more examples in this particular version of the song by Manfred Mann. Can you name other songs and/or artists in which the same thing happened? I nominate “Just like the one-winged dove.” Remember, I am asking about things that go beyond mere misheard lyrics. I am talking about artists that did it on purpose. I think it’s simply that Mann didn’t have any idea what Springsteen meant by “a deuce.” ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/4 "2020-06-11T02:32:35Z")
^ He changed “cut loose like a deuce” to “revved up like a deuce” so I’m sure he knows what was meant. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/5 "2020-06-11T02:49:24Z")
In Blinded by the Light I think the lyric is supposed to be “Little Hurly Burly came by in his curly-wurly” but that is definitely not what Manfred Mann says. I was confused for years by the Beastie Boys “So What’cha Want”. There’s a line right at the beginning of the song about “eating crazy cheese like you know I’m from Paris” but my ears always hear it as “a (n-word) from Paris”. I don’t think that one is intentional though, the Beastie Boys are not racists. ELO is known to sometimes intentionally throw in the mondegreen “Bruce!” in live performances of “Don’t Bring Me Down”. Along the same lines CCR will sometimes let you know that “there’s a bathroom on the right”. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/6 "2020-06-11T03:15:39Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > In Blinded by the Light I think the lyric is supposed to be “Little Hurly Burly came by in his curly-wurly” but that is definitely not what Manfred Mann says. The line is “and little Early-Pearly came by in his curly-wurly.” Bruce sang the same line but with “her” instead of “his.” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/7 "2020-06-11T03:18:29Z")
I swear in “Secret Agent Man” in few of the verses, the “j” sound simply comes out as a “zh” sound, so it sounds like “Secret Asian Man.” First time 'round the chorus, I hear “Agent man” both times it is sung. After the second verse, when the second chorus comes around, I swear it’s “Asian man.” I don’t know if it’s on purpose, or just slurring, or maybe I’m just hearing things. I agree with the Manfred Mann–I know officially the lyrics are “revved up like a deuce” but who in the hell butchers it to sound like “revved up like a douch.” Who turns “s” into “sh”? There’s no way he’s singing “deuce” there. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/8 "2020-06-11T03:26:15Z")
“Fuck the Casbah”. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/9 "2020-06-11T13:15:20Z")
I don’t know if it was intentional or not on the part of the Kingsmen, but the lyrics in their version of “Louie Louie” were sung so incomprehensibly that the song became infamous for supposedly having “smutty” lyrics. You had to play the 45 rpm single at 33 rpm to hear the dirty words. The FBI even investigated the song! It would probably be another forgotten song of the early 60s if not for that rumor. > **[Are the Lyrics to 'Louie, Louie' Obscene?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/louie-louie/)** > > Rumor: The lyrics to the song 'Louie, Louie' are really obscene. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/10 "2020-06-11T14:33:56Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I don’t know if it was intentional or not on the part of the Kingsmen, but the lyrics in their version of “Louie Louie” were sung so incomprehensibly that the song became infamous for supposedly having “smutty” lyrics. You had to play the 45 rpm single at 33 rpm to hear the dirty words. The FBI even investigated the song! It would probably be another forgotten song of the early 60s if not for that rumor. > > [Are the Lyrics to 'Louie, Louie' Obscene? | Snopes.com](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/louie-louie/) Funny enough, there is an actual “fuck” in the song that I believe the drummer yells out when he drops a stick or something, and in all the investigating, the FBI missed it. Let me look this up. OK, apparently he clacked his sticks together or something and yelled out “fuck.” [here’s the part](https://youtu.be/wx-8_GI4d2c?t=53). It is hard to make out, though. I don’t have the book, but apparently this was admitted to by the drummer, Lynn Easton, in an interview with writer Dave Marsh. I did find the [Google Books](https://books.google.com/books?id=BEY_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA97&lpg=PA97&dq=%22lynn+easton%22+fuck+-sex&source=bl&ots=q9Rdpw2-Ee&sig=ACfU3U0t9jhcVW2kfXqmQSDQnd7hck8FCg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj-wYPp_PnpAhWSTDABHV8aCe8Q6AEwAHoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22lynn%20easton%22%20fuck%20-sex&f=false) reference to it from the book: > [@](#): > > Just before the vocal came back in, Lynn Easton clacked his sticks together and cussed, “Fuck!” Although Lynn was off-mike, he said it loud enough to register slightly on the tape, and he never quite recovered the beat, stuttering and stumbling throughout the rest of the take. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/11 "2020-06-11T14:41:20Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Funny enough, there is an actual “fuck” in the song that I believe the drummer yells out when he drops a stick or something, and in all the investigating, the FBI missed it. Let me look this up. > > OK, apparently he clacked his sticks together or something and yelled out “fuck.” [here’s the part](https://youtu.be/wx-8_GI4d2c?t=53). It is hard to make out, though. I don’t have the book, but apparently this was admitted to by the drummer, Lynn Easton, in an interview with writer Dave Marsh. I did find the [Google Books](https://books.google.com/books?id=BEY_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA97&lpg=PA97&dq=%22lynn+easton%22+fuck+-sex&source=bl&ots=q9Rdpw2-Ee&sig=ACfU3U0t9jhcVW2kfXqmQSDQnd7hck8FCg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj-wYPp_PnpAhWSTDABHV8aCe8Q6AEwAHoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22lynn%20easton%22%20fuck%20-sex&f=false) reference to it from the book: Oh, yeah, you can definitely hear the drummer yell out something, but it’s pretty impossible to tell whether it’s “fuck” or not. I get the impression that a lot of alcohol was involved in that session. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/12 "2020-06-11T14:43:59Z")
Back in the 1970s, Three Dog Night had a hit called, “The Show Must Go On.” To me, the song suggests that the life of a performer is difficult but they have to get past that because an audience is waiting to be entertained. I didn’t know at the time was that Leo Sayer actually wrote it but here he is, performing it in a Pierrot outfit. Wikipedia says: > [@](#): > > In Sayer’s version, the last line of the chorus is “I won’t let the show go on”. Three Dog Night sang it as “I must let the show go on”, which Sayer was reportedly not happy about.[citation needed] > **[The Show Must Go On (Leo Sayer song)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Show_Must_Go_On_(Leo_Sayer_song))** > > "The Show Must Go On" is a song co-written by Leo Sayer and David Courtney and first recorded by Sayer. It was released in the United Kingdom in 1973, becoming Sayer's first hit record (reaching its chart peak of #2 in early 1974 in the UK). The song reached #3 on the Irish Singles Chart in January 1974, and was included on Sayer's debut album Silverbird. > The song was covered by Three Dog Night, whose version was released in 1974, becoming a hit in the United States, peaking at #4 on the Billb... Three Dog Night’s version makes more sense to me. What’s Leo Saying? He won’t pretend to be ok with his situation? He’s going to refuse to take the stage? He’s going to demand better treatment? I don’t know. Full lyrics here: [Leo Sayer – The Show Must Go On Lyrics | Genius Lyrics](https://genius.com/Leo-sayer-the-show-must-go-on-lyrics) OP refers to “wrapped up like a douche” and as the above illustrates Manfred Mann may have done a Three Dog Night. Listening today, I hear “wrapped up like a deuce.” If I listen more carefully I can get “revved” out of it. Did anybody buy a Manfred Mann album (and did it have lyrics in the liner notes)? I’ve never listened to Springsteen’s version but Wikipedia says: > [@](#): > > According to Springsteen, he wrote the song by going through a rhyming dictionary in search of appropriate words. The first line of the song, “Madman drummers, bummers, and Indians in the summers with a teenage diplomat” is autobiographical—“Madman drummers” is a reference to drummer Vini Lopez, known as “Mad Man” (later changed to “Mad Dog”); “Indians in the summer” refers to the name of Springsteen’s old Little League team; “teenage diplomat” refers to himself.[1] The remainder of the song tells of many unrelated events, with the refrain of “Blinded by the light, cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night”. > **[Blinded by the Light](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blinded_by_the_Light)** > > Side one > Side two > "Blinded by the Light" is a song written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen, which first appeared on his 1973 debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. A cover by British rock band Manfred Mann's Earth Band reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in February 1977 and was also a top ten hit in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/13 "2020-06-11T17:22:43Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > … gave my anus curly-wurly … This is the first I’ve ever heard of this, and I must admit, I’m intrigued! 😃 Are there instructions on-line somewhere? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/14 "2020-06-11T17:42:38Z")
Did people forget, the lyrics are RIGHT ON THE BACK of the album? Even in 1976, there never was a mystery to the lyrics. Even if you think the singer is (deliberately?) slurring or messing up the lyrics, the true ones are right on the back. And I have always heard “deuce”. Just like it says. I can parody with the best. I have rude versions of a lot of hits. But BBtL is what it is. Now, I truly believe Hendrix was always singing “Excuse me while I kiss this guy.” That’s why he needs to be excused. He was a rebel. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/15 "2020-06-11T17:42:49Z")
Excuse me while I kiss this guy. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/16 "2020-06-11T17:48:06Z")
There’s a bathroom on the right. ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/17 "2020-06-11T17:51:41Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Did people forget, the lyrics are RIGHT ON THE BACK of the album? Even in 1976, there never was a mystery to the lyrics. Even if you think the singer is (deliberately?) slurring or messing up the lyrics, the true ones are right on the back. … Are the “true” lyrics what is printed on the album cover or what is actually recorded? I just realized that many young people today might ask, “What is an album cover?”. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/18 "2020-06-11T17:57:45Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > Are the “true” lyrics what is printed on the album cover or what is actually recorded? > > I just realized that many young people today might ask, “What is an album cover?”. Yes, you are correct. There have been errors, typos, early versions of lyrics on albums covers. I think Floyd’s The Wall has the entire lyrics to a song that never made it on the album. Confused the heck out of me. Thought it might be a hidden track, like Train in Vain. But “douche” vs “deuce” doesn’t even make sense. Do women rev up their douches? And do they run in the night? Is “anus curly whirly” even a real thing? ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/19 "2020-06-11T18:00:59Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Y … But “douche” vs “deuce” doesn’t even make sense. Do women rev up their douches? And do they run in the night? … Is “anus curly whirly” even a real thing? None of those things make any sense whatsoever! ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421/20 "2020-06-11T18:26:32Z")
The song Magic by The Cars has different lyrics on the album sleeve. The song has: I see you under the midnight All shackles and bows The high shoes with the cleats a-clickin’ A temperamental glow The album sleeve has: I see you under the midnight All shackles and bows How far will you take it Well no one knows [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blinded-by-the-light/855421.md?page=2)