# Favorite misheard song lyrics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 24, 2014, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066 "2014-02-24T03:58:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2018, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/121 "2018-03-01T17:18:08Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > Arthur Conley did a “tribute song” called _Sweet Soul Music_ in which he calls out famous R&B singers with “Spotlight on . . .” The singers are Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, James Brown . . . and for many years, I thought, Sammy Davis. > > Which seemed odd. Sammy didn’t belong with the others. He was better known for show tunes and lighter fare. > > But what the heck, I thought. I don’t know his entire _ouevre_. No doubt he dabbled in soul. > > Finally, after about 30 years, it hit me . . . the reference was not to Sammy Davis, but to Sam & Dave, performers of _Soul Man_ and _Hold On, I’m Coming_. Sorry, Sammy–no spotlight for you! Sammy Davis made sense to me in context: _Spotlight on Sam and Dave, ya’ll Oh, don’t they look great y’all?_ Sammy Davis was a pretty sharp dresser, after all, and it wasn’t like you could really hear on the AM radio back in the day that it was ‘they’ and not ‘he’. > [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > When the song was new, I heard that last line as “And when he goes into a dance, the devil’s on the loose.” When it was new? Nuts to that - I thought it was “the devil’s on the loose” from when it was new until I read this just now in this thread. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/122 "2018-03-01T17:52:07Z")
> [@Labdad](#): > > From “Groovin’” by the Rascals: > > “Life would be ecstasy, you and me and Leslie!” > > Who the hell is Leslie, and why does he/she belong in the mix? Is it the girl’s kid? > > (It’s you and me endlessly, btw :smack: ) I had no problems understanding this song, but I like the alternative version. Life would be ecstasy, if you and me and Leslie could have a three-way! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/123 "2018-09-13T14:31:13Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I’m usually really good at determining the real lyrics to songs, but one that caught me for years was Rush’s _Limelight_. > > Living in the fish islands > Caught in the camera eye > I have no heart to lie > It’s _Living in a fish eye lens_. Yep, I did the fish islands thing too. After Stevie sings “and the stillness of a memory of what you had” it sounds like her backing vocals are saying “long, beak”. (FM’s _Dreams_) I always heard the Bee Gee’s _More Than a Woman_ as _One Handed Woman_. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/124 "2018-09-14T14:51:17Z")
Concerning the Irish song “Kelly the Boy from Killan”, about the abortive rebellion against British rule in 1798. When long ago, I first heard this one (sung in broad Irish accents, which didn’t aid comprehension) one couplet particularly baffled me: “And the bold sun of freedom grew darkened at Ross, And it set by the Slaney’s red waves”. It refers to a crushing defeat inflicted on the rebels at the town of Ross, or New Ross, in south-east Ireland, set on the River Slaney. At time of first hearing, I wasn’t au fait with the geography: the best I could make of these lines, was: “And the bold sun of freedom grew dark and got lost, And upset by the slaveys that wait.” In puzzlement, I dreamt up a scenario – which I knew could no way be true – about the local “slaveys” (lowest grade of female domestic servant), in an equivalent role to the Apprentice Boys of Londonderry: the scullery-maids of County Wexford and thereabouts, uniting for some reason in espousing the British / Protestant cause; lying low and patiently awaiting the crucial moment; and then striking a devastating blow from within, at the rebels. Was pleased and also a little bit disappointed to learn, ultimately, the correct wording. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/125 "2018-09-19T02:09:22Z")
CCR’s ‘Bad Moon on the Rise’ The chorus always sounded like “Therrrre’s a bathroom on the right…” Carly Simon song ‘De bat’ When she sings “fly in me face…fly in me face” always sounded more like “Slimy face…slimy face”. Don’t even get me going on Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to heaven’… ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/126 "2018-09-19T23:44:43Z")
A member of my family (name changed to protect the guilty) thought the _Satisfaction_ lyric was: “A man comes on to tell me I wipe my shirts with pee” Granted, with Mick you never knew… ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/127 "2018-09-20T01:38:24Z")
One in German that I thought was funny - I didn’t know the song, heard it on a compilation of misheard lyrics - in “Santa Maria” sung by Roland Kaiser, the words “Den Schritt zu wagen” (approximately, “getting ready to take the chance”) really **really** sound like “Den Schnitzelwagen” (which means exactly what you’re thinking it might mean) :). ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/128 "2018-09-23T04:52:19Z")
:smack: D’oh! I have a lot of these. I guess I needed to listen better. **AC/DC Highway to Hell:** When it came out myself and everyone I knew thought Bon Scott was singing _“She’s a ni\*\*er on a one way ride”._ I recall even seeing that line on lyric sheets in some rock magazines. \*\* Kim Carnes Bette Davis Eyes:\*\* _“On the bathtub just to please ya”_ **Bruce Springsteen Glory Days:** \*“Think I’m going down to the well tonight, I’m gonna drink until I get my bill” \* **The Police Every Breath You Take:** I don’t care what anyone says, I still think it sounds like Stings singing _“I’m a pool hall ace”_. **The Sweet Ballroom Blitz:** _“It’s, It’s, a bottle of piss!”_ \*\*David Bowie Blue Jean: \*\*_“One day, I’m gonna write a poor man a letter. One day, I’m gonna get that fucker together.”_ ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/129 "2018-09-23T22:03:50Z")
How about Nat Cole singing: _I want a slim lamb chop With the cheese soufflé With some Swiss chard on the side._ He’s really clear with this, but virtually everybody thinks he’s singing gibberish like _I want the frim-fram sauce with the ossen-fay, with shifafa on the side._ :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/130 "2018-09-24T01:27:38Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > [“I’d Really Love to See You Tonight”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxdsk-cFX-k&feature=kp) by England Dan & John Ford Coley. We sang this in junior high chorus. :eek: And now, for the reason I showed up here: Another OHW with mistaken lyrics - Pilot’s “It’s Magic”. A lot of people, most of them guys, misheard “It’s magic, you know…” as “It’s my dick, you know…” [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQvDd66z47Y) ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Zox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Mr\_Zox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Zox)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/131 "2019-03-18T21:03:27Z")
I mentioned this once (I hope not on this board), and had someone actually accuse me of insanity, but it still sounds to me like Hendrix is singing: _ **’Scuse me, while I pierce the sky** _ ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/132 "2019-03-18T23:41:58Z")
I heard violence too! “I hear violence”, admittedly, but I like yours better! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/133 "2019-03-19T14:30:56Z")
I’d really love to see you tonight because the warm wind’s blowing the stars around. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/134 "2019-03-19T14:47:37Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I’d really love to see you tonight because the warm wind’s blowing the stars around. That’s the way I always heard it, and frankly I think it’s a better and more poetic line than the real one. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/135 "2019-03-19T14:50:48Z")
If the wind is blowing the stars around, I am not going outside. The lyrics to Frank Sinatra’s My Way alternate between What is a man/what has it got/If not himself/Then he has naught." Or not. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/136 "2019-03-19T16:08:53Z")
I think my father might have done this deliberately, but once he was dozing by the fire as Sinatra droned on, waking up only to say “What’s he on about,? “I did it sideways”? Silly arse!” and dropped off again. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/137 "2019-03-19T17:08:01Z")
Paul Young song ‘Every Time You Go Away’ …“you take a piece of _meat_ with you”… ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/138 "2019-03-27T13:43:08Z")
Stevie Wonder’s Sir Duke. I always thought the line was “You can tell right away it sounds okay when the people start to move.” Googling it I find out the real lyric doesn’t even make sense: But you can tell right away at letter A when the people start to move. ---
**Author:** ![Doubticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@Doubticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doubticus)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/139 "2019-03-29T00:16:10Z")
We’re all Mexican We’re all Mexican We’re all Mexican lucky. From Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” Not sure why “up all night to get” sounds like “Mexican”, but apparently, I’m not the only one who thought so. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066/140 "2019-03-29T00:30:08Z")
I hear it as **We’ll rob a Mexican We’ll rob a Mexican We’ll rob a Mexican monkey** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-misheard-song-lyrics/682066.md?page=8)