# Holy Mondegreen, Batman or I've been stupid wrong for most of my life. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 2, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662 "2011-11-02T18:42:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Dublin11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Dublin11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dublin11)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/101 "2012-11-21T19:29:14Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > I thought it was > > _I’m not talking ‘bout committin’, > and I don’t want to change your life_ Until today I thought it was I’m not talking 'bout religion and I don’t want to change your life. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/102 "2012-11-21T19:56:42Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Nope. That occasional, in this case dramatically affected, elongation/palatalization of the “t” sound, is a New York City/Long Island accent thing. (In reference to Billy Joel’s “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant”.) I alwys thought he was being clever saying a “bottle of weiss”. Weiss being white in German, since Germany is known for its white wines . ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/103 "2012-11-21T20:13:41Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I think you mean “Big Hotel Atlanta”. I think you’ll find it’s Big Ol’ Jebediah ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/104 "2012-11-21T20:24:59Z")
In [Knight of the Wind](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfpUBfF8C3I) one of the lines is _In a rage I save Each and everyone_ I would swear on my life that it’s _In a rage I slay Each and everyone_ Nevermind that my version doesn’t really make sense for the character it represents (Sonic), but “In a rage, I save”. Really? That makes almost anti-sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/105 "2012-11-21T20:47:36Z")
I can feel it comin’ in the air tonight Hold On, Hold On :smack: (This was til about a month ago) ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/106 "2012-11-21T20:49:09Z")
> [@Dublin11](#): > > Until today I thought it was > I’m not talking 'bout religion > and I don’t want to change your life. I heard “I’m not talking ‘bout believin’” and “blowin the stars around” And count me in the “Every highway” group as well ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/107 "2012-11-21T21:01:17Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Speaking of Steely Dan, when _Hey, Nineteen_ came out I was not as well versed in the various types of booze as I am now and thought the line was: > > “The Cuervo Gold. The fine cold rum to you.” > > rather than what it actually is, which is: > > “The Cuervo Gold. The fine Columbian.” > > In the same song I also thought for a long time that the line “Make tonight a wonderful thing” was “Make tonight a wonderful dream.” To this day I think my mondegreen is better. 🙂 Since the zombie is stumbling… I always heard this as a line about someone being trapped in a cave in and rescued… “The cave grows cold…the white coats run to you…makes the night a wonderful day…” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/108 "2012-11-21T21:02:40Z")
Until I actually saw the lyrics, “I’m not talking ‘bout\*\* movin’ in\*\*” was completely incomprehensible to me, as was “Spirits rise, and their\*\* dance is unrehearsed\*\*” in Streisand’s _Evergreen._ Most baffling to me was _Top Cat_’s “Close friends get to call him TC, **pro-vi-ding it’s with dignity.** ” When I was in first grade, I sang it as “or by name it’s Worthington T.” (which actually made sense to me then). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/109 "2012-11-21T21:07:42Z")
Likewise, I could not for the life of me understand what Manilow was saying **here** in _[American] Bandstand Boogie_: _The singer’s croonin’ He ain’t the greatest, but gee, My baby’s swoonin’ **In front of all of TV**! So if you tune in, You’ll see my baby and me On the Bandstand!_ ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/110 "2012-11-21T21:53:02Z")
I just posted a thread about Heart’s “Barracuda”. I had no idea the lines were “you met the porpoise and me, aha ha” Porpoise? I wasn’t sure what that line was, but how did a porpoise get there? It’s been almost 30 years on that one. > [@dangermom](#): > > I never knew it wasn’t a grave! But ‘gray’ makes less sense, actually. If you read the lyrics of the song, he starts out with “There used to be a graying tower alone on the sea” The rest of the song keeps making mention of the tower as a lighthouse. So when he says “kiss from a rose on the gray”, he means “a kiss from a rose on the tower”. What I don’t get is how a rose is kissing him. > [@TBG](#): > > What the hell is a crossfire hurricane? (IOW, I also have always heard that one as class 5) That’s a hurricane that is so bad that they don’t wait till it’s over before they start shooting the looters. > [@Acsenray](#): > > I’m sure that back in the '70s there must have been some variety show performance or “cover” recording in which the horn punctuation was replaced with the choral “Batman.” That kind of knockoff was pretty common back then. You didn’t read the links. The myth is that it is just horns. The truth is that it is horns and a vocal chorus that are overlaid. Some iterations the horn stands out more, some iterations the vocal stands out more. I have to wonder how Adam West got it wrong. > [@tim314](#): > > One for the mayor, > one for the lame, > one for the little boy > who lives down the shame :eek: ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/111 "2012-11-21T22:51:46Z")
> [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](#): > > For 34 years I thought Jimmy Buffet stepped on a Pop Tart! “But I know, it’s my own Grandpa.” Apparently Rush is not talking about “living in a fish island”. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/112 "2012-11-21T22:54:19Z")
Believe it or not, _Jingle Bells._ When was a kid I always thought it went: _Jingle all the way Oh, what fun it is to ride In a one horse **soap and** sleigh_ I just figured that in this context “soap” was a reference to the type of sleigh or a piece of horse tack (I grew up in Australia - what did I know about horse-drawn sleighs). It wasn’t that long ago that it clicked that it was “In a one horse open sleigh.” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/113 "2012-11-21T23:28:32Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > For about thirty years, I thought a line from Dylan’s “Tangled Up In Blue” was: > > _We drove that car as far as we could, > abandoned it out west, > split up on **the docks that** night > both agreeing it was best._ > > Which made perfect sense to me - they drove that car as far west as they could, to the Pacific Ocean. That would be where the road would run out of pavement, after all. So of course they split up _on the docks_ that night, they’re at the freakin’ ocean. > > But when I got around to googling the lyrics, it turned out they split up “on _a dark, sad_ night.” :smack: > > At least I can understand why I got it wrong - they don’t all that different from each other, and my version made sense in the context of the song. > > And hey, getting only three words wrong in that entire opus wasn’t too bad, in the decades before it became possible to Google any song lyric you wanted. I’m saying we’re gonna have to agree that Dylan got it wrong… ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/114 "2012-11-22T04:06:17Z")
> [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](#): > > I’ve got the Monkee’s Greatest Hits on vinyl, and first heard “I’m a Believer” when I was about 6 years old. From that time until I saw Shrek (the first Shrek movie had the remake version, I believe), I thought the line was: > > Disappointment hot air on my dreams > > Then I learned it’s actually > > Disappointment haunted all my dreams > > Which makes a lot more sense. I heard “Disappointment, heartache…” ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/115 "2012-11-22T14:54:31Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > Good for you! Besides, it’s clearly red door. It’s easy to hear, and therefore nothing like Sting singing, “how my poor heart aches”, but _everyone_ hearing “I’m a pool hall ace.” Everyone. Sometimes for years. :smack: To me, it’s rare to be able to make out words in all the slurred mush in any Sting vocal. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/116 "2012-11-22T15:02:53Z")
And how did we get this far in a mondegreen thread without revisiting the “deuce”/“douche” debate over “Blinded by the Light”? In both the Manfred Mann and Bruce Springsteen versions, I am absolutely certain I hear a “sh” sound in the disputed word. I simply can’t get myself to hear “deuce” with that “sh” sound in there. ---
**Author:** ![destineal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@destineal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/destineal)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/117 "2012-11-22T19:13:46Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > How could I have forgotten the one pointed out to me in this very forum not that long ago. > > _I’m not the world’s most passionate man > But I know what I am and what I am is a man > And so was Lola._ > > That’s nowhere near as clever as the actual lyric > > _I’m not the world’s most masculine man > But I know what I am and I’m glad I’m a man > And so is Lola_ > > Which leaves Lola’s gender still up in the air. I like my version the best. Until I read this I thought it was “but I know what I am and in bed I’m a man and so is Lola.” She’s a woman everywhere else. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/118 "2012-11-23T01:22:37Z")
I only learned that it wasn’t “Knights in White Satin” about two years ago… ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/119 "2012-11-23T02:46:28Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > To me, it’s rare to be able to make out words in all the slurred mush in any Sting vocal. Sting’s not that bad. There are far worse offenders out there. Like anything by Nirvana. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/120 "2012-11-23T22:45:46Z")
We built this city. We built this city on wrong damn road. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662.md?page=7)