# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/121 "2012-11-24T14:19:55Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I’ve always imagined him being born in the middle of a gunfight so intense, the bullets were like a hurricane around him. - 1 Never befuddled over these lyrics. ETA: > [@Irishman](#): > > Sting’s not that bad. There are far worse offenders out there. Like anything by Nirvana. Oh, you just try singing whilst on a heroin high !!! ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/122 "2012-11-24T14:51:27Z")
> [@edwards\_beard](#): > > I can feel it comin’ in the air tonight > > Hold On, Hold On :smack: Glad I’m not the only one who heard it that way! And count me in with all the others for “every highway.” ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/123 "2012-11-24T14:52:24Z")
Having no knowledge of mideastern culture at the time, I could not make sense of The Clash’s **Rock the Casbah**. Well the king called out his _boogie bear_ (Now the king told the boogie men) \*Sharia \*don’t like it Sharia was \*sharif \*- like Omar Sharif. I vaguely knew that the actor was Egyptian so I thought it was a play on that. At the end, after the line “he thinks it’s not kosher” the next line is “fundamentally he can’t take it”. To this day I still hear (and sing) “from the mental retardated”.:smack: I guess I thought it was Brit slang for mentally retarded or something. Thirty years later and knowing the correct lyrics, it really is kind of clever. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/124 "2012-11-24T15:17:11Z")
> [@edwards\_beard](#): > > I can feel it comin’ in the air tonight > > Hold On, Hold On :smack: > > (This was til about a month ago) That’s not what it is? What is it then? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/125 "2012-11-24T15:25:39Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > That’s not what it is? What is it then? I think it’s “Oh lord”. As least that’s how I hear it. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/126 "2012-11-24T15:54:14Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Having no knowledge of mideastern culture at the time, I could not make sense of The Clash’s **Rock the Casbah**. > > At the end, after the line “he thinks it’s not kosher” the next line is “fundamentally he can’t take it”. > To this day I still hear (and sing) “from the mental retardated”.:smack: I guess I thought it was Brit slang for mentally retarded or something. > > Thirty years later and knowing the correct lyrics, it really is kind of clever. Well, thanks for this. I always thought they said “fundamental retardation!”. I didn’t know why they’d say that, but that’s what I thought they said. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/127 "2012-11-26T05:10:18Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > 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. Hmm. I hear “douche” on the MM but “deuce” on Bruce’s. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/128 "2012-11-26T09:57:21Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > I never knew it wasn’t a grave! But ‘gray’ makes less sense, actually. Wow, ignorance fought. ---
**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:** [November 27, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/129 "2012-11-27T21:01:53Z")
Until I checked the printed lyrics, I could only hear the following lines on “Send In The Clowns”: Don’t you love farts? My fart, I fear. Yes, I know it made no sense, and Stephen Sondheim would never write it. The actual line is: Don’t you love farce? My fault, I fear. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/130 "2012-11-27T22:22:47Z")
> [@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: Wait… it’s _not_ “I’m a pool hall ace”? Hunh. I’ll be damned… > [@Misnomer](#): > > Until just last month, I thought Gordon Lightfoot was singing “Every highway lets me slip away on you.” It wasn’t until I heard the song on Sirius XM radio and saw the title for the very first time that I learned he’s actually singing “_carefree_ highway.” > > I’ve been singing the wrong words to that song since 1974, when it was released. > [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Whoa. > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Oops. :eek: > [@Timchik](#): > > …whoa indeed. that makes four of us. Not to snicker at you guys for mishearing a lyric - see above - but the name of the song _is_ “Carefree Highway”. ---
**Author:** ![orderfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orderfire/32/10908_2.png) [@orderfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orderfire)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/131 "2012-11-28T03:58:01Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Having no knowledge of mideastern culture at the time, I could not make sense of The Clash’s **Rock the Casbah**. > > Well the king called out his _boogie bear_ > (Now the king told the boogie men) > > \*Sharia \*don’t like it > Sharia was \*sharif \*- like Omar Sharif. I vaguely knew that the actor was Egyptian so I thought it was a play on that. > > At the end, after the line “he thinks it’s not kosher” the next line is “fundamentally he can’t take it”. > To this day I still hear (and sing) “from the mental retardated”.:smack: I guess I thought it was Brit slang for mentally retarded or something. > > Thirty years later and knowing the correct lyrics, it really is kind of clever. I’ve been lying here screaming my face off about this, can’t stop laughing - my cats are worried that I’m dying. I never thought I could openly admit that I, too, thought it was “from the mental retardated”. So thanks for that. ---
**Author:** ![smaje1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@smaje1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smaje1)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/132 "2012-11-28T17:36:52Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > **Holy Mondegreen, Batman** > > Speaking of Bruce Wayne, I still hear it as “kiss from a rose on the grave”. Holy mother of… I was like, “Wait, it has to be “kiss from a rose on a grave” because that’s the name of the song.” And I just googled it, and the name is just “kiss from a rose.” And there ain’t no grave. It’s _grey_. WHAT? MIND BLOWN. I’ve been singing that wrong for nearly 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/133 "2012-11-28T18:19:12Z")
> [@Dublin11](#): > > Until today I thought it was > I’m not talking 'bout religion > and I don’t want to change your life. Same here. And also add me to the “Every highway” list and dammit, Seal needs to change the song because “grave” actually improves it considerably. And yes, for a while I did hear _She’s got electric boobs Her mom has too You know I read it in a magazine, oho…_ ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/134 "2012-11-28T19:00:39Z")
Until much, much too recently I thought the lyrics to “How Soon is Now?” were “I am the sun, and the air…” (It’s “son and heir”. In my defense, they sound exactly the same.) ---
**Author:** ![Feyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/fbc32d/32.png) [@Feyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feyrat)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/135 "2012-11-28T19:37:06Z")
> [@Batsinma\_Belfry](#): > > It wasn’t until a couple of years ago, that I realized the last part of the Scooby Doo theme, was … > > If we can count on you Scooby Doo, > I know we’ll catch that villain. > > I thought they wanted to catch that feelin’. Never mind the fact that the whole premise of the show is about catching villains. :o Wait, really? Shit… ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/136 "2012-11-28T22:15:39Z")
> [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > Until much, much too recently I thought the lyrics to “How Soon is Now?” were “I am the sun, and the air…” > > (It’s “son and heir”. In my defense, they sound exactly the same.) I thought that was a deliberate ambiguity? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/137 "2012-11-28T22:38:44Z")
> [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](#): > > For 34 years I thought Jimmy Buffet stepped on a Pop Tart! And I’m still not convinced that he is not searching for his outlaw shaker of salt (a much better lyric, IMO). mmm ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/138 "2012-11-28T22:46:59Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I thought that was a deliberate ambiguity? Could be but the next line is “of a shyness that is criminally vulgar” indicating he inherited his terminal misery from his parent (s) (who apparently passed on\* a lot \*of misery to Morrissey). ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/139 "2012-11-28T22:56:57Z")
> [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > Until much, much too recently I thought the lyrics to “How Soon is Now?” were “I am the sun, and the air…” > > (It’s “son and heir”. In my defense, they sound exactly the same.) I believe that is deliberate. The songwriter is a rather clever fellow. It is also an excellent song. When I first heard a cover of it as the theme to ‘Charmed’, I thought the same thing. Especially since the series was about witches. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/140 "2012-11-28T22:58:05Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I thought that was a deliberate ambiguity? I have been ninjaed. :eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662.md?page=8)