# 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:** 15\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/141 "2012-11-28T23:10:23Z")
> [@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. Well, to clarify, there’s an earlier line which says > [@](#): > > Well, I’m not the world’s most passionate guy, > but when I looked in here eyes, well, I almost fell for my Lola which is where you got the “passionate” lyric, at least. ---
**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 29, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/142 "2012-11-29T17:37:20Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > 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. Great, I’m not a total idiot then. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/143 "2015-06-02T12:41:58Z")
I thought I had made a thread of my own on this topic, but it didn’t come up in search. Here’s another one…I’ve always heard REM’s “I Believe” as saying “The foolish sent my fool away”-makes perfect sense, the idiots in our lives, well meaning as they might be, get us to forsake our authentic inner self. It just played this morning, and I tried Googling that line, and got only 2 hits, neither of which were for the REM song. Instead all of the lyric sites insist that it is “And foolish said my fool awake”, which is complete gibberish from a grammatical _and_ a semantic viewpoint. I’m sticking with my interpretation and I don’t care what anybody else, including Michael Stipe himself, says or thinks. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2015, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/144 "2015-06-02T12:56:45Z")
Here’s another childhood one - remember the old Gene Autry song “Here comes Peter Cottontail”? You know: _Here comes Peter Cottontail Hoppin’ down the bunny trail Hippity hoppin’, Easter’s on its way…_ I always thought the verse went _He’s got jelly beans for Tommy Colored eggs for sister Sue There’s an organ for your mommy And an Easter bonnet too_ and wondered 1) why Mommy would get a pipe organ for Easter and 2) why people didn’t find the lyric incredibly rude. Recently I remembered it and looked up the actual lyrics. It’s _orchid_. Your mommy gets an _orchid_. Not an “organ”. :smack: Yeah, I got an organ for your mommy right here… ---
**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:** [June 2, 2015, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/145 "2015-06-02T14:13:21Z")
My dear old Dad once half awoke from a fireside doze just as Frank Sinatra was droning away on the radio. “Wassat? What’s he on about ? “I Did It Sideways”? Bloody idiot!” and he drifted off again. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/146 "2015-06-02T16:04:10Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Wait… it’s _not_ “I’m a pool hall ace”? Hunh. I’ll be damned… But does Rod Stewart really mean “or steal my daddy’s cue and make a living out of playing pool”? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/147 "2015-06-02T16:23:43Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Here’s another one…I’ve always heard REM’s “I Believe” as saying “The foolish sent my fool away”-makes perfect sense, the idiots in our lives, well meaning as they might be, get us to forsake our authentic inner self. > > It just played this morning, and I tried Googling that line, and got only 2 hits, neither of which were for the REM song. Instead all of the lyric sites insist that it is “And foolish said my fool awake”, which is complete gibberish from a grammatical _and_ a semantic viewpoint. I just looked it up. None of the lyrics in that song make sense. > [@](#): > > When I was young and full of grace, and spirited a rattlesnake > > I believe in example, I believe my throat hurts > Example is the checker to the key ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/148 "2015-06-02T17:22:52Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Here’s another one…I’ve always heard REM’s “I Believe” as saying “The foolish sent my fool away”-makes perfect sense, the idiots in our lives, well meaning as they might be, get us to forsake our authentic inner self. > > It just played this morning, and I tried Googling that line, and got only 2 hits, neither of which were for the REM song. Instead all of the lyric sites insist that it is “And foolish said my fool awake”, which is complete gibberish from a grammatical _and_ a semantic viewpoint. Message didn’t take. I just looked it up, none of those lyrics make much sense. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/149 "2015-06-02T17:31:04Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > I’m saying we’re gonna have to agree that Dylan got it wrong… Although “docks” is interesting and reasonable, I don’t think Bobby got it wrong. The reason the car is abandoned is because it’s broke down and worn out. They drove it as far as they could. If it wasn’t worn out it wouldn’t make sense not to sell it for a few bucks. And atmospherically speaking, leaving the car on the waterfront and strolling off in different directions is a little tooo cinematic, too noir. Splitting up when you’re both in the same coastal city isn’t as interesting as splitting up in the dark in Hicksville, with both parties heading off somewhere and leaving a steaming car behind. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/150 "2015-06-02T22:13:27Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > My dear old Dad once half awoke from a fireside doze just as Frank Sinatra was droning away on the radio. > > “Wassat? What’s he on about ? “I Did It Sideways”? Bloody idiot!” > > and he drifted off again. That’s a hilarious story. (I tried doing it sideways but I kept falling off.) ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/151 "2015-06-03T00:07:53Z")
A lot of these have been funny. But because of **Gyrate** , I am now cleaning my screen. It took three and a half years, but you win the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/152 "2015-06-03T02:20:10Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Coincidentally, yesterday I learned the correct form of an old lyric I’d always been fuzzy on (but not interested enough to seek out the truth): the chorus of the song “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight” by England Dan & John Ford Coley is apparently this: > > _I’m not talking 'bout moving in > And I don’t want to change your life > But there’s a warm wind blowing, the stars are out > And I’d really love to see you tonight._ > > I’d always heard the first line as > > _I’m not talking 'bout my linen_ I’d always heard the first line as "I’m not talking about _\_ ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/153 "2015-06-03T15:04:53Z")
> [@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’d always heard it as “Disappointment-hearted are my dreams.” Never bothered to Google the lyrics, because I wasn’t even in doubt. It at least made sense, but certainly “Disappointment haunted all my dreams” makes a good deal more sense, and it’s more up to the quality I’d have expected from Neil Diamond (who wrote the song) back in the mid-1960s. (I’m a big fan of his up to about 1971 or 1972.) ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/154 "2015-06-03T15:49:48Z")
> [@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”.) \> elongation/palatalization of the “t” I was gonna say that, but you said it better. ---
**Author:** ![PeriDoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b487fb/32.png) [@PeriDoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeriDoe)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2015, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662/155 "2015-06-07T09:38:30Z")
I was kind of disappointed when I found out the lyric in Nirvana’s “On A Plain” was not: _The finest day that I’ve ever had was when I learned to cry on a man_ I thought it was a cool sentiment about being a sensitive man/breaking down gender stereotypes. Oh, it’s cry _on command_. :o [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-mondegreen-batman-or-ive-been-stupid-wrong-for-most-of-my-life/601662.md?page=7)