# I think we could use a good misheard lyrics thread. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 13, 2005, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072 "2005-10-13T15:24:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072/41 "2005-10-15T05:36:50Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > White winged dove, I always thought was ONE winged dove for some reason. :smack: > From the Stevie Nicks song; Edge of Seventeen. And I didn’t think I would learn anything new today! I just did a Bat Mitzvah video montage and chose Hanson’s “Mmmbop” for the baby/childhood segment because of the line, “You go through all the baby’s life, you turn you back and they’re gone so fast…” Turns out the line is actually, "You go through all the _pain and strife_, blah, blah, blah. Song has nothing to do with watching your young ones grow up and leave, but how you get screwed over in relationships! :smack: Whatever. They liked the video. ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072/42 "2005-10-15T06:23:24Z")
My girlfriend thought Elton John was singing “_I love girls_” instead of “_Island Girl_”. I love her for that… ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072/43 "2005-10-15T06:23:42Z")
For the longest time I thought The Who was singing about New Orleans with their song, “Who Are You?” In my mind I always heard it as _Newwwww Orleans… whoo whoo, hoo hoo!_ (still do, come to think of it). ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072/44 "2005-10-15T06:25:35Z")
Had a friend in high school that insisted ACDC was singing “Dirty Deeds and the Thunder Jeep”. I hear it that way every time now. Then there’s the CCR song with “there’s a bathroom on the right”. ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072/45 "2005-10-15T07:04:28Z")
Hey I hear"one winged dove" too! It _isn’t?_ What about “Layla”? For years I thought Clapton was singing “Hey love!” I couldn’t figure out why I kept hearing about what a great song “Layla” was. To the best of my knowledge I’d never heard it. Until I finally figured it out. Last year. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072/46 "2005-10-15T07:40:03Z")
I think this fits the OP - I remember in the mid 60’s the controversy and confusion surrounding the lyrics to the song _Louie Louie_ by the Kingsmen. They sang the lyrics so fast you really couldn’t tell what the hell was being said and the story (at least while I was in college) was that the lyrics had all sorts of profanity. It’s interesting to note that the song was actually a revved up version of the original by Richard Berry from 1957. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072/47 "2005-10-15T15:15:48Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > I had the lyrics for Toto’s Africa completely messed up. You thought Kilanmajero was “rising like a lepress along the _garbled_ sea”, dint’cha? 😃 The remake of Lady Marmalade, Lil Kim’s rap in the middle, I almost thought she was “gettin’ down with the Jews”, but alas, it was just the “dudes”. She’d have gotten off if I was right. ;j 😃 ---
**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:** [October 15, 2005, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072/48 "2005-10-15T16:10:09Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > And while we’re on the subject, to Hell with Mandfred Mann! When a singer repeats the same line 52 times, you oughta be able to figure out what the mushmouf is singin’. Yes, I’ve seen the real “revved up like a deuce, another roller in the night” line, but fuck you anyway, Manfur ! Ee-nun-shate, doood. Note that Manfred Mann was the keyboard player/bandleader, but not the singer. The douche-wrapper you want is Chris Thompson, who was the Manfred Mann’s Earth Band singer when they recorded “Blinded by the Light.” ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072/49 "2005-10-15T17:03:31Z")
Some of you might remember the early Bill Cosby Show, when he was a highschool basketball coach. The theme song was really fun, lots of indistinguishable words ([http://www.sitcomsonline.com/sounds/thebillcosbyshow1969-1971.wav](http://www.sitcomsonline.com/sounds/thebillcosbyshow1969-1971.wav)). In the late 70’s I heard a bootleg tape from a club where he was jamming with Quincy Jones and singing the same song, but replacing “rackets” and other PE equipment with words like “smack” and “coke”. It was fun hearing America’s Dad going off on that riff. ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072/50 "2005-10-15T17:08:59Z")
Hmm, seems like that link isn’t good. Try this, it’s a great song with lots of sax. Just scroll down to Click Here To Download Theme Song. [http://timstvshowcase.com/billcosby.html](http://timstvshowcase.com/billcosby.html) ---
**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:** [October 15, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072/51 "2005-10-15T17:39:35Z")
> [@brightpenny](#): > > Hmm, seems like that link isn’t good. Try this, it’s a great song with lots of sax. Just scroll down to Click Here To Download Theme Song. [http://timstvshowcase.com/billcosby.html](http://timstvshowcase.com/billcosby.html) Neat! I have the 45 (titled “Hikky Burr,” Parts One and Two) credited to Bill Cosby with the Bunions Bradford Band, but it’s not the same version that was used on the TV show. ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072/52 "2005-10-15T19:26:27Z")
That’s great! Yep, Hikky Burr sounds like the one: _hikky burr…hikky brrr brrr_ Is it a respectable version or a street dope version? Now I’m tempted to pull out all those (unlabeled!) cassettes to see if I can find it. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072/53 "2005-10-15T20:20:51Z")
> [@Moonchild](#): > > I just did a Bat Mitzvah video montage and chose Hanson’s “Mmmbop” for the baby/childhood segment because of the line, “You go through all the baby’s life, you turn you back and they’re gone so fast…” > > Turns out the line is actually, "You go through all the _pain and strife_, blah, blah, blah. Song has nothing to do with watching your young ones grow up and leave, but how you get screwed over in relationships! :smack: > > Whatever. They liked the video. Keeping in mind the tradition of parental guilt-giving, the “pain and strife” line might have been better received than you think… ---
**Author:** ![John\_F](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@John\_F](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_F)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072/54 "2005-10-15T20:34:20Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Yes, I’ve seen the real “revved up like a deuce, another roller in the night” Then you should enjoy the \*real \* **real** line “Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night”. 😃😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072/55 "2005-10-15T21:43:08Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > You thought Kilanmajero was “rising like a lepress along the _garbled_ sea”, dint’cha? 😃 Actually, the mountain is **Kilimanjaro**. Whoops, this isn’t a “Misspelled Words” thread… 😃 I never heard the [“hundred men or more”](http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/TOTO/Africa.html) lyric as “hundred men from Mars”, but that [mondegreen](http://www.sfgate.com/columnists/carroll/mondegreens.shtml) has been reported elsewhere. I did think that “I bless the rains down in Africa” was “I _guess_ the _rain’s_…” **AskNott** : [Cyndi Lauper’s version](http://www.lyrics007.com/Cyndi%20Lauper%20Lyrics/Iko%20Iko%20Lyrics.html) of _Iko Iko_ does indeed begin “My grand-ma and your grand-ma were/ Sit-tin’ by the fire.” The “flag boy” verse comes later. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072/56 "2005-10-16T03:04:54Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#): > > You mean “Racked up like a doucher in the rubble of the night”? I once thought it was, “Wrapped up like a douche, another boner in the night.” ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072/57 "2005-10-16T14:53:08Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > That Paul McCartney & Wings song “Jet” … > > I’ve never known what they were singing and never bothered to search & find out, but it sounds like they’re singing about… > > _Darth Vader, … free trader!_ > > 😕 You mean you never understood the subtext about tariffs in the Star Wars series? 😕 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072/58 "2005-10-16T14:57:06Z")
In the Fugazi song “Latin Roots”, when they sing “it’s time to meet your makers”, it sounds like they are singing “it’s time to meet Jamaicans,” although I rejected that interpretation due to nonsensicality. But I’ve found online reviewers who also did a double-take on it! ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072/59 "2005-10-16T23:21:01Z")
From Alabama’s _I’m in a Hurry (And Don’t Know Why)_: Oh, I hear a voice That says I’m running behind Better pick up my pace It’s a race to marry no room for someone in second place It’s not terribly funny, but I think it makes sense. More amusingly, but much more obscurely, in Smile.dk’s _Get Out_: I hear their nonsensical chorus of “Wup up up she-dabi-dabi-dabi-dabi” as “What the f\*\*\* should daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-could-use-a-good-misheard-lyrics-thread/326072.md?page=2)