# Lyrics that sound like gibberish **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 7, 2011, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144 "2011-11-07T05:49:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/1 "2011-11-07T05:49:50Z")
We’ve had lots of mondegreen threads, but I was thinking; What about songs where not only do you not hear the right lyrics, but your brain can’t even make up fake ones? The words sound garbled or otherwise unintelligible to you. A good example is **Pearl Jam** ’s “Even Flow”. Unless you hear the song a bunch of times it sounds like Eddie’s mumbling the verses. For me I’ll also add **The Black Crows** “Hard to handle”. I understand most of the lyrics, and even though I know he’s singing, “Cause mama I’m sure hard to handle, now Gets around” To me the words are blurred together and sounds like gibberish. So what songs have lyrics that you can’t make out without looking them up? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/2 "2011-11-07T08:11:08Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > We’ve had lots of mondegreen threads, but I was thinking; What about songs where not only do you not hear the right lyrics, but your brain can’t even make up fake ones? The words sound garbled or otherwise unintelligible to you. > > \ > > **So what songs have lyrics that you can’t make out without looking them up?** My nominations: “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” by the Hollies “Strange Brew” by Eric Clapton Honorable mention: Portions of “Smoke Over Water” by Deep Purple. Not to mention the infamous “Louie Louie” as recorded by the Kingsmen, already much discussed in the contemporary literature: [Straight Dope column, Feb. 5, 1982](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/281/what-are-the-real-lyrics-to-louie-louie) and [snopes, May 24, 2007](http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/louie.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/3 "2011-11-07T08:15:25Z")
Ina Gadda Da Vida. Isn’t that one where _nobody_ knows the lyrics? ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/4 "2011-11-07T10:50:40Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Not to mention the infamous “Louie Louie” as recorded by the Kingsmen, already much discussed in the contemporary literature: [Straight Dope column, Feb. 5, 1982](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/281/what-are-the-real-lyrics-to-louie-louie) and [snopes, May 24, 2007](http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/louie.asp) Ah yes “Louie Louie” is an excellent example. > [@Ashes\_Ashes](#): > > Ina Gadda Da Vida. Isn’t that one where _nobody_ knows the lyrics? Off the top of my head In a gadda da vida baby, don’t you know that I love you. In a gadda da vida honey, don’t you know that I’ll always be true. Oh won’t you come with me, and take my hand. Oh won’t you come with me, and walk this land. Then again, when I think of the song, all I can think of is the **Slayer** heavy metal cover on the “Less than Zero” soundtrack. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/5 "2011-11-07T11:47:35Z")
The Queen song “Headlong” starts with the lyrics “And you’re rushing headlong…”. For years, I was sure the words were “Anti-Russian hand dog”, and wondered what the hell the song was about. Also, I wanted an anti-Russian hand dog. It sounded like a cool thing to have. ---
**Author:** ![nudgenudge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@nudgenudge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nudgenudge)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/6 "2011-11-07T12:00:05Z")
To be honest I have this problem at some point with about 50% of all songs. One example that springs to mind is \*\*Nirvana’\*\*s Lithium. For the life of me I couldn’t work out what he was singing after _I’m so ugly, but that’s OK, 'cause so are you_ The next line sounds like _Brookham ears_ I couldn’t think what it was supposed to be, so I just sang that in my head for many years. I finally looked it up. It’s “Broke all mirrors”. That American pronunciation or “mirrors” threw me. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/7 "2011-11-07T12:01:53Z")
> [@nudgenudge](#): > > To be honest I have this problem at some point with about 50% of all songs. One example that springs to mind is \*\*Nirvana’\*\*s Lithium. For the life of me I couldn’t work out what he was singing after > > _I’m so ugly, but that’s OK, 'cause so are you_ > > The next line sounds like > > _Brookham ears_ > > I couldn’t think what it was supposed to be, so I just sang that in my head for many years. I finally looked it up. It’s “Broke all mirrors”. That American pronunciation or “mirrors” threw me. Just out of curiosity what country do you live in and how do you pronounce the word? ---
**Author:** ![nudgenudge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@nudgenudge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nudgenudge)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/8 "2011-11-07T12:08:45Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > Just out of curiosity what country do you live in and how do you pronounce the word? UK (England, to be precise), and I pronounce it “mirrahs”. Some Americans pronounce it in a way that sounds similar to “meers”, to me. More like “meerers”, but the first and second Rs almost merge. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/9 "2011-11-07T12:09:18Z")
“Broke all mirrors”? I always thought it was “Book of years.” My first thought on reading the OP was Super Bass by Nickie Minja. ---
**Author:** ![nudgenudge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@nudgenudge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nudgenudge)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/10 "2011-11-07T12:28:02Z")
Definitely “broke our mirrors” (not “all”), according to several lyrics websites I just checked. But I think I misread the OP, so apologies for that. I thought we were looking for lyrics for which we couldn’t find plausible words. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/11 "2011-11-07T12:33:27Z")
No problem. Mainly I’m looking for songs where you can’t make out what they’re saying just by listening. The words sound garbled, all run together, or in other ways impossible, or almost impossible to make out unless you’ve been told the words, read liner notes, or looked them up on-line. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/12 "2011-11-07T12:35:49Z")
Wasn’t part of the movie \*\*Jumping Jack Flash \*\*something about Whoopie Goldberg trying to make out what Mick Jagger was saying in that song? He is considered pretty unintelligible when he is selling and strutting hard… ---
**Author:** ![Lilacs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Lilacs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lilacs)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/13 "2011-11-07T12:41:41Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > My nominations: > “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” by the Hollies > “Strange Brew” by Eric Clapton Yes to the first. I still have no clue what is being sung. And I love the Hollies. Somehow, I do understand the lyrics to _Strange Brew_. It was Cream not just Clapton. 😉 For years, I had no idea the title of this [song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlfYDEErYR0)was _Happenings Ten Years Time Ago_. It was just gibberish to me. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/14 "2011-11-07T13:20:15Z")
_It’s unintelligible I just can’t get it through my skull It’s hard to bargle nawdle zouss??? With all these marbles in my mouth_ -Weird Al’s parody of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/15 "2011-11-07T14:16:00Z")
90% of the Mazzy Star catalog is semi-incoherent mumbling. [So Tonight That I Might See](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x5eN-ZWsi8) is as good an example as any. On the other end of the 90’s chick alt-rock tempo spectrum is the “chorus” of Letter to Cleo’s [Here & Now](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALHe12x_I0U). ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/16 "2011-11-07T14:23:20Z")
Pretty much all Deftones and White Zombie songs. Thunderkiss 65 is unintelligible. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/17 "2011-11-07T15:01:09Z")
Something something something / Born in the USA! I was born in the USA! / Something something something yellow man That’s patriotic, right? ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/18 "2011-11-07T15:27:23Z")
**Informer** by Snow is pretty notorious for being so difficult to understand that you can’t even really make up anything. It doesn’t even sound like words, just badabadabadabada. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/19 "2011-11-07T16:05:53Z")
“Even Flow” is perfect diction compared to “[Yellow Ledbetter](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs8y3kneqrs)”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144/20 "2011-11-07T16:21:52Z")
A current commercial emphasizes that Elton John sings “Rocket Man” – somewhat incomprehensibly. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-sound-like-gibberish/602144.md?page=2)