# "Mondegreens" where the singer really IS singing that **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 1, 2020, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979 "2020-08-01T12:22:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [August 1, 2020, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/1 "2020-08-01T12:22:12Z")
Is it really a mondegreen then? Or do we base the mondegreen on what they _intended_ to sing? Infamous examples: Manfred Mann, “Blinded By the Light”-he is supposedly singing “deuce”, but there’s a clear “ch” sound for the c there, so he really is singing “douche”. Rush, “Subdivisions”-Geddy Lee is allegedly intoning “backs of cars”, but it comes out as “battlecars”. Nightwish, “Elvenpath”, Tarja Turunen however with her non-English dialect clearly says a “b” sound for the “p” there. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/2 "2020-08-01T13:52:50Z")
I’ve heard that CCR sometimes really _would_ sing “There’s a Bathroom on the Right” in concert, especially if there really was one there. Apparently people were so used to the mondegreen that it fit right in. Wouldn’t surprise me if lots of other performers frequently gave in to the mondegreen and actually sang them from time to time in performance. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/3 "2020-08-01T14:53:24Z")
Somewhat adjacent to that, Don McLean reportedly occasionally sings the lyrics to the Weird Al Yankovic parody of “American Pie” accidentally in concert (“The Saga Begins,” an accounting of the plot of “The Phantom Menace” as told from Obi Wan’s POV, which Yankovic accurately pieced together from the trailers and internet spoilers). ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/4 "2020-08-01T20:02:30Z")
I have heard a live version of Purple Haze where Jimi jokingly sings “Scuse me while I kiss that guy.” ---
**Author:** ![journeyman\_southpaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5e9695/32.png) [@journeyman\_southpaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/journeyman_southpaw)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/5 "2020-08-02T07:20:28Z")
Just before the six minute point of the extended version of Queen’s “One Vision”, Freddie really DOES sing “Gimme fried chicken”. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-OGd4gplxQM/hqdefault.jpg "Queen - One Vision (Extended) 1985 [Official Video]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OGd4gplxQM) ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/6 "2020-08-02T08:08:03Z")
lol in fact weren’t they eating fried chicken throughout the video its self as a nod to the joke? ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/7 "2020-08-02T08:12:38Z")
Jennifer Hudson does a cover of the Beatles song “Golden Slumbers” on the _Sing_ soundtrack. I’m certain she sings “Smiles awake you when you rise,” rather than “smiles await you when you rise.” Bugs me every time I hear it. ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/8 "2020-08-02T08:47:26Z")
I’ll go to my grave swearing that, on _Every Breath You Take_, Sting sings: “I’m a pool hall ace” NOT “My poor heart aches” - The alleged phrase is the wrong number of syllables - The word starting with “P” sounds like ‘poo’, not ‘poe’ - There’s no “T” sound between the last two words Aargh! ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/9 "2020-08-02T09:02:18Z")
Every song that mentions a place name, played live in that place. E.g.: “All the debutantes in Toledo, baby Couldn’t hold a candle to you” ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/10 "2020-08-02T09:26:36Z")
In Bette Davis Eyes the original version has “make a crow blush”. Kim Carnes sings it as “pro blush”. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2020, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/11 "2020-08-02T14:52:33Z")
> [@LLCoolL](#): > > I’ll go to my grave swearing that, on _Every Breath You Take_, Sting sings: > > “I’m a pool hall ace” > > NOT > > “My poor heart aches” > > - The alleged phrase is the wrong number of syllables FWIW, isn’t the alleged phrase _“How my poor heart aches”,_ which _would_ be the right number of syllables? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/12 "2020-08-02T15:40:19Z")
> [@LLCoolL](#): > > - The word starting with “P” sounds like ‘poo’, not ‘poe’ But that’s at least one of the normal ways to pronounce “poor,” kind of like “poo” + “r”. I mean [listen to the sound sample here,](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/poor?s=t) I personally do tend to say it the same as “pour” but I hear it as “poo”+“r” quite often enough. I can only kinda sorta get “I’m a pool hall ace” out of that line, but it’s a stretch for me. Especially as the “aches” part hits the “k” sound pretty hard. ---
**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:** [August 4, 2020, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/13 "2020-08-04T00:47:45Z")
> [@LLCoolL](#): > > - The word starting with “P” sounds like ‘poo’, not ‘poe’ Most Americans would say it that way. Like many British singers, Sting usually sings with an American accent. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/14 "2020-08-04T01:00:32Z")
Clearly whitewashed for radio ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/15 "2020-08-04T01:02:05Z")
Joan Baez’s rendition of “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” changed “Stoneman’s cavalry” to “so much cavalry.” ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/16 "2020-08-04T04:18:45Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > Jennifer Hudson does a cover of the Beatles song “Golden Slumbers” on the _Sing_ soundtrack. I’m certain she sings “Smiles awake you when you rise,” rather than “smiles await you when you rise.” Bugs me every time I hear it. I mentioned this one to my significant other, and she asked me how I knew my version was correct. I’m fairly certain I saw it in the liner notes lyrics back when I had the album on vinyl, but looking it up now, it’s about 50/50 each way on internet lyrics sites. I think “await” has the benefit of making sense, since smiles don’t awake you, but it seems to be a common (if minor) Mondegreen. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/17 "2020-08-04T16:58:29Z")
_Billie Jean_. “The \_\_\_\_ is not my son.” I’m not sure _what_ Michael is saying-- at various points in the song it sounds like “chance” or “chase” or “chairs”-- but it’s _not_ “kid”. It’s not. There’s no way. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/18 "2020-08-04T17:35:10Z")
Huh. I was expecting that you were going to say the lyric isn’t “kid.” I’ve never heard it any other way. Listening to it again, it still sounds like “kid” to me. I’m not getting anything resembling your words. Try as I might, I can’t hear a “ch” at the beinning, nor an “s” at the end. The vowel might be slightly ambiguous, so I could bend my mind to hear “cat” or “ked,” but that’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/19 "2020-08-04T18:23:20Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > > [@eschrodinger](#): > > > > Jennifer Hudson does a cover of the Beatles song “Golden Slumbers” on the _Sing_ soundtrack. I’m certain she sings “Smiles awake you when you rise,” rather than “smiles await you when you rise.” Bugs me every time I hear it. > > I mentioned this one to my significant other, and she asked me how I knew my version was correct. I’m fairly certain I saw it in the liner notes lyrics back when I had the album on vinyl, but looking it up now, it’s about 50/50 each way on internet lyrics sites. I think “await” has the benefit of making sense, since smiles don’t awake you, but it seems to be a common (if minor) Mondegreen. You do realize that the Beatles did not write the lyrics to “Golden Slumbers.” They changed just a couple of words from a poem by Thomas Dekker from 1603. The original poem has “awake.” > **[A Short Analysis of Thomas Dekker’s ‘Golden Slumbers’](https://interestingliterature.com/2018/11/a-short-analysis-of-thomas-dekkers-golden-slumbers/)** > > Memorably used by The Beatles as the lyrics for their song of the same name on the Abbey Road LP, ‘Golden Slumbers’ is a lullaby from Thomas Dekker’s 1603 play Patient Grissel, written with Henry C… ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979/20 "2020-08-04T19:56:32Z")
Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra famously changing ‘Groos’, a word he claimed he just made up because it fit, to what everybody else heard, “Bruce.” More info in this [interview](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/elos-jeff-lynne-my-life-in-15-songs-29250/electric-light-orchestra-dont-bring-me-down-1979-28947/) with _Rolling Stone_ From the cite, the sound “Groos” also sounds like the word for “Greetings” in German. Like [_Grüß Gott_.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gr%C3%BC%C3%9F_Gott) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-the-singer-really-is-singing-that/916979.md?page=2)