# "Mondegreens" where you are utterly convinced that you are right, and the rest of the world is crazy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 21, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672 "2012-11-21T02:12:03Z")\ **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:** [November 21, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/1 "2012-11-21T02:12:03Z")
[Flip side of this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=630035&highlight=mondegreen) from a year ago. If curious about what might be the “correct” lyrics from a song, you can always roll the dice on Google and consult the zillions of lyrics sites out there and see how they have it. The problem with that is threefold: A. Virtually all of them are “unofficial” sites, which means that they often are merely just some best guess of whatever bozo typed in the lyrics. B. They shamelessly copy from each other; the lyrics you are reading probably have been passed down from site to site umpteen times before you have had a chance to read them, and C. Even if you can locate the “official” lyrics, on perhaps the artist’s official site, even then they were unlikely to have directly originated from the lyricist in question, and probably was just the best guess of the band’s publicist, or someone. So here’s my several suspects: 1. Rush, “[Fly By Night](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17t4bSaMvl4)”. Almost all sites that I’ve encountered have the chorus as _Fly by night, away from here Change my life again Fly by night goodbye my dear My ship isn’t coming and I just can’t pretend_ The problem there is that, at full volume with headphones on, there’s absolutely no “My” sound at the start of that last line, and in addition there’s a definite “f” sound at the start of the second syllable. The third problem is that there are only 4 syllables before the “and”, not 5. Geddy almost certainly is instead singing _She feels it coming and I just can’t pretend_ Which means he’s (well, Neal Peart) actually talking about two different people-the former lover he is leaving, and the new one waiting at the end of his journey. 1. Renaissance, “[Can You Hear Me?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-q2e1A_Rg4)” This romantic epic contains the chorus _Fly like a song, fly while you’re singing A song without you, is a bird without winging Some city flights leave in the morning Some city nights end without warning Can you hear me call_ “Winging”? Really? :dubious: This from an inveterate lifelong English poet (the late Betty Thatcher, who wrote all their lyrics)-she would mangle the English language that badly? Bullshit. I mean that makes no sense either grammatically OR semantically. It instead has to be “wings”, doesn’t it? Annie Haslam the lead singer does kind of drag in an extra syllable to make it fit the line, but it isn’t “ing” by a long shot-“wing-ings” is much more likely. This is disguised by the “s” sound at the start of the very next line. 1. Loreena McKennitt, “[Moon Cradle](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yi8J-p3HDg)” I’m adding this otherwise somewhat obscure cut to illustrate how specific professional (or informed amateur) knowledge can make the correct lyric crystal clear: _The snipe they are cryng and crying Liadine, liadine, liadine, Where no track’s on the bog they are flying A lonely dream will be mine_ She’s singing about snipe, who, as part of their courtship ritual will typically (depends on the species) be seen and heard flying about in predictable and repetitive flyways about their bogs while making what is often described as “winnowing” sound. A Google search of “winnowing snipe” brings up oodles of hits. Thus the pentultimate line is instead _Winnow tracks on the bog, they are flying_ Feel free to add your own pet peeves in this vein. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/2 "2012-11-21T03:01:42Z")
“Takin’ Care of Business” by BTO. The lyrics sites all have the second verse starting with If it were easy as fishin’, you could be a musician Yet I am utterly convinced that Randy Bachman sings it as “There’s work easy as fishin’” I have heard many recordings of the song, from studio recordings to various live versions. I have even heard a slowed down jazz recording of the song by Bachman. In every single one I hear “There’s work easy as fishin’.” ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/3 "2012-11-21T03:14:30Z")
In The Beatles “Get Back” almost every web site has “sweet Loretta Martin” as the lyrics. But for the life of me I swear it’s “sweet Loretta Modern.” A Liverpudlian would not pronounce Martin like Modern. Martin would sound more like Ma-Tin. ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/4 "2012-11-21T03:41:11Z")
I used to be absolutely positive that I know every word to Frightened Rabbit’s [The Twist](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOh6kKrQioE). It seems clear to me that the words to the last version of the chorus are: _Twist and whisper the right name I’m David, please **The twist is that you’re just like me** You need company, you need human heat You need human heat_ But it seems like most lyric sites have the third line as: _ **Twist as if you’re just like me** _ That totally changes the meaning of the last chorus, and I like my version so much better. ☹ ---
**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:** [November 21, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/5 "2012-11-21T13:30:12Z")
As I’ve mentioned many times on this Board, when listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s _Out my Back Door_, I originally thought the line was _Take a ride On the Glide-wheel spoon_ I didn’t understand it, but I’ve always been terrible at properly hearing and interpreting lyrics. And the song is so surreal that it easily _could_ have been “glide-wheel spoon”. Then one day a metaphorical light bulb went off over my head. It wasn’t “glide-wheel spoon”, the line was: _Take a ride On the Glide. We’ll Spoon_ That is – we’ll both sit on that front-porch (or front-yard) swinglike contraption that’s called a Glide. And while we’re there, we’ll “spoon”. The line made perfect sense! When I later told my future wife about this, she was surprised that it took me so mlong to understand the lyric. She’d known it was “Take a ride on the glide. We’ll spoon” for years. But when I look up the lyrics anywhere they’re given as: _take a ride on the magic spoon_ …which makes no sense at all, again. (Unless you belong to that group convinced that this is a reference to coke use). IIRC, Creedence claims it isn’t supposed to mean anything. The thing is, I always listen closely to this part of the song anymore. Try as I might, I can’t hear “magic spoon” in the words sung at all. It still sounds like the (eminently more reasonable) “Glide. We’ll spoon.” Or even “Glide-wheel spoon.” If I ever open an amusement park, I’m going to include a ride called the Glide-wheel Spoon. ---
**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:** [November 21, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/6 "2012-11-21T13:40:05Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > As I’ve mentioned many times on this Board, when listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s _Out my Back Door_ […] None of the above. It’s “flying spoon.” “We’ll spoon” changes the song into being addressed specifically to a lady; surely it’s more universal than that. And note that CCR _never_ did love songs. ---
**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:** [November 21, 2012, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/7 "2012-11-21T13:48:44Z")
Sorry. But I can’t hear “FLying Spoon” in that song, either. Not being a big CCR fan, I don’t know if they did love songs or not. But “Out my Back Door” is still ubniquitous. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/8 "2012-11-21T14:04:30Z")
I always heard the opening line of Iggy Pop’s Lust for Life as: Here comes Johnny in again But when I used to check the lyrics sites, most of them listed it as: Here comes Johnny Sin again But I just checked a few lyrics sites, and they all seemed to have changed to: Here comes Johnny Yen again My version makes sense, the others don’t. I’m sticking by mine. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/9 "2012-11-21T14:08:53Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > In The Beatles “Get Back” almost every web site has “sweet Loretta Martin” as the lyrics. But for the life of me I swear it’s “sweet Loretta Modern.” A Liverpudlian would not pronounce Martin like Modern. Martin would sound more like Ma-Tin. You need to rethink your attitude about [British singers and accents](http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/explainer/2012/11/skyfall_theme_song_by_adele_why_do_british_singers_sound_american.html). ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/10 "2012-11-21T15:09:54Z")
I still kind of think it’s “good reaction” and not “girl reaction” in “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”. But I’m afraid you’re completely wrong about this: > [@John\_DiFool](#): > > “Winging”? Really? :dubious: Yes, “[winging](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/wing)”. > [@](#): > > v. winged, wing·ing, wings > v.intr. > To move on or as if on wings; fly. Ms. Thatcher wasn’t mangling anything; she was simply using a form more commonly found in poetry and song, exactly as you’d expect a poet to do. It’s just a fancy way of saying “flying”, as in the expression, “I’m winging my way home”. Now, I grant that “a bird without [flying]” is a still little awkward; it would be clearer if it were “_being_ a bird without [flying]”, or perhaps “a bird without [flying] _ability_”. But as it is, it’s not ungrammatical, it makes sense, it fits the meter and rhyme scheme, and most importantly, it’s _clearly_ what she’s singing. Couldn’t be clearer. Here’s another fairly famous song which uses “winging”, “['Til There Was You](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=JLDsLeVxOaU#t=73s)”, from _The Music Man_: > [@](#): > > There were bells on the hill, > But I never heard them ringing, > No, I never heard them at all > Till there was you. > There were birds in the sky > But I never saw them **winging** , > No, I never saw them at all > Till there was you. And another, “[Infant Holy, Infant Lowly](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaqoeCl_jR0)”: > [@](#): > > Infant holy, > Infant lowly, > For His bed a cattle stall; > Oxen lowing, > Little knowing > Christ the Babe is Lord of all. > Swift are **winging** > Angels singing, > Nowells ringing, > Tidings bringing, > Christ the Babe is Lord of all. And another, with “wing” but still in verb form (as in “fly”), “[Angels From the Realms of Glory](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnRxH864-o0)”: > [@](#): > > Angels from the realms of glory > **Wing** your flight o’er all the earth; > Ye who sang creation’s story > Now proclaim Messiah’s birth And these are just a few off the top of my head. Having spent far too many years in musical theater and church choirs, I can assure you, “winging” is a perfectly cromulent word, and it is indeed what she’s singing. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/11 "2012-11-21T15:16:38Z")
Everyone knows that the second verse of “Yesterday” is as follows: _Suddenly I’m not half the man I used to be There’s a shadow hanging over me Oh, yesterday came suddenly_ However. I maintain that the last line actually is: _Oh yes, today came suddenly_ It makes more sense, it’s a clever pun, and if you listen to McCartney singing it, it’s actually kind of a toss-up as to which he’s singing. OK, I know I’m wrong, but I still think I’m right. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/12 "2012-11-21T15:26:24Z")
I’m not sure this really counts as a mondegreen, but [in this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=612979) a then-new, now-banned poster has a meltdown because he is utterly convinced that in _Down Under_ Colin Hay is singing ‘On a hippy trailhead full of zombie’ instead of ‘On a hippy trail, head full of zombie.’ He is still convinced he is right, even after I and others say we hear the pause for the comma and someone posted a link to Colin Hay’s page that had the lyrics that showed a comma. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/13 "2012-11-21T15:26:57Z")
The mirrors on the ceiling at the Hotel California **depict** champagne on ice. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/14 "2012-11-21T16:01:13Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > The mirrors on the ceiling at the Hotel California **depict** champagne on ice. It sure sounds like that to me, but I’ve been shot down before (on here as a matter of fact) for suggesting it. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/15 "2012-11-21T16:04:28Z")
> [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I still kind of think it’s “good reaction” and not “girl reaction” in “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”. I always thought he couldn’t get no girly action. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/16 "2012-11-21T16:14:50Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > In The Beatles “Get Back” almost every web site has “sweet Loretta Martin” as the lyrics. But for the life of me I swear it’s “sweet Loretta Modern.” A Liverpudlian would not pronounce Martin like Modern. Martin would sound more like Ma-Tin. I, too, have always heard Loretta’s last name as Modern. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/17 "2012-11-21T16:15:26Z")
Having listened to it carefully 100 times, there is no doubt that Manfred Mann no idea what Brucewas saying,but themselves very clearly sing “And little early Burly gave my anus curly whirly” ---
**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 21, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/18 "2012-11-21T16:18:49Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I always thought he couldn’t get no girly action. [So does everyone else.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=663864&highlight=girly+action) ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/19 "2012-11-21T16:24:47Z")
Marshall Crenshaw’s _Cynical Girl_. All lyric websites have it as \*I’m goin’ out, Goin’ out looking for a cynical girl Who’s got no use **for the reah-uhl world…** \* When I’ve always heard it as \*I’m goin’ out, Goin’ out looking for a cynical girl Who’s got no use **for me in the world…** \* Marshall Crenshaw himself could tell me I’m wrong, and I would counter that I am right, he’s wrong, and besides, my lyric is better. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/20 "2012-11-21T16:33:17Z")
On the Manhattan Transfer album _Extensions_, one of the songs is called “Trickle Trickle.” According to the lyrics printed on the album cover (when I saw it as an LP, and later in the CD booklet), the second verse begins: _Trickle, trickle, plop plop Just got to see my seat don’t drop_ Yet, every time I hear it I am more convinced that they are singing: _Trickle, trickle, plop plop Just got to see my **sweet gumdrop** _ I’m right; they’re wrong. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672.md?page=2)