# "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:** 3
**Author:** ![TygerTrip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@TygerTrip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TygerTrip)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/41 "2012-11-21T23:50:10Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > At the end of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid”, I always heard: > _I tell you to end your life. > I wish I could, but it’s too late._ > > All the online lyric sites seem to have: > _I tell you to enjoy life. > I wish I could, but it’s too late._ > > If my version is not what Ozzy actually sang, it should have been… I’ve seen Ozzy tell an anecdote about someone angrily confronting him for telling people to “end your life” in “Paranoid”. He said he was stunned, no idea what the person was referring to, so he ran through the lyrics in his head real quick and realized the person had misheard “enjoy life” as “end your life”. And then he laughed and said that for years he had thought Jimi Hendrix was kissing a guy (“'scuse me, while I kiss the sky”). ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/42 "2012-11-22T00:32:02Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > And, [here](http://www.glennfreyonline.com/images/hcinsert1.jpg) it is, about 3/4 of the way down on the right. > > “Mirrors on the ceiling. **The pink** champagne on ice.” I hate you.[/Professor Fate] ---
**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 22, 2012, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/43 "2012-11-22T00:40:53Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Jimmy Buffett’s “Why Don’t We Get Drunk” - all the lyrics sites, and even some actual cites, have him singing “They say you are a snuff queen / Honey, I don’t think that’s true”. > > Well, sorry, parrotheads, “snub queen” makes more sense, both linguistically and contextually. So I’m sticking with it. Smut Queen. It absolutely has to be Smut Queen. Well, that’s how I’ve always sang it, and will continue too. ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/44 "2012-11-22T01:22:31Z")
I think this may have been mentioned in a thread recently, but a quick search didn’t reveal anything so maybe I dreamt that (or I’m remembering it from another site). Anyway, I have two from Dire Straits’ “Romeo and Juliet.” The first line often appears on lyrics sites as: _A love struck Romeo sings a street sus serenade_ This is obviously someone mis-hearing the real lyric: _…sings the streets a serenade_ …because the first lyric is gibberish, while the latter makes perfect sense. But the second example is a bit more ambiguous. Where I hear: - And all I do is miss you and the way we used to be All I do is keep the beat, the bad company And all I do is kiss you through **the bars of a rhyme** Juliet I’d do the stars with you any time - many (most?) people hear: - And all I do is miss you and the way we used to be All I do is keep the beat, the bad company And all I do is kiss you through **the bars of Orion** Juliet I’d do the stars with you any time - “Through the bars of a rhyme” obviously means that the only way he can show his love for her is through song: the serenade he sings to the street and the song he’s singing right now. It resonates with the mention of “beat” in the previous line (beat, bars, rhyme, all songwriting stuff). Now to me they do sound very similar, and I can sort of hear “bars of Orion” if I try really hard, and there is some resonance between the constellation Orion and the stars mentioned in the next line. But there are no “bars of Orion!” He has a famous belt, and a less famous bow, a dagger/sword, and even a freaking hunting dog nearby, but he doesn’t have any bars! It makes no sense! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 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/641672/45 "2012-11-22T02:12:53Z")
> [@wheresmymind](#): > > I think this may have been mentioned in a thread recently, but a quick search didn’t reveal anything so maybe I dreamt that (or I’m remembering it from another site). Anyway, I have two from Dire Straits’ “Romeo and Juliet.” The first line often appears on lyrics sites as: > > _A love struck Romeo sings a street sus serenade_ > This is obviously someone mis-hearing the real lyric: > _…sings the streets a serenade_ > > …because the first lyric is gibberish, while the latter makes perfect sense. Oh, man. I really wanted to try not to do this in this thread, because I just keep thinking of this [XKCD comic](http://xkcd.com/386/), but I love the music of Dire Straits, so I had to respond here. Maybe this is down to something we’ve been missing with the advent of digital music - the absence of liner notes. Dire Straits always printed the lyrics to all their songs in the liner notes, so this has a definitive answer. The line as written (and sung) is “A lovestruck Romeo sings a streetsuss serenade” - which is not gibberish. The OED (sorry, not online) defines “sus” in their 1993 Additions as “Know-how, savoir-faire; understanding” therefore Romeo is singing what can be otherwise described as a street-_smart_ serenade. He’s singing specifically to Juliet; why would he sing _the streets_ a serenade? As for “bars of a rhyme,” that is correct, of course. Wasn’t aware there was any question about it. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/46 "2012-11-22T02:23:49Z")
> [@TygerTrip](#): > > I’ve seen Ozzy tell an anecdote about someone angrily confronting him for telling people to “end your life” in “Paranoid”. He said he was stunned, no idea what the person was referring to, so he ran through the lyrics in his head real quick and realized the person had misheard “enjoy life” as “end your life”. And then he laughed and said that for years he had thought Jimi Hendrix was kissing a guy (“'scuse me, while I kiss the sky”). Well he would say that, wouldn’t he, with idiots angrily confronting him about about it. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/47 "2012-11-22T02:41:21Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > \*You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice. \* > \*If you still choose not to decide, you cannot have made a choice. \* Confirmed. Liner notes for my copy of _The Spirit of the Radio_. > [@Leaffan](#): > > Smut Queen. It absolutely has to be Smut Queen. Well, that’s how I’ve always sang it, and will continue too. “Snub queen” makes sense. He’s asking her to go home with him. He says that people call her the snub queen, i.e. that she turns everyone down, but that he doesn’t believe them. I don’t see how “smut queen” makes sense. “Snuff queen” is definitely out. That would either be saying that she snorts snuff - with no obvious connection to the conversation - or else that she stars in movies where people are murdered. Actually murdered. > [@Just\_Ed](#): > > The line as written (and sung) is “A lovestruck Romeo sings a streetsuss serenade” - which is not gibberish. The OED (sorry, not online) defines “sus” in their 1993 Additions as “Know-how, savoir-faire; understanding” therefore Romeo is singing what can be otherwise described as a street-_smart_ serenade. He’s singing specifically to Juliet; why would he sing _the streets_ a serenade? As in, “Let me go suss that out for you.” Getting the lowdown, the skinny, the straight dope. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/48 "2012-11-22T02:50:34Z")
The [“Dancing Jews”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcOEt34Z5BI&feature=related). ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/49 "2012-11-22T02:57:44Z")
> [@Just\_Ed](#): > > Oh, man. I really wanted to try not to do this in this thread, because I just keep thinking of this [XKCD comic](http://xkcd.com/386/), but I love the music of Dire Straits, so I had to respond here. > > Maybe this is down to something we’ve been missing with the advent of digital music - the absence of liner notes. Dire Straits always printed the lyrics to all their songs in the liner notes, so this has a definitive answer. The line as written (and sung) is “A lovestruck Romeo sings a streetsuss serenade” - which is not gibberish. The OED (sorry, not online) defines “sus” in their 1993 Additions as “Know-how, savoir-faire; understanding” therefore Romeo is singing what can be otherwise described as a street-_smart_ serenade. He’s singing specifically to Juliet; why would he sing _the streets_ a serenade? > > As for “bars of a rhyme,” that is correct, of course. Wasn’t aware there was any question about it. I’ve actually heard that the liner notes read “streetsuss,” but always assumed it was just some record company pion transcribing the words wrong. Your definition of “suss” makes sense, it’s not uncommon to say “suss out the details” or “suss out what’s wrong,” but I still like my version better! He’s singing to the street figuratively, belting out his love song to everyone on the street. Everyone who hears it is affected by it. Eventually he makes his way to the streetlight beneath Juliet’s window and calls up to her (“You and me babe, how 'bout it?”). To back me up, this sequence of events happens in the opening of the music video. Maybe “streetsuss” works too, but it just seems funny that such an archaic/obscure word form would be used when the rest of the song is written in very plain language. I realize that you may very well be correct. Perhaps you’re even _most likely_ correct. But I’m not gonna lie, unless I hear it from Mark Knopler himself (or I get some confirmation that he himself transcribed the lyrics into the liner notes) I’m going to keep singing it my way. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/50 "2012-11-22T03:02:49Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > 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. Thread title noted, there are several YouTube videos of it being performed live by JF and he clearly says flying spoon. Interesting though, there is a [video of him singing “tangerines and Elvis are playing in the band”](http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=3cVWjOrOHrc&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D3cVWjOrOHrc)(1:25) on the second chorus. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/51 "2012-11-22T03:12:49Z")
> [@wheresmymind](#): > > Maybe “streetsuss” works too, but it just seems funny that such an archaic/obscure word form would be used when the rest of the song is written in very plain language. > > I realize that you may very well be correct. Perhaps you’re even _most likely_ correct. But I’m not gonna lie, unless I hear it from Mark Knopler himself (or I get some confirmation that he himself transcribed the lyrics into the liner notes) I’m going to keep singing it my way. 😛 Hey, rock on, I don’t mind. And I’ll freely admit it works either way. For me, when I listen to music, I’ve always liked getting the lyrics with the albums; in fact, I would be seriously annoyed when they weren’t included (hence my reference to the all-digital download era - I know there are “digital booklets” included with digital purchases sometimes, but that seems to be the exception rather than the norm). Anyway, I would usually listen to new music with the lyrics in front of me whenever possible, so some of the things in this thread just seem downright ridiculous to me. And I’ll just note that “suss” is not at all archaic or obscure in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/52 "2012-11-22T03:21:25Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Thread title noted, there are several YouTube videos of it being performed live by JF and he clearly says flying spoon. > > Interesting though, there is a [video of him singing “tangerines and Elvis are playing in the band”](http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=3cVWjOrOHrc&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D3cVWjOrOHrc)(1:25) on the second chorus. Fogerty has been known to play with [mondegreens](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Moon_Rising_%28song%29#Mondegreen) in his live performances - listen here for “[Bathroom on the Right](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H06_0ApzkzY&t=1m55s)”. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/53 "2012-11-22T03:42:29Z")
Paul McCartney got soooo much grief for “In this ever-changing world in which we live in”–years later, when called on it, he insisted it was “…in which we’re livin’.” That’s not how I hear it sung in the original recording, but I’ll give it to him just to have it corrected! ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/54 "2012-11-22T04:03:30Z")
> [@Just\_Ed](#): > > Hey, rock on, I don’t mind. And I’ll freely admit it works either way. > > For me, when I listen to music, I’ve always liked getting the lyrics with the albums; in fact, I would be seriously annoyed when they weren’t included (hence my reference to the all-digital download era - I know there are “digital booklets” included with digital purchases sometimes, but that seems to be the exception rather than the norm). Anyway, I would usually listen to new music with the lyrics in front of me whenever possible, so some of the things in this thread just seem downright ridiculous to me. > > And I’ll just note that “suss” is not at all archaic or obscure in the UK. I just listened to a bunch of live versions of the song on Youtube, hoping to figure this out. Maybe Mark Knopfer himself doesn’t know anymore, because in every live version I could find he merely says " 's got sweet serenade" or “sings a serenade” or some such, getting rid of the controversial syllables. I guess it really doesn’t matter! ---
**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 22, 2012, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/55 "2012-11-22T04:07:00Z")
> [@Just\_Ed](#): > > Fogerty has been known to play with [mondegreens](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Moon_Rising_%28song%29#Mondegreen) in his live performances - listen here for “[Bathroom on the Right](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H06_0ApzkzY&t=1m55s)”. I love this. Fogerty obviously has a sense of humour. ---
**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 22, 2012, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/56 "2012-11-22T04:13:18Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > Paul McCartney got soooo much grief for “In this ever-changing world in which we live in”–years later, when called on it, he insisted it was “…in which we’re livin’.” That’s not how I hear it sung in the original recording, but I’ll give it to him just to have it corrected! John Mellencamp does the same thing in “Small Town”: “No I cannot forget from where it is that I come from.” Makes me shudder just a little. ---
**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 22, 2012, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/57 "2012-11-22T04:13:36Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > “In this ever-changing world in which we live in” That’s how it’s usually quoted, with three "in"s altogether. But whether it’s really “live in” or “livin’,” the first part is definitely “But **IF** this ever-changing world…” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/58 "2012-11-22T07:08:56Z")
Which makes more grammatical sense! That’s got to be it! When McCartney played the opening bars at a concert I attended, my friend looked over at me and said to Mr. Editor-Me, “I know why you’re laughing.” Now I feel I owe him an apology! ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/59 "2012-11-22T07:36:01Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > “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’.” Without ever thinking about it, I always thought it was “It’s as easy as fishin’”, but I think [you’re right](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJprEyXMrIk#t=01m24s). The ‘if it were’ makes no sense and doesn’t fit in any way with the sounds I hear. ---
**Author:** ![midnight-dreary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@midnight-dreary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/midnight-dreary)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/60 "2012-11-22T08:02:39Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > The mirrors on the ceiling at the Hotel California **depict** champagne on ice. I always thought ‘mirrors on the ceiling, they put champagne on ice’ [Previous 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) [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=4)