# Near-Mondegreens: Songs you misunderstood even though you heard the lyrics clearly **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 10, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689 "2010-12-10T19:04:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/41 "2010-12-13T16:48:15Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Maybe there should be a new category of mondegreens, perhaps entitled “Sugar Bears”, where you can clearly hear the actual lyrics, but since they make no sense, you substitute a phrase that sounds similar and has the advantage of making a lot more sense. I had this experience with Billy Joel’s _Piano Man_. I figured that “Paul is a _realisté_ novelist”, with the italicized word being French (or faux-français) for “realist”. But no, the guy who “never had time for a wife” really is a “real estate novelist” – he sells homes by day while dabbling in literary endeavors at night, perhaps scrawling on napkins at the bar where Billy’s playing. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/42 "2010-12-13T18:55:16Z")
> [@Batsinma\_Belfry](#): > > Wrecking Ball as sung by Emmylou Harris. > > \*Meet me at the wrecking ball > wrecking ball, I’ll wear something pretty and white > And we’ll go dancing tonight > Meet me at the wrecking ball > wrecking ball, I’ll wear something pretty and white > And we’ll go dancing tonight \* > > I though it was an actual wrecking ball. > Why would you wear something pretty and white? Wrecking balls are dirty, and probably not the safest place for a date. > > It wasn’t until I heard Gillian Welch sing it, that I realized it was Ball = dance. Actually, I’m pretty sure The Wrecking Ball is a dive bar. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/43 "2010-12-13T19:23:10Z")
And your father’s still perfecting ways of making ceiling wax… 19th Nervous Breakdown. Of course it’s “sealing wax.” But it took me, oh about 20 years to figure that out. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/44 "2010-12-13T19:54:48Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > When I asked my husband early in our marriage whether papa left Temptations ‘alone’ or ‘a loan’ he wondered why he married me. Because he could have left them in debt, which to me would be worse than just alone. This came up recently in a thread similar to this. I thought I was the only one who thought this, until someone piped up that it’s a matter of debate in some circles as to which is correct, “a loan” or “alone.” What I thought made me a unique and special snowflake was that I was thinking about “a loan” at the tender age of whatever, knowing nothing whatsoever about loans and high finance — whereas the concept of “alone” is perfectly plain to the thickest of 6-year-olds. But apparently not. It must be that such sophisticated wordplay is above the heads of most of us radio listeners. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/45 "2010-12-14T00:54:23Z")
> [@Tara\_Maya](#): > > Ring my bell, ring my bell. > > First, I thought this was about bluebells. Then, I thought it was about ringing a bell. But why does she have a bell (the instrument) and why can’t she ring it herself? And the drunk staggered past the cemetery, and saw a sign reading “PLEASE RING BELL FOR CARETAKER.” He gave the bellpull a little tug, and a sleepy caretaker poked his head out a window, asking “Yes?” “I jus’… I jus’,” the drunk began, “I jus’ wanna know why you can’t ring your own damn bell…” ---
**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:** [December 14, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/46 "2010-12-14T00:59:12Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > And your father’s still perfecting ways of making ceiling wax… > > 19th Nervous Breakdown. Of course it’s “sealing wax.” But it took me, oh about 20 years to figure that out. :smack: I had the same impression from “Puff the Magic Dragon” as a kid. Figured it was just a nonsensical turnaround on “floor wax.” ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/47 "2010-12-14T01:07:38Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > For me, it’s _Someone Saved My Life Tonight_. The chorus goes like this… > > EJ: Someone saved my life tonight, sugar bear > Background: Sugar bear, sugar bear > EJ: You almost had your hooks in me, didn’t you dear? :smack: Really? That’s the real lyric? I believe I always substituted “shouldn’t they”, but I just let myself not understand it. Boy, that’s a stupid lyric. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/48 "2010-12-14T01:13:29Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > or should the final lines be parsed this way: > In other words, who is saying they’re leaving - the narrator or the boxer? The boxer. He’s scarred, he’s lost a lot (occasionally ceding the match, even), but, still, he’s a fighter. He’s still there. What this tells us about the boxer, and by virtue of being compared to him, the narrator is open to interpretation. I think determined dignity best fits the intent - certainly the narrator’s, if not necessarily Simon’s (though I think it was). But refusing to admit he made a bad choice and being unwilling to cut his losses is certainly supportable by the lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/49 "2010-12-14T01:34:12Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Actually, I’m pretty sure The Wrecking Ball is a dive bar. I wondered if it might be the name of a bar. Either way it’s the name of a place and not a thing. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/50 "2010-12-14T01:34:52Z")
I’ve been trying to figure out what “I’m Alaska” is about. Turns out it’s “I’m a Latke”. And then of course there is “Christ the Sailor Was Born” ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/51 "2010-12-14T02:16:32Z")
I always envisioned Elton John telling this story to the informer character on Starsky and Hutch. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/52 "2010-12-14T03:47:51Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > I don’t want to hear what you thought about “Come on Eileen”. What’s worse than _Lipstick on your Collar?_ [/hairy old joke] ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/53 "2010-12-14T04:51:22Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > Consider “The Boxer” by Simon and Garfunkel, the final verse. > > > [@](#): > > > > “I am leaving, I am leaving.” > > But the fighter’s still remains. It’s the boxer who is leaving – he has ‘passed on’, and only his still remains are left behind. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/54 "2010-12-14T05:46:19Z")
He was a moonshiner? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/55 "2010-12-14T11:57:32Z")
“Knights in White Satin” ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/56 "2010-12-14T12:59:11Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > “Knights in White Satin” Yes! I absolutely believed that for ages. Indeed, when I hear it I still get a mental image of these guys with lances dressed up like the Ku Klux Klan. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/57 "2010-12-14T23:05:31Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Yes! I absolutely believed that for ages. Indeed, when I hear it I still get a mental image of these guys with lances dressed up like the Ku Klux Klan. I pictured a romantic evening with white satin sheets. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/58 "2010-12-14T23:26:54Z")
I always liked that song “My Candelabra” by Billy Squier. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/59 "2010-12-15T02:00:00Z")
On not believing what you’re hearing, I second the “sugar bear” lyrics from Elton John. Another one for me, and this is kind of embarrassing, was the theme song for Family Ties. The ending lyrics are **What would we do baby, Without Us? Sha la la la.** Although to me it sounds like they’re saying “Shie lie lie lie.” Anyway, for years when I heard the song I was sure they were singing actual words so I heard the very last line as **Shining a light.** :o ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689/60 "2010-12-15T03:33:48Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > It’s the boxer who is leaving – he has ‘passed on’, and only his still remains are left behind. I don’t think so… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/near-mondegreens-songs-you-misunderstood-even-though-you-heard-the-lyrics-clearly/563689.md?page=4)