# Song lyrics I misunderstood **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 27, 2011, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985 "2011-06-27T03:15:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/41 "2011-09-04T00:49:51Z")
“Knights In White Satin…” ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/42 "2011-09-04T00:51:44Z")
Stevie Nicks, _Edge of Seventeen_: **Just like the one-winged dove!** Poor birdie. ☹ (Actual lyric: **Just like the white-winged dove!** ) I still claim that my mondegreen for Elton John’s _Someone Saved My Life Tonight_ makes more sense than the original lyrics: **Someone saved my life tonight (Should’ve they?)** as opposed to the actual lyrics: **Someone saved my life tonight (Sugar Bear)** Which brings to mind Elton John receiving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation from [this guy](http://www.tvacres.com/adanimals_sugarbear.htm). ---
**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:** [September 4, 2011, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/43 "2011-09-04T00:58:42Z")
[I’ll never leave your pizza burnin’](http://pizzaburnin.ytmnd.com/) ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/44 "2011-09-04T01:59:29Z")
Beatles-“All you need is blah” ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/45 "2011-09-04T02:00:27Z")
Can anybody say that Rihanna isn’t singing “[Hazel’s Got the Music](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZCubnJb9Fg)”? (The second line and the chorus later.) I am [not the only one](http://ordinarysuperhero.com/2008/01/hazels-got-the-music/) [who thinks so](http://www.busymom.net/archives/003865.html). Unfortunately [Ellen makes fun of us](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BppP1crfTZg) on her show. And in the original recording of “[I am your Venus](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y51HlQJPhXI)” by Shocking Blue I was surprised that they let them sing a certain word that rhymes with “Venus” on the radio back then. (I am your fountain of joy desire?) ---
**Author:** ![Snake\_Plissken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@Snake\_Plissken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snake_Plissken)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/46 "2011-09-04T02:55:37Z")
A War song came on the car radio, and I said 'turn it up, I love this song". My wife says, “Oh I love this too.” She cranks it up and starts singing, “No way out”, instead of Low-ride-er. We laughed through the whole tune. ---
**Author:** ![dada2fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ccd318/32.png) [@dada2fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dada2fish)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/47 "2011-09-04T10:13:12Z")
Van Halen’s Runnin’ With the Devil - Instead of hearing, “I got no love, no love to call real…” I hear, “I got no love, no love in Korea. I got nobody waiting at home.” Carly Simon’s Baby Your the Best - Instead of hearing, “Nobody does it. Half as good as you…” I hear, “Nobody does it. Heavens caress you. Baby your the best.” I only found out the right lyrics after watching the movie Lost in Translation. Paul Simon’s Kodachrome - Instead of hearing, “Momma’s gonna take my Kodachrome away.” I always thought it was, “Momma’s gonna take my combs and throw 'em all away.” As a little kid I would wonder, Why would Paul Simons mom take away all his combs? Doesn’t she want him to look nice? ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/48 "2011-09-04T11:20:36Z")
**Van Halen** - “Jump” Actual lyrics: Well can’t you see me standing here, I’ve got my back against the record machine What I heard for years Well can’t you see me standing here, I’ve got my back against the wrecking machine ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/49 "2011-09-04T11:47:37Z")
[Journey](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LatorN4P9aA) Here we stand **Rosa Parks** , hearts broken in two, two, two Sleepless nights Losing ground I’m reaching for you, you, you ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/50 "2011-09-04T19:02:10Z")
Last week a girl in my class took her break with me in my car. We are from different cultures and generations, if it makes any difference. I had the radio on but I wasn’t really paying attention to what was on because I was working on a paper. Suddenly she says, “I thought rap was nasty but they playin’ a song about dicks on the ceiling?” I have no idea how she got that from this, but the song was\*\* Blackwater\*\* by the Doobie Brothers. “I like to hear some funky dicks on the ceiling…”? I can’t even wrap my head around that one. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/51 "2011-09-04T20:12:17Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Many people seem to think CCR is giving directions to the facilities… > “There’s a bathroom on the right…” John Fogerty actually makes sport of that when he perfumes “Bad Moon Rising” in concert. He’ll sing that line and oftentimes will point offstage to where the facilities are. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/52 "2011-09-04T20:32:25Z")
This morning I realized that the Johnny Rivers’ line was “…the one they call the 7th son,” not …“the one they call the setting sun.” I’m ashamed to admit how many years I was deluded. Thankfully, they never played it too often when I was in my teenage years, or I would have had to emigrate to New Zealand because of the embarrassment. ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/53 "2011-09-04T22:27:10Z")
When I was a wee kidlet, I thought Prince’s new hit song was entitled “Raspberry Sorbet”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/54 "2011-09-05T00:04:20Z")
Cat Stevens’\* Matthew and Sons\* has the line “they don’t dare” referring to asking for raises, which I always heard as “they don’t care”, which puts a much different spin on how they feel about their job ---
**Author:** ![Tess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@Tess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/55 "2011-09-05T09:49:50Z")
For years I was convinced Elton John had a song in which he kept declaring, “I like girls.” Turns out he really separates the first two syllables in “Island Girl” ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/56 "2011-09-05T11:44:02Z")
The lyrics to “Bette Davis Eyes” are hard to decipher. I thought Kim Carnes was singing “she knows just what it takes to make a problem.” She is actually singing “she knows just what it takes to make a pro blush” which makes no sense. It turns out Kim’s song is a cover version and someone misheard the lyrics when listening to the original song. The original lyrics are “she knows just what it takes to make a crow blush.” ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/57 "2011-09-05T15:51:01Z")
> [@Sarabellum1976](#): > > When I was a wee kidlet, I thought Prince’s new hit song was entitled “Raspberry Sorbet”. 🙂 That sounds delicious! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/58 "2011-09-05T18:01:27Z")
THank god for android phones… i use to forget to look this stuff up when i got home… Recently Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac) “gypsy” I had no idea Lindsey is singing in the background "Lightin’s strikes,…maybe once… maybe twice,. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/59 "2011-09-05T20:08:37Z")
“Captain Jack”-for (embarssingly) long time thought the kid was smoking a pipe. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985/60 "2011-09-05T23:36:09Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > The lyrics to “Bette Davis Eyes” are hard to decipher. I thought Kim Carnes was singing “she knows just what it takes to make a problem.” She is actually singing “she knows just what it takes to make a pro blush” which makes no sense. It turns out Kim’s song is a cover version and someone misheard the lyrics when listening to the original song. The original lyrics are “she knows just what it takes to make a crow blush.” It’s very funny that Kim Carnes got the lyric wrong, but “make a pro blush” does make sense when “pro” is short for prostitute. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-i-misunderstood/586985.md?page=4)