# Song lyrics you've misheard that are perfectly acceptable - perhaps even better - substitutes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 20, 2015, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005 "2015-06-20T13:04:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [July 1, 2015, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/61 "2015-07-01T12:24:26Z")
Actually, I originally heard the lyrics as _Won’t you take a ride On the Glide-Wheel Spoon?_ Which completely confused me. It wasn’t until much later that I learned of the meaning of “Glide” that I re-interpreted it as “On the Glide we’ll spoon”, and that made so much sense that I was convinced of its correctness. So learning that the “real” lyrics were “on the magic spoon” not only made _less_ sense, but didn’t sound like the words they were singing. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2015, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/62 "2015-07-01T12:47:49Z")
I don’t know. Totally sounds like “Flying Spoon” to me. I’ve never heard it, and cannot hear it, as anything else. As for not making sense-- Well, with all due respect, why would you expect it to make sense? That whole song is filled with surrealistic and absurdist imagery: Giants doing cartwheels, a dinosaur Victrola (whatever that is), happy creatures dancing on the lawn, tambourines and elephants playing in a band. All of these are “wondrous apparitions provided by magicians,” the result of “imagination [setting] in.” A flying spoon fits right in. Frankly, in that song, a lyric that made some kind of logical sense would be wildly out of place! 🙂 ---
**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:** [July 1, 2015, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/63 "2015-07-01T12:54:36Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > I don’t know. Totally sounds like “Flying Spoon” to me. I’ve never heard it, and cannot hear it, as anything else. > > As for not making sense-- Well, with all due respect, why would you expect it to make sense? That whole song is filled with surrealistic and absurdist imagery: Giants doing cartwheels, a dinosaur Victrola (whatever that is), happy creatures dancing on the lawn, tambourines and elephants playing in a band. > > All of these are “wondrous apparitions provided by magicians,” the result of “imagination [setting] in.” A flying spoon fits right in. Frankly, in that song, a lyric that made some kind of logical sense would be wildly out of place! 🙂 But the lyrics aren’t complete gibberish or nonsense, like the opening stanza of _Jabberwocky_. Every now and then something seems coherent and makes sense – like “wondrous apparitions provided by magicians”, which is not only coherent, but arguably explains much of the odd imagery. So looking for sense in the lyrics is not at all out of place. ---
**Author:** ![davidw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c4cdca/32.png) [@davidw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidw)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2015, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/64 "2015-07-01T13:27:01Z")
Raekwon, “Incarcerated Scarfaces” _You got guns? We got guns too, what up, son do you wanna battle for cash and see who’s Sun Tzu? You got guns? We got guns too, what up, son do you wanna battle for cash and see who sons who?_ There’s still controversy over which line is actually correct. Since Raekwon’s a member of Wu-Tang, his referencing Sun Tzu would make perfect sense. But talking about “sonning” someone is total 90s NY hip hop slang, so that makes perfect sense as well. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2015, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/65 "2015-07-01T14:54:15Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > But the lyrics aren’t complete gibberish or nonsense, like the opening stanza of _Jabberwocky_. Every now and then something seems coherent and makes sense – like “wondrous apparitions provided by magicians”, which is not only coherent, but arguably explains much of the odd imagery. So looking for sense in the lyrics is not at all out of place. Yes, perhaps I should have said that something as mundane as spooning with someone on a glide would be out place. You’re right that the song is not really incoherent nonsense. The story it tells is quite straightforward: a guy gets home after a long trip, and in order to unwind, sits on his back porch and imagines a bunch of weird stuff happening. To me, the explaining line is not “provided by magicians” but rather “imagination sets in”–I doubt that the magicians were really there, either, anymore than the elephants or the dinosaur! 🙂 He knows that he has to return to his ordinary workaday life soon enough, but for right now he’s indulging his imagination (“Bother me tomorrow, today I’ll buy no sorrow”). So to me, a flying spoon fits in perfectly well with all the other things he’s imagining, in a way that the reality of canoodling with a girl wouldn’t. Not that spooning in a glide is “sorrow,” exactly, but it is a break from the wacky world of fantasy that he’s creating. This is perhaps more analysis than a fun little song like this will bear, and probably a bit outside the scope of the thread, but “Looking Out My Back Door” is one of my favorite CCR songs, so I couldn’t resist giving my two cents. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2015, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/66 "2015-07-02T22:11:27Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > From Bowie’s _Suffragette City_, I always heard > > “This mellow-thighed chick just put my spine out of place” > > as > > “This mellow fat chick just put my spine out of place” > > which personally I like much better, I like the idea of the happy plump groupie squashing emaciated rock stars. See, and I always heard it as “The smile of that chick, just put my spine out of place…” Like she’s got some creepy vibe… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/67 "2015-07-03T01:02:22Z")
I always hear it as “the smell of fat chicks, just…” but I knew that that couldn’t be right. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2015, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/68 "2015-07-03T01:27:40Z")
_come to me, my Swedish friend…_ ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2015, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/69 "2015-07-03T02:44:17Z")
I’ve posted this before on earlier threads: **R.E.M. - Losing My Religion** What they sang: _That’s me in the corner That’s me in the spotlight_ What I heard: _Let’s pee in the corner Let’s pee in the spotlight_ ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2015, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/70 "2015-07-03T13:19:49Z")
In Rod Stewart’s “Stay With Me” there is a lyric “Red lips, hair and fingernails I hear you’re a mean old Jezebel Let’s go upstairs and read my tarot cards” I always heard “read my tarot cards” as “be my powder puff”. I think it’s much better the way I heard it, (crude sit on my face imagery, you know). ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/71 "2015-07-03T15:11:54Z")
In Marcy Playground’s “Sex & Candy”, the singer does this sort of mumble after the last words of the line which drags out the sound and had me thinking it was longer than it was. So the real: I smell sex and candy here-mhhmm-mhmm Who’s that lounging in my chair-mhhmm-mhmm Sounded to me like: I smell sex and candy in the breeze Who’s that lounging in my cherry tree? Which I think works perfectly well lyrically and matches the flow of the lines better than the mumble-humming he does to stretch the lines out. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/72 "2015-07-03T15:34:43Z")
The perenniel line dance favorite song [D.H.S.S.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEjV7a0WqUE) **Actual lyrics** : “I like my men like I like my coffee, Hot, strong and sweet like toffee…” **What it sounds like to me** ; “I like my men like I like my coffee, Hot strong and sweet who’ll tie me up…” ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/73 "2015-07-03T16:57:09Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > “Excuse me while I kiss this guy.” Which was the mondegreen that popped into my head when I heard about the SCOTUS ruling on marriage. I say we touch up the original to make this line clearer and make it official. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/74 "2015-07-24T14:47:13Z")
“Scar Tissue” by Red Hot Chili Peppers: Correct: _Push me up against the wall Young Kentucky girl in a push-up bra Fallin’ all over myself To lick your heart and taste your health 'cause With the bird I’ll share, this lonely view…_ What I hear: _Push me up against the wall Young Tough girl in a push-up bra Fallin’ all over myself To lick your heart and baste your hips 'cause With the bird I’ll share, this lonely view…_ ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/75 "2015-07-24T14:58:39Z")
The nuns tried very hard to beat good grammar into my head. So, back in 1973, when I heard “Live and Let Die,” I assumed Paul McCartney was singing, “But if this ever-changing world in which we’re living…” But no, he was singing the redundant and nonsensical line “But if this ever-changing world in which we live in…” My line is better. ---
**Author:** ![lalaith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@lalaith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lalaith)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/76 "2015-07-24T15:29:35Z")
Hotel California - Eagles Correct – Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air What I heard (which doesn’t make more sense, but as much sense) – Warm smell of calyptus, rising up through the air (I thought that was short for eucalyptus as California has a lot of eucalyptus. And I’d never heard the term “colitis” for marijuana) The Joker - Steve Miller Band Correct - “I speak of the pompatus of love” What I heard - “I speak of the prophetess of love” In both of those cases, the lyrics had a word I did not know and my mind replaced it with a similar word I did know and that fit the context. And related… In a gadda da vida - Iron Butterfly I know it’s “In a gadda da vida,” but I get “In the garden of Eden” out of it which is what the guy was actually trying to say. I don’t know why this particular bit of mangled enunciation stuck as the words instead of what was intended. Because songs generally don’t have a problem with mangled words. (Billy Ocean’s Caribbean Queen comes to mind.) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/77 "2015-07-24T16:26:32Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > So, back in 1973, when I heard “Live and Let Die,” I assumed Paul McCartney was singing, “But if this ever-changing world in which we’re living…” That is the correct lyric. We’ve done this in the past. Some people still dispute it, although all the lyrics sites have it that way. Obviously, lots of lyric sites are bad so that’s not proof, but I think most people have given up trying to fight it. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/78 "2015-07-24T16:30:10Z")
The chorus to Wham’s _Wham Rap_ goes “Wham bam I am a man job or no job, you can’t tell me that I’m not” For the longest time I thought it was " . . . Jive on a dot, you can’t tell me that I’m not" :smack: This was before you could easily look up lyrics and though I got the gist that he’s a cool, rebel sort who likes to party, I didn’t really get the tie in to the unemployment problem in the UK at the time. I just figured he’s got, ya know, “A1 style from head to toe” and therefore can break out into a dance on command, in the same way one might “stop on a dime”. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/79 "2015-07-24T17:04:08Z")
> [@Civil\_Guy](#): > > Posted by someone else in another thread, but I misheard it the same way: > > Misheard lyric “I miss the rains down in Africa.” > Actual lyric “I bless the rains down in Africa.” > > The misheard lyrics are better. As I figure it, the dude is longing for adventure he can almost feel as a real memory. I don’t quite understand why he would want to ‘bless’ the rains. This. Missing the rains down in Africa is a perfectly reasonable thing to do. I do to. Blessing them is something you’d do when you are having a psychotic break. Yeah, buddy, uh thanks for doing that. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005/80 "2020-01-25T23:06:05Z")
Bumping this zombie to report breaking news … just today I learned that the lyric in _Sympathy for the Devil_ is > [@](#): > > I was there when Jesus Christ > Had his moment of doubt and pain. I had always thought it was > [@](#): > > I was there when Jesus cried > In his moment of doubt and pain. I like mine better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-youve-misheard-that-are-perfectly-acceptable-perhaps-even-better-substitutes/723005.md?page=5)