# You had the lyrics wrong...but you actually like yours better **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 26, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790 "2008-12-26T23:31:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![williamweigand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b3f665/32.png) [@williamweigand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/williamweigand)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790/61 "2008-12-29T13:32:04Z")
In America’s “A Horse with No Name” I thought the line “The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz” was really “The first thing I met was a pile of bones”, but since that actually makes sense I can see why they didn’t say that. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790/62 "2008-12-29T14:38:10Z")
Not a lyric, but a line of dialogue from a movie . . . In **Four Weddings and a Funeral,** when Tom is giving his tasteless “best man” speech: Real line: “I remember the first girl Bernard asked to marry him. As I recall, she told him to sod off . . . \ . . . and lucky for Lydia that she did. \” What I heard (for YEARS!): “. . . As I recall, she told him to saw it off . . . and lucky for Lydia that she did.” Now I am familiar with the phrase “sod off”, and why I heard it this way instead, I have no idea. But I much prefer mine. More graphic and thus even more tasteless than what he really said. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790/63 "2008-12-29T15:02:29Z")
I think this is my third time posting this lyric. In Dire Straits’ **So Far Away** , I always heard the lyric: _Here I am again in this mean old town And you’re so far away from me_ as: _I hear that Armageddon is a mean old town And you’re so far away from me_ Mine is CLEARLY superior. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790/64 "2008-12-29T15:06:57Z")
Winter Wonderland. The lyric clearly should be Later on, we’ll perspire As we dream by the fire. I mean, everyone “perspires” in front of a fire, but who the hell “conspires”? What are they doing to do, celebrate New Years by overthrowing the government? Killing a family member? Shooting up Times Square? That word has always annoyed the hell out of me, particuarlarly since there is such a good alternative. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790/65 "2008-12-29T16:10:08Z")
Robyn Hitchcock has bizarre lyrics anyway, and the one I had wrong was in “Beautiful Queen.” **Real lyrics:** Have a ripe tomato here in ecstacy **My version:** Have a right to martyr here in ecstacy Ain’t mine more poetical? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790/66 "2008-12-29T16:50:19Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Another Sting one, from “If I built this fortress” > Simon and Garfunkel > > _A frosty room, in a cold and dark December > I am alone > Looking out my window, to the street below > A silent shroud of freshly powdered snow_ > > The last line is actually “On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow” …but mine has internal rhyming too, and I like it much better. Actual lyrics: Winter’s day, in a deep and dark December I am alone Gazing out mywindow to the street below On a freshly fallen, silent shroud of snow ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790/67 "2008-12-29T17:04:57Z")
Rolling Stones, “Sympathy for the Devil” Actual: _When the blitzkrieg raged And the bodies stank_ What I heard: _When the blitzkrieg raged And fighters staged_ ---
**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 29, 2008, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790/68 "2008-12-29T17:07:37Z")
I knew my words were wrong but I could never understand the real words. Reaching back into the mists of time-- I always sang (and still do) Rolls Royce’s Car Wash _You might not ever get rich. ‘Cuz you ain’t nothin’ but a big, fat son-of-a-bitch._ One day my husband heard me singing it and laughed and laughed and told me the real words are: Lemme tell you, it’s better than digging a ditch. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790/69 "2008-12-30T02:25:21Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Winter Wonderland. The lyric clearly should be > > Later on, we’ll perspire > As we dream by the fire. > > I mean, everyone “perspires” in front of a fire, but who the hell “conspires”? What are they doing to do, celebrate New Years by overthrowing the government? Killing a family member? Shooting up Times Square? > > That word has always annoyed the hell out of me, particuarlarly since there is such a good alternative. They’re conspiring to “face unafraid the plans that (we) made.” It’s a split infinitive. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790/70 "2008-12-30T04:38:42Z")
**Feed the Tree** by **Belly**. Near the end, when she sings: _I know all this and… I know all this and… I know all this and more_ I thought it was _I’m no walrus, I’m no walrus, I’m no walrus and more_. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790/71 "2008-12-30T08:34:29Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > “Scuse me, while I kiss this guy”, sounded better to me than “Scuse me, while I kiss the sky”, especially coming after the words, “Actin’ funny, but I don’t know why…” > > Q Well, you’re vindicated. In the live version of **Purple Haze** , recorded at Candlestick Park in 1968, he _does_ sing “'cuse me while I kiss this guy.” My cite is Guitar Hero World Tour… ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790/72 "2008-12-30T13:43:18Z")
Queen’s We Will Rock You You’ve got mud on your face. _Mud_? C’mon, it should be _blood_ and I will never hear it without hearing _blood_ ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790/73 "2008-12-30T14:31:37Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Queen’s We Will Rock You > > You’ve got mud on your face. > > _Mud_? C’mon, it should be _blood_ and I will never hear it without hearing _blood_ It’s “mud” the first time he says it, “blood” the second, “mud” the third. So, you’re vindicated. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790/74 "2008-12-30T18:19:37Z")
The first time I heard Hoagy Carmichael’s [Lazy Bones](http://redhotjazz.com/songs/hoagy/lazybones1.ram): _Lazy bones Sleepin’ in the sun How you 'xpect to get your day’s work done_ it was on the radio, and I was in the next room. I thought I heard: _Lazy bum Sleepin’ in the sun_ I still like mine better. Hey, it rhymes! ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790/75 "2008-12-30T21:40:08Z")
For the oldsters in this thread, The Fleetwoods “The Great Imposter” What I heard as a child: “Poetry so sweet As a rabbit’s feet” Actually: “Poetry so sweet has her at his feet” Mine was cuter. ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790/76 "2008-12-31T00:26:51Z")
Tori Amos, “Past the Mission” My lines: \*I can’t believe I went to Cuba… Past the mission I once knew a hired girl\* Original lines: \*I don’t believe I went too far… Past the mission I once knew a hot girl\* I figure my brain wanted to hear a more concrete story, and so made one up about a tourist who befriends a hotel maid and gets caught up in political intrigue while in Cuba. I mean, elsewhere in the song they mention a body that’s found and a prison… Someday I’ll write my version of it. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790/77 "2008-12-31T13:50:14Z")
Paul Simon’s _Kodachrome_. Actual lyrics: _If you took all the girls I knew When I was single And brought them all together for one night I know they’d never match my sweet imagination everything looks worse in black and white_ Turek’s lyrics: _I know they’d never match my sweet **remagination** everything looks worse in black and white_ with \*remagination \*being a made up word meaning the shiny, glossy spin the mind imagines that makes memories of people and events seem better than they actually were. Basically, “Good Ol’ Day” syndrome. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2008, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790/78 "2008-12-31T14:12:12Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > My little China girl you shouldn’t mess with me > I’ll ruin everything you are > You know I’ll give you television, I’ll give you eyes of blue > I’ll give you a man who wants to rule the world Up till now I never knew what the lyrics were, but had thought that it was probably “I’ll give you Men of Mars to rule the world”, which would make sense considering his former alter ego of Ziggy. Although it sounds much more like “I’ll give you Mallomars to rule the world” than either mine or the real lyrics, but I did assume that it couldnt have been that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-had-the-lyrics-wrong-but-you-actually-like-yours-better/478790.md?page=3)