# YOUR misheard lyrics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [August 6, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166 "2015-08-06T16:34:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/181 "2015-10-11T15:27:37Z")
_I hear morning bros whistling…_ ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/182 "2015-10-15T05:25:09Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > _I hear morning bros whistling…_ What are the actual lyrics? A couple of days ago I heard the Bee Gees “Jive Talking”. I decided to look up the lyrics because there was a part I knew I always heard wrong. Actual lyrics: Telling me lies yeah My misinterpretation: Telling Elijah ---
**Author:** ![northporlarbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7bcc69/32.png) [@northporlarbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/northporlarbear)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/183 "2015-10-15T14:57:26Z")
I can’t really hear any lyric at all. I need the lips & the context to hear what is being said. When you say something random like in singing, I can’t quite capture it. It doesn’t matter though. I have no trouble at all in everyday-life. No one talks to me by singing. ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/184 "2015-10-16T20:41:32Z")
ABC’s _Poison Arrow_ Lyric: Shoot that poison arrow… Heard: She’s got poison eyebrows… (I was 9 years old when the song came out) Also, as I mentioned in a similar earlier thread, I originally thought that Queen’s _Another One Bites the Dust_ was actually called _Another One Rides the Bus,_ long before anyone had ever heard of Weird Al Yankovic. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/185 "2015-10-20T12:44:58Z")
Just had another one happen to me. The song is Steely Dan’s _Sign in Stanger_, from the 1976 release \*Royal Scam. \* Actual Lyric: _Do you have a dark spot on your past? Leave it to my man he’ll fix it fast_. What I’ve been hearing for almost 40 years: _Do you have a dark spot on your **pants**? Leave it to my man he’ll fix it fast_. :smack: ---
**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:** [October 20, 2015, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/186 "2015-10-20T13:17:01Z")
Mine is the Rod Stewart / Faces song “Stay with Me.” The lyrics are You won’t need too much persuading I don’t mean to sound degrading But with a face like that You got nothing to laugh about Red lips hair and fingernails I hear you’re a mean old Jezebel Let’s go up stairs and read my tarot cards But I always heard that last line as “go upstairs and be my powder puff” And I like my lyric much better, it has an affectionate raunchiness that fits the song. PS- My apologies if I posted this in this thread earlier, I thought I might have but I scrolled through the thread a few times and didn’t see it. There are a lot of similar threads in this forum. PPS - Lyrics websites really suck ---
**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:** [October 20, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/187 "2015-10-20T15:22:58Z")
I always thought it was a “Long Cool Woman in a Red Dress.” Googling it for a Baker’s Dozen thread, I find out the dress is BLACK? I don’t care. It sounds red to me. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/188 "2015-10-21T14:27:58Z")
Another thread about songs reminded me of this one. REM’s “The One I Love” Real lyric: “A simple prop, to occupy my time” I heard: " A simple prop, to help you tie my tie". ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/189 "2015-10-21T16:12:43Z")
My weirdest one is one where I’m sure my version is better than the real one. On Dark Side of the Moon there is a voice (I thought it was an old bum, but apparently it was a roadie or someone coming by the studio who agreed to be interviewed) who I heard say: “I certainly was in the race…” The actual line I found out recently was “I certainly was in the right…” ---
**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:** [October 21, 2015, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/190 "2015-10-21T18:24:44Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I always thought it was a “Long Cool Woman in a Red Dress.” Googling it for a Baker’s Dozen thread, I find out the dress is BLACK? > > I don’t care. It sounds red to me. I always though it was “Long cool woman and a bad man”. **drad dog** I too thought it was “I certainly was in the race”. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/191 "2015-10-22T18:20:26Z")
I heard Bush’s “Glycerine” on the radio just now and I still keep thinking it says “kiss the rain.” ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/192 "2015-10-24T03:53:33Z")
Until recently I’ve never really used any herbs and spices, and never really gave them any thought, so for years whenever I heard Simon & Garfunkel singing “Scarborough Fair” I heard the line, “Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,” as, “Parsley, sage, rosemary and time.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/193 "2015-10-24T12:22:02Z")
I believe “thyme” is indeed pronounced as “time”… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/194 "2015-10-24T13:58:35Z")
I once heard that STP’s Scott Welland got the line ‘flies in the vasoline [sic]’ from mis-hearing ‘life in the fast lane’. EDIT: I found a citation. > [@](#): > > **Songfacts** : [Meat Puppets] Curt Kirkwood told me a pretty funny story. He said he was once speaking to you about songwriting and you told him that you came up with the lyric “Flies in the Vasoline” because you heard your parents listening to “Life in the Fast Lane” by the Eagles, and you thought that’s what they were saying. > > **Scott:** Yeah. That’s where the initial line came from and that sort of sparked the whole idea of the song. . ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/195 "2015-10-24T19:53:27Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I believe “thyme” is indeed pronounced as “time”… Thank you. That makes me feel a little better now. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/196 "2015-10-24T21:25:32Z")
This is one of the threads that don’t die, and while I’m listening to the Who’s _Quadrophenia_, I’m noticing another misheard lyric from _Cut My Hair_, the last line is: “My fried egg makes me sick first thing in the morning” I thought it was: “My Friday makes me sick first thing in the morning” ---
**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:** [October 24, 2015, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/197 "2015-10-24T21:42:34Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > Until recently I’ve never really used any herbs and spices, and never really gave them any thought, so for years whenever I heard Simon & Garfunkel singing “Scarborough Fair” I heard the line, “Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,” as, “Parsley, sage, rosemary and time.” When I was a kid, I misheard it as ‘partially save Rosemary in time’, which seemed kind of mean to poor Rosemary…save her all the way, guys! Geez! ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/198 "2015-10-28T19:27:27Z")
I got heartaches in my pocket I got pickles in my hair ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/199 "2015-10-28T19:45:20Z")
Rollerskating to “Gloria” by Laura Branigan: Real lyric: “I think they got the alias…that you’ve been living under” I heard: “I think they got your area…that you’ve been living under” Which also kind of makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/200 "2015-10-28T21:20:32Z")
These aren’t really misheard lyrics, but _misunderstood_ lyrics. In elementary school we had a singing for 15 - 30 minutes. Those songs still pop into my head from time to time. I don’t know what this first one is, but it seems it was sung around Christmas so I think it’s a song about Jesus. _His eyes were black As black as a jet_ Growing up near NAS Miramar, I could tell you jets were definitely _not_ black! They were light grey on top and white on the bottom with barred roundels on the sides and wings, and cool artwork on the tails. I had no idea, nor was it ever explained, that ‘jet’ in this context meant a certain kind of rock, which is black. This is from Stephen Foster’s _Some Folks_: _Some folks long to die, But that’s not me nor you._ How did _he_ know how long _I_ have before I die? I was rather offended. I wanted it to be a _very_ long time before I died! ‘Long’, meaning ‘desire’ was well out of general use before I got to elementary school. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166.md?page=11)