# 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:** 9
**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:** [September 15, 2015, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/161 "2015-09-15T13:48:32Z")
> [@GreenElf](#): > > For real or that’s just your take on it because you don’t like the song? I love that song. I seriously heard “dead head sticking out of”. Like a dead body in a Cadillac with the head hanging out a window. It made sense with the next lyric “Don’t look back, you can never look back.” Same song: “Your brown skin shining in the sun” I hear: “Your breath is shining in the sun” (could never figure that one out.) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/162 "2015-09-15T14:27:07Z")
I heard this for years when listening to the Beatles classic: Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book? It took me years to write, will you take a look? It’s based on a novel by a man named Lear And I need a job, so I want to be a **take the back right turn**. I was most chagrined to eventually learn that it’s **Paperback Writer**! :smack: [sub]in my defense, I didn’t really listen to the lyrics save for the chorus[/sub] ---
**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:** [September 15, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/163 "2015-09-15T15:21:18Z")
Speaking of The Beatles, I always heard ‘Help me get my **beans** back on the ground’ in _Help_. But then, I was only three years old. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/164 "2015-09-15T16:13:20Z")
In Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours”, the line is “I can’t hesitate no more” - but I always heard it as “I can’t get sauteed no more”. Which made sense, because I’d get tired of being fried in oil with assorted vegetables pretty fast. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/165 "2015-09-15T20:09:02Z")
Van Halen’s “Running with the Devil” Actual: “Ain’t got no love, no love you’d call real” Heard: “Ain’t got no love, no love in Korea” Parliament’s “P-Funk Wants to Get Funked Up” Actual: “Let my funk be P-Funk” Heard: “Let my funky people go” ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/166 "2015-09-22T15:06:58Z")
The Who’s “Did You Steal My Money?” Lyric: did you steal my brasso / nick my gelt you asshole Misheard: lick my gouging asshole ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/167 "2015-09-22T16:02:00Z")
Van Halen, Everybody Wants Some My lyric: You can’t get a medic on a subway line Actual lyric: You can’t get romantic on a subway line Actually, either one makes sense. I’ll probably keep mine. ---
**Author:** ![SUZ\_MAC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@SUZ\_MAC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SUZ_MAC)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/168 "2015-09-22T16:55:34Z")
I don’t mean this to be snarky, but how can you mishear lyrics when it’s the title of the song? Many of these are amusing and some really funny, but when you mishear the lyric and it’s the title of the song 😕 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/169 "2015-09-22T19:20:48Z")
> [@SUZ\_MAC](#): > > I don’t mean this to be snarky, but how can you mishear lyrics when it’s the title of the song? Many of these are amusing and some really funny, but when you mishear the lyric and it’s the title of the song 😕 Because you don’t always know the title of the song. It’s kinda hit-or-miss whether they tell you the song title or artist before or after the song on the radio. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/170 "2015-09-22T19:26:22Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > From _Invisible Touch_ by Genesis: > Actual line: She seems to have an invisible touch, yeah. > What I heard: She seems to have a busy butt, touch it. What I heard was “She seems to have a physical attraction.” ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2015, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/171 "2015-09-22T19:28:51Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > England Dan and John Ford Coley, “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight”: > > Lyric: But there’s a warm wind blowin’, the stars are out… > Heard: But there’s a warm wind blowin’ the stars around… > > Frankly, I like my version of the latter better than the real one 🙂 Add me to the list of those who heard it your way. And prefer our alternate version. ---
**Author:** ![Curious3d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Curious3d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Curious3d)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/172 "2015-09-26T19:33:52Z")
Boston, More Than a Feeling Actual lyric: _“I see my Marianne walkin’ away”_ What I thought it was until just a few months ago: _“I see that derriere walkin’ away”_ I was watching an episode of The Middle and the father is singing the song loudly while at a stop light. I couldn’t figure out why they substituted the word “marianne” for “derriere”. I asked my husband about it and he was highly amused. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Angry\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b38774/32.png) [@The\_Angry\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Angry_Badger)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/173 "2015-09-26T23:10:20Z")
A couple of strangely urine-related ones: Royal Blood’s **Figure It Out** : Lyric: Nothing here to see/Just a kid like me/Trying to **cut some teeth** /Trying to figure it out Heard: Nothing here to see/Just a kid like me/Trying to **piss in your tea** /Trying to figure it out U2’s **Even Better Than The Real Thing** : Lyric: Give me one last dance, we’ll slide down the surface of things Heard: Give me one last dance, we’ll slide on a surface of piss Frankly, I think my versions are better, at least for the imagery invoked. 😛 Just to prove I’m not totally fixated on bodily waste, for years as a kid I used to think the line in Motörhead’s **Ace of Spades** : _I don’t share your greed_ was _Eyebrows shaved clean_ I dunno. I guess I just thought that hard rocking, fast living gambling types used to shave their eyebrows off or something. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2015, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/174 "2015-09-29T14:35:43Z")
I just looked up the lyrics for Dion’s hit Abraham Martin and John to use in the succinct lyric thread game. All my life I’ve been singing the last part “Some day soon you’re gonna be wondering” And that is wrong. Didn’t you love the things that they stood for? Didn’t they try to find some good for you and me? And we’ll be free Some day soon, it’s gonna be one day :eek::smack: ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/175 "2015-09-29T15:53:49Z")
The Johnny Rivers TV theme song for the 1966 US version of the British series Danger Man - ‘Secret Asian Man’. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/176 "2015-09-29T16:10:58Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Van Halen, Everybody Wants Some > > My lyric: You can’t get a medic on a subway line > Actual lyric: You can’t get romantic on a subway line > > Actually, either one makes sense. I’ll probably keep mine. For me, this same lyric has been: “You can’t alter magic on a Sunday lie” I thought Dave was getting mystical 🙂 ---
**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:** [September 29, 2015, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/177 "2015-09-29T18:21:41Z")
> [@Curious3d](#): > > Boston, More Than a Feeling > > Actual lyric: _“I see my Marianne walkin’ away”_ > > What I thought it was until just a few months ago: _“I see that derriere walkin’ away”_ Up until this very moment that’s what I thought it said too. Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical”: Real lyric: “I want to get animal, animal” When I was little I heard: “I want to get Panama, Panama.” (I also got in trouble for singing it to myself in the car one day because of the “rude” lyrics. But Mom, it’s about exercising. Working out at the gym. What else could it be about?) ---
**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:** [September 29, 2015, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/178 "2015-09-29T19:55:21Z")
Got one more, just when I saw that this thread was bumped, I heard “Big Spender” on the TV. I used to think it was about a guy named “Bix Bender”. To my excuse, I first heard it as a kid when I hardly knew a word of English. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/179 "2015-10-03T16:12:00Z")
I just found a new one. In “The Thunder Rolls” I always heard _As the storm blows **all** Out of control_ But it’s actually \*As the storm blows **on** Out of control \* Not a big difference but it does change the meaning a little bit, especially in the second verse. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166/180 "2015-10-07T16:03:25Z")
I just got lunch in our cafeteria, and the song playing was The Police’s “Canary In a Coal Mine.” For an embarrassingly large part of my life, I thought the song was “canary in a _coma_.” (When I first heard it I wasn’t familiar with the “canary in a coal mine” concept, and it took forever for me to see the title in writing/hear the song and have the actual lyrics finally click.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-misheard-lyrics/727166.md?page=10)