Misunderstood song lyrics
Posted by Shooperman05@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 56 comments
A lot of great music came out as we were growing up. Before lyrics were so easy to find online, we had to guess or hope the album we bought came with a little book that had them.
What were some misunderstood lyrics from your youth? Post them here and let's try to guess the songs!
No judgement, we have all done it...
PMcOuntry@reddit
Smooth Doppler Radar…
Blinded by the light, revved up like a douche another runner in the night…
She’s got electric boobs, a mohair suit… shake it loose a lemon.
OkSpite5022@reddit
Have and to hold Is a battle of words And most of them are lies
Not “us & them” PF
Sweaty_Narwhal_8585@reddit
I thought the song Panama by Van Halen was called Animal
punky100@reddit
GIMME FUEL GIMME FIRE GIMME DOUBLE GENOCIDE
I still sing it this way even though I have learned the correct lyrics because it makes me giggle
_ficklelilpickle@reddit
Cheap wine and a 3 legged goat
More_Bluejay9938@reddit
“Apple-dapple-do”
“I Will Cry for You” -Prince
I was very, very young in my defense.
enoui@reddit
"Mams gonna take my cordless phone awayy.
Moons_of_Moons@reddit
Prong:
It's "splitstream" not "blitzkrieg"
Apparently..
poopscoopmcgee@reddit
Macaroni, thunder chasing the wind
talrich@reddit
“Carry a laser down the road that I must travel. Carry a laser through the darkness of the night.” -Mr. Mister
ipaintbadly@reddit
I still sing it that way. 😂😂
Ok-Concert-6475@reddit
As do I
hjeff51@reddit
A friend of mine growing up thought Pearl Jam "Don't go on me" was "Stone the wombat".
Ok-Concert-6475@reddit
Revved up like a douche - Blinded by the Light. Did anyone actually have this lyric correct?
xt0rt@reddit
"the cross-eyed bear that you gave to me"
realauthormattjanak@reddit
Thank you for validating me after all these years.
realauthormattjanak@reddit
Stone Temple Pilots, Creep: "Think you're kinda neat, veggie tales behind the knees"
Gingykins25@reddit
Stone Temple Pilots “Interstate Love Song” - my friend and I kept thinking the lyric “hand in rusted shame” was “ham and mustard shake”. Like, how does one feel like a ham and mustard shake? Does that mean you’re feeling gross? 🤣
hardisonthefloor@reddit
I thought it was “My kid sister’s growing up” as opposed to “I guess this is growing up” in Blink 182’s dammit
Dreamingofapastlife@reddit
Guys. I don’t even want to admit it. I learned this correct lyric TWO WEEKS AGO. I have been listening to Beastie Boys for 30 years.
If you (if you) Want to know (want to know) The real deal about the three Well, let me tell you, we're TRIPLE CHOCOLATE ya'll We're gonna bring you up to speed, check it out
The f—king song is LITERALLY CALLED TRIPLE TROUBLE.
MrThouu@reddit
I knew it wasn't what he was actually singing but the end of Teen Spirit with the repeated "A Denial", the best I could make of it at the time was "Abby Nightam".
anonmygoodsir@reddit
In Lithium I thought "broken mirrors " was "problem is". In the final fantasy vii video game the One Winged Angel song still has interesting lyrics in my household. The most notable being "cranky mouse!" for "Sephiroth!".
twosecondglance@reddit
15 year old me thought it was "I'm so ugly that's ok cos so are you bubble gum ears"
Rustymarble@reddit
"Brush your teeth before you leave me"
"Hear a joke a day" (Actual: "Vera, Chuck, and Dave")
"Bathroom on the right" - not actually misheard, just how my dad sang it
"One ton tomato"
runicrhymes@reddit
"only thing I really know is she got sexy pill"
(Heard this song recently and went OH I'M AN IDIOT IT'S SEX APPEAL)
Rendakor@reddit
"I walk alone, to get the feeling right"
jwibspar@reddit
Damn, TIL
---username_--@reddit
Uptown funk according to my 4 year old... Stop, wait a minute- grab my butt, put some licorice in it.
frauziller@reddit
My 6-year-old son on the way to school - "Dirty cheese, goddamn cheap" 😂
He was so disappointed to learn that the song was not, in fact, about his favorite food.
Kinetic_Silverwolf@reddit
Artist: Fluke Song: Absurd
I first heard this on the Hackers³ soundtrack album. For 20+ years I thought I heard the lyrics "everybody going hard and slow".
Turns out the lyrics are "anybody with a heart votes love."
Close enough.
qwerty-game@reddit
Not me - but my college friend thought Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car was “fat ass car”.
Ultimate-Flexionator@reddit
excuse me, while I kiss this guy.
EnvironmentalPack451@reddit
No excuses needed! Go for it!
GearnTheDwarf@reddit
I learned the lyrics were "release your inhibitions" not "release your hidden pigeons"
EnvironmentalPack451@reddit
Yours is way better.
Unless.. is the "rain on your skin" coming from the pigeons?
Serious-Bat-4880@reddit
I heard "Like a rock" as "When I grow up" 😆
runjeanmc@reddit
Just realized yesterday the words are "Hunger, I want it so bad I can taste it," not "Oh girl, I want it so bad I can't take it."
I know you said to let people guess, but the name of the song is Hunger. 🤦 It's been right there since '86.
NYTravelerBD@reddit
Growing up I thought the Fine Young Cannibals were singing "She drives me crazy. That long blonde hair." The second line is "like no one else."
LatinBotPointTwo@reddit
What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. He sings, "the dark sacred night". My dumb ass heard "the dogs say goodnight".
ipaintbadly@reddit
Perimenopause is causing me to not remember any of my misheard lyrics, but my mom and I spent an afternoon listening to and writing down the lyrics to Shoop because I had recorded it off the radio and didn’t have the liner notes.
saltyhashbrowns@reddit
Without me girl, cry in the night if it helps, to file my nails
Hammerhandle@reddit
A girl I knew was convinced that Macy Gray sang "I walk ovals when you are not here" in I Try.
I'm pretty sure in Liberate, Corey Taylor sings "Miller Lite... Bananas" more than once.
Rendakor@reddit
Oh god Liberate, I thought that was just my friends and I.
We thought he was saying "Do you like...bananas!?"
mcfetrja@reddit
“They say the heart of rock and roll is in Cleveland”
Was mocked relentlessly by my parents for this one. Then the RRHOF opens in Cleveland. Who’s laughing now?
mizlurksalot@reddit
“I wanna be your pizza burning”
hjeff51@reddit
A friend of mine growing up thought Pearl Jam "Don't go on me" was "Stone the Wombat".
GenghisConnieChung@reddit
I mix and master music for a living. I frequently get songs where the lyrics aren’t exactly clear but I have to make notes to go over with my clients so I have to make shit up so I can tell them “when you sing ______”.
Other times it’s just a funny pronunciation but I still go with my made up lyrics, most clients get a laugh out of it like:
Bring me to my knees = Bring me to mayonnaise
Don’t fall in love with mannequins = Don’t fall in love with men in bins
Living-Video-3670@reddit
Rock n roll fantasy by bad company. I thought the first line was "here come the jetsons 123" turns out its "here come the jesters 123".
BritOnTheRocks@reddit
Ah yes, mondegreens.
A word all Phish fans are now familiar with.
eaglewatch1945@reddit
Apparently, Brian Setzer was not encouraging people to "drunk drive, then get away."
subUrbanMire@reddit
I thought "Love letter's in the sand" was "not that I've seen you since" in Skid Row's I Remember You.
I think my version is better. 🤣
Ok-Procedure-6178@reddit
Had a friend who thought it was “take me down to the very last city” instead of Paradise city.
Fair_Blood3176@reddit
I was just thinking of one when I saw the post about "check in out now, funk so rubber"
Kain347@reddit
Until a few years ago, I misheard part of Cartman's line in the theme song from South Park. He says "people spouting howdy neighbor" but I always heard "people fighting hardly never". His voice is so shrill and it fits with the song, so I never questioned. It wasn't until the 'Tegridy Farms' intro when I heard it clearly. Mind you, I've been watching South Park since it debuted in '97.
ZaphodBeeblebrahx@reddit
For me it’s mostly rap songs where I can sing along to most of it and then mumble a couple of lines somewhere mid-verse
Shooperman05@reddit (OP)
I'll go first: "It may not be no Friends worthy era..."