One hot Summer day a bunch of my friends and I were cruising around in a boat on the Sacramento river. Drinking beer and listening to music. A classic CCR song came on. One of my friends began singing along with gusto, "There's a bathroom on the right..." We all started laughing so hard that the boat was in danger of capsizing. Once we recovered, we corrected her on the mistaken lyric.
I think, I know , we've all fallen victim to the misunderstood lyric phenomenon. I've memorized the incorrect song lyric and even after I've learned the correct line, well damn it...it's in my head the wrong way now. What to do?
When I was a kid, I could not figure out why Bennie, of Bennie and the Jets, had electric boobs and a mohair suit. Seemed like a fire hazard to me.
The Eagle's song, Hotel California is legend for misheard lyrics. My line was, "her mind is definitely twisted, she got the Mercedes Benz". Well, not so much. The lyric is " her mind is Tiffany twisted", I'll never remember that.
Manfred Mann has a famous one. I'm not alone. You know it, or a variation. "Wrapped up like a douche, and then he rode her in the night". Welllll, how about, "Revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night"?
Sometimes the mistaken lyric can provide insight into the person, sometimes it's just plain crazy. There are purists who MUST know the exact words. There are folks who don't care and have fun with it. When I get an album I can't wait to read the liner notes and lyrics. Sometimes you discover a whole new side to a song.
There are books and websites devoted to misheard and misunderstood lyrics. Want a laugh? Check it out. But not before you confess to your own misheard lyric discoveries!
www.kissthisguy.com
www.misheard.com




