Misheard lyrics
I was ruminating the other day on the topic of misheard lyrics, spurred along by hearing a little AC/DC on the radio. A good friend of mine, who shall remain nameless to preserve her dignity, thought that You Shook Me All Night Long was actually:
“You….showed me ALL I KNOW…”
She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean, and she showed me all I know. Isn’t that nice?
Then I laughed recently over listening to a Pearl Jam live show where Vedder reveals that Mike McCready (aka guitar wizard for Pearl Jam) thought that the actual Kiss lyrics were, “I wanna rock and roll all night, and part of every day.” That sounds about right. Just part of every day.
Finally, what is UP with Blinded by the Light? Wrapped up like a doucher in the roamer of the night? I am too lazy to even look that one up online and see what Manfred Mann is really singing in their rendition. Plus, I like my version better anyways.
You can also check out Am I Right: Making Fun of Music One Song At A Time. A ton of funny misheard lyrics. Ha! And I just laughed out loud because if you check by song, the number one song with misheard lyrics is…..Blinded By The Light. Looks like I am not alone in my bewilderment.
Another well-designed misheard lyrics site is available at Kiss This Guy, after everyone’s favorite Jimi Hendrix celebration of purported man love.
Name: Heather Browne
Blinded by the light
revved up like a deuce
Another runner in the night
Anonymous — January 15, 2006 @ 7:19 am
Thanks for trying to preserve my dignity, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who messes up lyrics. What about “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John? There was a Friends episode where Phoebe thought it was “Hold me closer, Tony Danza” and until I looked it up, I had no idea what the chorus was. Misheard lyrics are indeed good for many laughs. : )
Kristy — January 15, 2006 @ 11:09 am
If more people knew it, Radiohead’s ‘You And Whose Army’ would sort ‘Blinded By The Light’ out good and proper. I still don’t know what any of the coda says.
Martin — January 15, 2006 @ 1:27 pm
Some call misheard lyrics Mondegreens. Jon Carroll, columnist for the SF Chronicle, publishes columns of them every now and then – archives here. Or just Google “mondegreens” – way too much funny stuff comes up.
Michael A. — March 31, 2006 @ 5:54 pm