My partner pointed this one out to me: "Papers on the roadside tell of suffering and brie", Duran Duran 'Ordinary World'. I can't unhear it, I haven't even Googled to see what the real lyric is as I like their misheard take on it so much!
In Melody for You by the Grass Roots, one line says "the moon's looking like it's just a stone's throw away". I always heard "the moon's loving light just a stone's throw away". I like this one ...
Boys Keep Swinging - I always heard "Luck just kissed you hello" as "Love just kissed you hello". Mine works better in my opinion.
radiohead "true love waits". I always thought the line was "true love waits/in haunted outtakes." I thought this was pretty cool since the song was unreleased for a while and then only released on a live album (until finally being released on "a moon shaped pool") turns out the actual line is "true love waits/in haunted attics". I like my version better.
"You can comb your hair and look like you" as opposed to the real "Look quite cute" on John's Crippled Inside
In the 2nd verse of "Deck the Hall", when I was a kid I thought "Follow me in merry measure" was "Follow me in Perry Mason." In "The Camptown Races", I thought "Somebody bet on the bay" was "Somebody wet on the bed."
Grateful Dead "Brown-Eyed Women" The bottle was dusty but the liquid was clean. Considering this band's history, that feels more appropriate than liquor.
My wife always thought it said "Do the funky lady", when it was "Dude looks like a lady." (Aerosmith) My personal favorite is "There's a bathroom on the right." (Bad Moon Rising)
An obscure one, but Icicle Works' "Truck Driver's Lament" when I first heard it I first thought had the interestingly strange line "you gotta get high to understand the Moon" but in fact what they believe you must be high to understand is the less interesting, to me, "the blues."
The first few times I heard "Picture Book" by the Kinks, I thought the second chorus was: Picture book, your Mamma and your Papa, and fat old Uncle Charley, out boozing with their friends. I like that better than cruising.
A while back I was at work with the radio in the background playing Elton John's 'Philadelphia Freedom'. The phrase in the lyric came up "... peace of mind my daddy never had." My co-worker said, "You know, I never understood that line: " a piece of mama daddy never had". Changes the meaning a bit.
From The Who's "Glow Girl": I heard "Your out-of-tune piano, sentimental photographs" as "Your out-of-tune piano sends a mental photograph". An inanimate object with ESP!
"Spill The Wine" by Eric Burdon and War Actual lyrics: "Spill the wine, take that pearl" How I heard it: "Do I dig that girl?" I like mine way more.
Here's one I mention in all these threads - "Fly By Night" by Rush: Actual lyric: "My ship isn't coming and I just can't pretend." What I heard: "The chickens are coming and I just can't pretend." Much better this way! The meaning doesn't change much - ie, "my ship isn't coming in" vs. "the chickens are coming home to roost" - but my interpretation provides an opportunity to hear Geddy Lee sing about chickens that is not to be missed.
Two Princes by The Spin Doctors Actual lyric: ...I know what a prince and lover ought to be... I heard: ... I know that a pizza lover's hard to beat... I got a like/reply & follow from Chris Barron on Twitter, when I posted it there
For the longest time I could not understand some lyrics in Pink Floyd's Welcome to the Machine. The following lyrics: You dreamed of a big star He played a mean guitar He always ate in the Steak Bar He loved to drive in his Jaguar Were misheard by me as something like: You dreamed of a big star He played a mean guitar I know we made mistakes but [??] loved [?????] and it's genuine What I thought I was hearing seemed to be expressing some deep emotion. So it was somewhat of a disappointment to learn the actual lyrics.
The Who '5:15' ... i nearly got all the lyrics wrong to this song when i was young.. 'Girls of fifteen, Sexually knowing, The others are singing, A load of baloney, The streets are so dirty, Celibate sin, Pretty girls diggin, Pretty young women, Magically born, On a quite street corner, Free frustration, In our minds and our toes, Quite small water, M-m- my generation, Up seven hours, Either wave that flows ... A raft in the quarry, Slowly sinkin, Back on a lorry, Only itching, Dreadfully sorry, Apple scrumping, Born in a barn, Birthday poaching, He man drag, In a glittering ball room, Crazy outrageous, In my high heel shoes, Tightly under, No one can show you, Standing ecstatic, Like a hero unused... At least i got the intro, the chorus and the outro spot on...
|Altered Images--Don't Talk to me About Love For years, I sang, 'Yesterday's showers, tomorrow's come flowers' which I still like better than yesterdays shatter, tomorrows don't matter
It's not really a mondegreen, but I thought the line "Will the wind that blew her boat across the sea" from the Beatles' "Honey Pie" actually meant the wind's name was Will.
I had a Japanese import Beatles CD with lyrics that were sometimes... wrong. For Penny Lane, they had "We see the banker sitting waiting for a trend". Of course it's "trim" not "trend". The mistake is a lot better and much less obvious IMO.
