What's with inaccurate lyrics on the inner sleeve?

Hi all, just something I thought I'd ask. I'm not joking- on almost all my records' inner sleeves, on one or more songs the lyrics will be printed with a slight inacuracy to what's actually sung. Even bands/singers who are known perfectionists sometimes have the lyrics awfully misprinted on their records. Often even one or two slight misprints will change the whole meaning of the line or song.
It's amusing when listening and looking at the inner- I often think of some poor typist/graphic designer getting a hard time from the artist(s) after the album was released. I'm guessing this is how it happens, or else the lyrics were sent to the printer before recording, and at the last minute the artist made changes?

The most misprinted lyric inner that I can think of has been on my UK edition of The Crossing by big Country. It's totally different to what's being sung in many cases.

This is one of those things that I really can live my life without knowing, but since we have the internet, why not!!

 

There was a typo in the printed lyrics of “Happy X-Mas War is Over” in John Lennon’s Shaved Fish album (1975).

I recall reading that John wasn’t at all happy about the error, but said he was too busy with his newborn son (Sean) to watch what EMI was doing.

 

Reportedly some early pressings of Rush's Permanent Waves misprinted the line "if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice" as "..you still haven't made a choice."

 

"Your boy won't be a more no more", and "You missed the bus" in Tommy

 

Hi!

I know. I noticed ages ago. It happens a lot & it's so annoying.

 

Lol I have been seeing this since 1980... I wondered if after they had printed the covers and sleeves before the final vocal takes or something

 

Lazy songwriters don't check!

 

On the lyric sheet of The Beatles 1967-1970 (The Blue Album), the banker in "Penny Lane" is sitting waiting for a "trend," not a "trim."

Man, did this get on my nerves. I can't think of that line without thinking of the mistake.

You can see the lyric sheet if you blow up the image from 45Worlds:
Vinyl Album: The Beatles - 1967-1970 [The Blue Album] (1973)

 

Dexy's Midnight Runners had a good caveat on "Don't Stand Me Down": "The words don't quite fit the songs but they read better this way. "

 

Simple answer. The singer does not sing the words exactly as the songwriter wrote them.

 

I always assumed that the “you missed the bus” error was intentional due to the coded drug reference

 

This.

And I see typos everywhere.

 

Some Japanese editions have hilarious inaccuracies from aural transcriptions, with "Sailin' Shoes'" by Little Feet containing one of my favourites. According to the lyric sheet "Willin'" contains the following line:

"Driven the back roads, so I wouldn't get wet"

Probably the "Rain" in the first line threw 'em off. Still "weighed" makes more sense. Given the "Truckin'" topic.

 

My fave was a Japanese pressing of Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures: "And she's clinging to the mirrors passing by" (likely because of the English idiom in the actual lyrics which would likely be unknown to a Japanese native speaker: "And she's clinging to the nearest passer by"]