The 40 Most Misheard Song Lyrics Of All Time – And The Weird Words We Hear Instead
Songwriting is a delicate art-form. A lyricist may spend years pouring their heart and soul into meaningful poetry. Yet when it comes to recording, all it takes is some lousy enunciation on the singer’s part to transform those words into something else entirely. Even the best singers sometimes sound unintelligible – greats such as Freddie Mercury and Elton John were known to slip their diction from time to time. And the results – as in these 40 cases – can be strange, hilarious and wonderful all at the same time.
40. Chic – “Le Freak”
What you hear: “Aww freak cow/Le freak, c’est sheep.”
The actual lyrics: “Aww freak out/Le freak, c’est chic.”
It’s rare to find someone for whom the rhythms of disco conjure up images of barnyard animals. Apparently, though, there are people who believe Chic’s 1978 smash hit’s one big reference to life on a farm. Most a-moo-sing.
39. Cutting Crew – “(I Just) Died in Your Arms”
What you hear: “I just died in your barn tonight/Mustard no mayonnaise instead.”
The actual lyrics: “I just died in your arms tonight/It must have been something you said.”
Here we have an interesting conundrum. Did Cutting Crew’s Nick Van Eede die because of something his lover said? Or was he so shocked at the availability of condiments in a barn that he instantly kicked the bucket? I guess we’ll never know…
38. Europe – “The Final Countdown”
What you hear: “We’re working for peanuts.”
The actual lyrics: “We’re heading for Venus.”
If you hear Europe’s Joey Tempest singing “peanuts” instead of “Venus” on their 1986 chart-topper “The Final Countdown,” then we should probably congratulate you for being so pure of mind. Still, it’s hard to imagine why anyone would picture a bar snack in a song about interstellar travel.
37. Sir Mix-A-Lot – “Baby Got Back”
What you hear: “I like big butts in a can of limes.”
The actual lyrics: “I like big butts and I cannot lie.”
In 1992 Sir Mix-A-Lot’s ode to big booty was considered controversial. Nowadays, the only outcry “Baby Got Back” is likely to stir’s between people disagreeing over whether or not Mix-A-Lot likes his butts packaged with citrus fruits.
36. Elton John – Tiny Dancer
What you hear: “Hold me closer, Tony Danza.”
The actual lyrics: “Hold me closer, tiny dancer.”
Considering Tony Danza hadn’t yet broken out in Who’s the Boss at the time “Tiny Dancer” was composed, it’s unlikely Elton John’s classic ballad was written with the actor in mind. But that hasn’t stopped fans – including Friends’ Phoebe Buffay – getting confused about the song’s subject.
35. ABBA – “Chiquitita”
What you hear: “Take your teeth out, tell me what’s wrong.”
The actual lyrics: “Chiquitita, tell me what’s wrong.”
Though they’re from Sweden, ABBA only ever wrote English lyrics for their tracks. Unfortunately, though, the band’s audience didn’t share their mastery of multiple languages. And the group’s 1979 hit “Chiquitita” – named for a Spanish pet name – left fans wondering why they were suddenly singing about dentures.
34. Queen – “We Will Rock You”
What you hear: “Kicking your cat all over the place.”
The actual lyrics: “Kicking your can all over the place.”
As huge fans of Queen, we don’t have a bad word to say about Freddie Mercury. That being said, we can’t condone the kicking of felines as the singer seemed to be doing in 1977’s “We Will Rock You.” Not cool, man.
33. Creedence Clearwater Revival – “Bad Moon Rising”
What you hear: “There is a bathroom on the right.”
The actual lyrics: “There’s a bad moon on the rise.”
Creedence Clearwater Revival’s classic 1969 single “Bad Moon Rising” looks at America’s changing political atmosphere with grim foreboding. But thanks to John Fogerty’s unmistakable drawl, the song’s signature line actually sounds like directions to the nearest washroom.
32. Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
What you hear: “Here we are now, in containers.”
The actual lyrics: “Here we are now, entertain us.”
If you were confused about the meaning of Nirvana’s seminal grunge hit “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” then you’re not alone. So bewildered was he by singer Kurt Cobain’s impenetrable diction, “Weird Al” Yankovic penned the parody “Smells Like Nirvana” in response.
31. Will Smith – “Gettin’ Jiggy wit It”
What you hear: “Kick a chicken with it.”
The actual lyrics: “Gettin’ jiggy with it.”
In all fairness, “jiggy” wasn’t exactly a word until Will Smith used it in this banger from 1998. Perhaps it’s natural, then, that many assumed on first listen that Big Willie was really into poultry taekwondo.
30. R.E.M. – “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite”
What you hear: “Calling Jamaica.”
The actual lyrics: “Call me when you try to wake her.”
Michael Stipe loves to cram plenty of words into his lyrics. But the singer truly met his match with the chorus to 1992’s “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite.” Condensing eight syllables to fit the song’s brisk tempo, here Stipe sounds like he’s trying to place a long-distance call to the Caribbean.
29. Toto – “Africa”
What you hear: “There’s nothing that a hundred men on Mars could ever do.”
The actual lyrics: “There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do.”
According to NASA, Mars has a lot of rock formations and very little else. So Toto’s David Paich is right when he says there’s nothing that anyone could ever do on the Red Planet. But that’s not the actual lyric.
28. TLC – “Waterfalls”
What you hear: “Don’t go, Jason Waterfalls.”
The actual lyrics: “Don’t go chasing waterfalls.”
Ever since its 1994 release, TLC’s “Waterfalls” has left fans asking one thing: who is Jason Waterfalls? And why don’t the members of the band want him to leave? If only they knew they’d been hearing the lyrics wrong all this time.
27. ABBA – “Dancing Queen”
What you hear: “See that girl/Watch her scream/Kicking the dancing queen.”
The actual lyrics: “See that girl/Watch that scene/Diggin’ the dancing queen.”
To many, “Dancing Queen” is the group’s most memorable single. But for some with impressionable ears, this 1976 hit has some very dark undertones. We’ll never listen to it the same way again.
26. Taylor Swift – “Blank Space”
What you hear: “All the lonely Starbucks lovers.”
The actual lyrics: “Got a long list of ex-lovers.”
If Taylor Swift’s Twitter account is to be believed, the pop superstar seemed a little peeved that fans misheard the lyrics to 2014’s “Blank Space.” “Sending my love to all the lonely Starbucks lovers out there this Valentine’s Day… even though that is not the correct lyric,” the singer fumed.
25. Bon Jovi – “Livin’ on a Prayer”
What you hear: “It doesn’t make a difference if we’re naked or not.”
The actual lyrics: “It doesn’t make a difference if we make it or not.”
Maybe sartorial rules are different for rock stars like Jon Bon Jovi, but we can think of plenty of situations in which being naked does make a difference. Weddings; job interviews; going to the store – the list may be endless.
24. The Police – “Message in a Bottle”
What you hear: “A year has passed since I broke my nose.”
The actual lyrics: “A year has passed since I wrote my note.”
During his tenure with the Police, English-born Sting routinely sang with a Jamaican inflection. One downside to this was that it often led to fans mistaking his lyrics for something else. This misheard line from “Message in a Bottle” brings new meaning to the phrase “King of Pain.”
23. John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John – “You’re the One That I Want”
What you hear: “You’re the wobbly one.”
The actual lyrics: “You’re the one that I want.”
Even though the song’s called “You’re the One That I Want,” some fans can’t stop hearing its refrain as “you’re the wobbly one.” That’s probably because in 1978’s Grease John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John perform the number in a fairground Shake Shack that would leave anyone off-balance.
22. The Beatles – “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”
What you hear: “Blue seal in the sky with diamonds.”
The actual lyrics: “Lucy in the sky with diamonds.”
To be fair, this mishearing of The Beatles’ psychedelic classic makes a lot of sense. Considering that the band also wrote “I Am the Walrus,” any listener would be forgiven for John Lennon had a fixation on pinnipeds.
21. Kings of Leon – “Sex on Fire”
What you hear: “Dyslexics on fire.”
The actual lyrics: “Your sex is on fire.”
Now this is a rather unfortunate mishearing – and an avoidable one, too. Had Caleb Followill and his brothers chosen not to include a lyric as ambiguous as “your sex is on fire” in their 2008 anthem, then we’d have been spared this gruesome image.
20. Foo Fighters – “The Pretender”
What you hear: “One of these things is not like the others.”
The actual lyrics: “What if I say I’m not like the others?”
That’s right, one of these lines really isn’t like the others. Using his trademark impassioned roar to belt out this 2007 rocker, Dave Grohl accidentally created a very fitting misheard lyric.
19. ABBA – “Dancing Queen”
What you hear: “Dancing queen, feel the beat from the tangerine.”
The actual lyrics: “Dancing queen, feel the beat from the tambourine.”
Another misheard snippet from ABBA’s pop classic, this one thankfully has a lighter tone. In it, the band appear to have discovered a new and exciting use for citrus fruits – as percussion instruments.
18. Bob Dylan – “Blowin’ in the Wind”
What you hear: “These ants are my friends, they’re blowin’ in the wind.”
The actual lyrics: “These answers, my friend, are blowin’ in the wind.”
Bob Dylan famously has one of the most divisive voices in pop history. And a feature of his gruff crooning is the way it can transform his lyrics into something wonderfully absurd. We bet Ant Man is his favorite Avenger, too.
17. Lorde – “Royals”
What you hear: “You can call me green bean.”
The actual lyrics: “You can call me queen bee.”
Released in 2013, Lorde’s debut looked at poor kids whose self-respect means they don’t aspire to join the world of celebrities such as Beyoncé. It could also be about the young singer’s love for vegetables. Honestly, who are we to say?
16. Adele – “Chasing Pavements”
What you hear: “Or should I just keep chasing penguins?”
The actual lyrics: “Or should I just keep chasing pavements?”
Given how penguins aren’t particularly known for their skills running on dry land, we’d say Adele would have an easy time chasing them. Just don’t let them get in the water, though – we hear they’re good swimmers.
15. Dire Straits – “Money for Nothing”
What you hear: “Money for nothin’ and your chips for free.”
The actual lyrics: “Money for nothin’ and your chicks for free.”
Mark Knopfler penned Dire Strait’s greatest hit about the cushy lifestyle that comes with being a famous musician. If that includes a lifetime supply of free potato chips, then sign us up!
14. The Monkees – “I’m a Believer”
What you hear: “Then I saw her face, now I’m gonna leave her.”
The actual lyrics: “Then I saw her face, now I’m a believer.”
Sometimes all it takes is one misheard lyric to give a song the opposite meaning to the one that the writer intended. In the case of this Neil Diamond-penned classic, Micky Dolenz turns a sweet tale of love into a biting Dear Jane letter.
13. Selena Gomez – “Good for You”
What you hear: “I’m farting carrots.”
The actual lyrics: “I’m 14 carat.”
There are some songs where the imagined lyrics are better than the real thing. Even Selena Gomez seemingly conceded that the misheard line “I’m farting carrots” from her “Good for You” single had a better ring to it. “That’s what you wanna hear a girl say,” the singer chuckled on Radio 1 in 2015.
12. The 5th Dimension – “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In”
What you hear: “This is the dawning of the Age of Asparagus.”
The actual lyrics: “This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.”
Composed for the 1968 musical Hair, “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” was a celebration of the then burgeoning hippie movement. Given that culture’s adoption of green and vegetarian lifestyles, is it any wonder that people mistakenly thought the refrain was about “the age of asparagus?”
11. Elvis Presley – “Suspicious Minds”
What you hear: “We’re caught in a trout.”
The actual lyrics: “We’re caught in a trap.”
Did Presley’s distinctive baritone help morph the words to his 1969 showstopper? Or perhaps the King had been on a fishing weekend prior to the song’s recording and still had fish on the mind? Either way, it lent “Suspicious Minds” a strange new meaning.
10. Hot Chocolate – “You Sexy Thing”
What you hear: “I remove umbilicals.”
The actual lyrics: “I believe in miracles.”
Announcing your job to a potential date can be a good conversation starter. But while delivering babies is a worthy profession, we wouldn’t describe it as “[removing] umbilicals” like Hot Chocolate’s Errol Brown seemed to do on their 1975 hit. Rather than being impressive, it just sounds vaguely threatening.
9. Johnny Nash – “I Can See Clearly Now”
What you hear: “I can see clearly now Lorraine is gone.”
The actual lyrics: “I can see clearly now the rain is gone.”
Perhaps there’s more than meets the eye to this mondegreen from Nash’s 1972 classic. Far from being an unintentional slip-up, maybe Lorraine was an actual person – an ex-girlfriend of Nash’s. Or maybe she was just someone who sat in front of him at the movies. Who knows?
8. The Bee Gees – “More than a Woman”
What you hear: “Bald-headed woman/Bald-headed woman to me.”
The actual lyrics: “More than a woman/More than a woman to me.”
Long before the likes of Amber Rose were changing perceptions of feminine beauty, the Bee Gees seemed to be championing shorter cuts on this seminal hit from 1977. Truly, they were ahead of their time.
7. ABBA – “Gimme Gimme Gimme”
What you hear: “Take me to the doctors at the break of the day.”
The actual lyrics: “Take me through the darkness to the break of the day.”
Unless you’re experiencing some mild malady, we’d recommend going to the emergency room as soon as you feel something amiss. Clearly, this case of lovesickness experienced by Agnetha Fältskog is light enough to wait until morning.
6. R.E.M. – “Losing My Religion”
What you hear: “Let’s pee in the corner/Let’s pee in the spotlight.”
The actual lyrics: “That’s me in the corner/That’s me in the spotlight.”
From what we’ve heard, Michael Stipe is an absolutely warm and friendly person. But no matter how amiable he is, we would in no way accept this invitation to relieve ourselves in the spotlight. That’s just gross.
5. The Beatles – “I Want to Hold Your Hand”
What you hear: “I want to hold your ham.”
The actual lyrics: “I want to hold your hand.”
For many music lovers in the 1960s, The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was the first time they’d heard the Liverpool accent on a pop record. So with that in mind, it’s understandable that some mistook the song’s refrain to be about pork products.
4. Paul Young – “Every time You Go Away”
What you hear: “Every time you go away, you take a piece of meat with you.”
The actual lyrics: “Every time you go away, you take a piece of me with you.”
Paul Young certainly expresses some ambiguous diction in the chorus to this 1985 single, but perhaps it's actually some good advice. After all, the weary traveler would do well to carry a salami snack.
3. Queen – “Bohemian Rhapsody”
What you hear: “Saving his life from this warm sausage tea.”
The actual lyric: “Spare him his life from this monstrosity.”
To be fair, Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” contains many words that are hard to wrap your head around. Scaramouche, Bismillah, Beelzebub – with all these indecipherable terms thrown about, it’s forgivable that the listener can confuse “monstrosity” for “warm sausage tea.”
2. Eurythmics – “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”
What you hear: “Sweet dreams are made of cheese.”
The actual lyric: “Sweet dreams are made of these.”
As the urban myth goes, eating cheese before bedtime will cause you to have nightmares. According to Annie Lennox, though, the opposite is true, as this famously misheard lyric from Eurythmics’ 1983 hit proves.
1. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – “Purple Haze”
What you hear: “’Scuse me while I kiss this guy.”
The actual lyric: “’Scuse me while I kiss the sky.”
The mother of all misheard lyrics, “Purple Haze’”s famous lyrical confusion inspired the title of kissthisguy.com – a website devoted to misinterpreted songs. And even Hendrix got in on the joke. During live performances, he often gestured knowingly to bass player Noel Redding whenever the line came up.
