MISHEARD: “She’s a good girl, loves her llama, loves Cheez-Its and asparagus too.”
Not quite. That’s a misheard song lyric we saw posted on social media from the Tom Petty song “Free Fallin’” where the real words have the girl loving her mama, Jesus and America, too.
Some of these misheard lyrics end up as popular as the song itself. Jimi Hendrix “Purple Haze” is a common example, where people believe the legendary guitarist sang “Excuse me while I kiss this guy.” Nope, it was “the sky.”
Another one comes from Billy Joel, with a song sung at a pretty rapid clip. We can see that people might not catch every part of “We Didn’t Start The Fire,” but this misheard lyric was a bit silly. “Bacon-making Palestine. We love torture, Sally Ride.” Wrong. “Bagan, Reagan, Palestine, Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride” are the words of the Piano Man himself.
One of the most popular songs from the group Queen is often misunderstood, as people think “We Will Rock You” has people “kicking your cat all over the place.” Lead singer Freddie Mercury loved his cats; the proper word is “can,” as in fanny.
Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” lands on the list, too, as many will swear the song is written about actor Tony Danza.
Here’s one that surprised us, with Toto’s song “Africa.” He’s not actually singing about a hundred men on Mars. The lyrics are “There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do.”
Remember when John Ford Colley performed in Bradford for BCPAC? He corrected misheard lyrics from his hit “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight.” With a laugh, he said emphatically, “I’m not talking ‘bout MOVING IN,” not linen, or meridian, or Gideon, as so many have suggested.
