Tuesday, December 13, 2011

There's a Bathroom on the Right

There's a tv commercial with people muddling the words to "Rocket Man". That's not been an indecipherable lyric to me but there have been many others, and I'm not alone.

Throughout my life much of what Mick Jagger has meowed out has evaded me. And I can't even be bothered deciphering what Mariah Carey yodels. I have bastardized many Dylan/Stones/Aerosmith/anyone who sings rock that way's lyrics. And for years I thought it was just me. Then one evening someone brought up wrong lyrics and everyone chimed in with what they've been mishearing all these years. There are whole websites devoted to this:
 http://www.kissthisguy.com/

http://www.amiright.com/

And notes on commonly mistaken lines:
http://funnies.paco.to/songs2.html

http://newslite.tv/2010/09/22/top-20-misheard-song-lyrics-an.html

But my personal favorite was from a guy who said he'd always thought the words were, "The girl with colitis goes by", in "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".

12 comments:

Geo. said...

I looked for, but couldn't find, my favorite mis-heard lyric from the Four Tops, circa 1970: "Ain't no woman like a one-eyed goat." Which struck me as a rare, indisputable truth. I forget what the real lyric was.

paulg said...

One of the biggest arguments I ever had with my brother was whether Mick Jagger was singing "Honky tonk women" or "Honky tonk girl".

Mildred Ratched said...

Doesn't some movie devote several scenes to a couple singing Bennie and The Jets all wrong?

Austan said...

Geo.- Hahahahah!

Paul- Here I step into it with, "But he sings both in that song!"

Mildred- Welcome! Probably, but I don't know. One of the movie hounds will though.

Allyson said...

my other mom has always started "Brown-eyed girl" with "hey there amigo". one of my favourites ever!!

Allyson said...

and here you go Mildred: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xTB_tsN3zA

Allyson said...

and i guess that makes me a movie hound... :)

Allyson said...

actual scene = more fun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_WJgq76N-Y

Austan said...

Al, you're amazing. I never even heard of that movie. Yes, movie hound= you.

Austan said...

"Hey there amigo"? lmao!

SarcasticTestGuy said...

I've messed with lyrics since I can remember, sometimes intentionally, sometimes inadvertently. Hours of fun for a boring bug like me.

Geo: it's "Ain't no woman like the one I got" :)

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

I'm still not sure if Little Richard was singing "She sure likes to ball" in "Good Golly, Miss Molly." That's what it sounds like, but come on ... that was the fifties! Lyrics were a lot more tame back then.