Misheard Song Lyrics -> Stories -> David Bowie
Misheard lyrics (also called mondegreens) occur when people misunderstand the lyrics in a song. These are NOT intentional rephrasing of lyrics, which is called parody. For more information about the misheard lyrics available on this site, please read our FAQ.
This page contains a list of the songs that have stories about their misheard lyrics submitted.
Song names are sorted by first letter, excluding A and The. This is sorted by song title only, not by song title and performer. So if two different performers preformed the same song, you'll see misheard lyrics for both on the same page (provided the song title was spelt the same both times, and misheard lyrics have been submitted for both!).
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David Bowie's, "1984"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Beware the balla bore, of nineteen eighty-four
The Real Lyrics:
Beware the savage jaw, of nineteen eighty-four
The Story: A friend and myself were like lyric police at school, and were relentless to people who came out with absurdities such as this : ) - Submitted by: simon
David Bowie's, "All The Young Dudes"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Hey mister, you guessed - I'm a doo dad!
The Real Lyrics:
Hey mister, you guessed - I'm a dude, dad!
The Story: Bowie delivers this line with so much emotion that it reduces me to tears if I imagine that he's passionately proclaiming to a stranger that he's a 'Doo dad!' - the lightly toasted, extra crunchy snack from General Mills. It's equally amusing if you consider the other meaning of 'doo dad' - a worthless trinket that's not really worth getting all that excited about. And you certainly wouldn't want to think of yourself as a doo dad. To me, that would exhibit a remarkably low level of self-esteem. Something you wouldn't quickly associate with David Bowie, an entertainer so established that his 'brand' is actively traded on the New York Stock Exchange. - Submitted by: honchie chuck
David Bowie's, "Blue Jean"
The Misheard Lyrics:
She's got a bowler's back.
The Real Lyrics:
She's got a police bike.
The Story: It sorta makes sense. I'd think a bowler would have a nice back, since they sort of use back muscles along with their arms to bowl. - Submitted by: Meggy
David Bowie's, "China Girl"
The Misheard Lyrics:
And when I get excited
My little China girl says, 'Oh baby, just you shut your mouse!'
My little China girl says, 'Oh baby, just you shut your mouse!'
The Real Lyrics:
And when I get excited
My little China girl says, 'Oh baby, just you shut your mouth!'
My little China girl says, 'Oh baby, just you shut your mouth!'
The Story: This has been a topic of controversy for years. My boyfriend still insists the lyrics say 'mouse' instead of 'mouth' even though he has seen the written lyrics repeatedly. What does it take for a man to admit he's wrong? - Submitted by: Kurt Wedgley
David Bowie's, "Dead Man Walking"
The Misheard Lyrics:
And I'm gone through the c**p in my pants
Like a dead man w***ing.
Like a dead man w***ing.
The Real Lyrics:
And I'm gone through a crack in the past
Like a dead man walking.
Like a dead man walking.
The Story: Bowie was going through a bizarre, experimental phase with the 'Earthling' album. So naturally, I thought this experimentation would stretch as far as the lyrical field. I have a few queries, though. Do w***ing dead men travel through dirty pants on a regular basis? And why are their pants so dirty to begin with? - Submitted by: Monokini
David Bowie's, "Golden Years"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Come peel the potatoes.
The Real Lyrics:
Come get up, my baby.
The Story: I still hear, "come peel the potatoes", and still argue with my friends that Bowie is actually singing about potatoes. :-) - Submitted by: Trish
David Bowie's, "Golden Years"
The Misheard Lyrics:
cold in here
The Real Lyrics:
golden years
The Story: no - Submitted by: little Jen
David Bowie's, "Heroes"
The Misheard Lyrics:
People need heroes
Just for one day.
Just for one day.
The Real Lyrics:
We could be heroes
Just for one day.
Just for one day.
The Story: Going to a Bowie gig in Munich at seventeen, I thought this was the point, to the amusement of my buddies. The view that 'people need heroes' - film stars, generals etc to look up to - is the opposite of what this fine song is about. - Submitted by: Sarah
David Bowie's, "Jean Genie"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Eugene Genie loves Genie snacks.
The Real Lyrics:
The Jean Genie loves chimney stacks.
The Story: I thought they were like Scooby Snacks - a special treat just for him. - Submitted by: Brandon
David Bowie's, "Law"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I don't want knowledge
I want sausages.
I want sausages.
The Real Lyrics:
I don't want knowledge
I want certainty.
I want certainty.
The Story: I was listening to this song in the van when my daughter joined in with me...singing the misheard lyric! I started laughing so hard! She said that she made the mistake because she was so hungry. - Submitted by: jennmc
David Bowie's, "Life On Mars"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Long man beating up the wrong guy
The Real Lyrics:
Law man beating on the wrong guy
The Story: I was sitting there listening to the song. When I heard those lyrics and in my head, I had a picture of some really tall man punching some midget dude who was cowering in the corner. - Submitted by: Bob Surkeskiahhhhhij Trendaldoodle
David Bowie's, "Life On Mars"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Oh man, look at those gay men go!
The Real Lyrics:
Oh man, look at those cavemen go!
The Story: I actually have the lyrics memorized, I just happened to be singing along with the song while doing something else, and then I realized what I had really sung. It never even occurred to me that the lyrics DO sound somewhat like this. - Submitted by: JJ
David Bowie's, "Man Who Sold The World"
The Misheard Lyrics:
We passed upon the stair
We spoke of was and when
Although I wasn't there
He called me a bison.
We spoke of was and when
Although I wasn't there
He called me a bison.
The Real Lyrics:
We passed upon the stair
We spoke of was and when
Although I was not there
He said I was his friend.
We spoke of was and when
Although I was not there
He said I was his friend.
The Story: I actually got to meet David Bowie face-to-face one time and talked to him about the song. I told him what I thought the lyrics were, and he laughed and told me the correct ones. God, I was so embarrassed. - Submitted by: Delaney Lindley
David Bowie's, "Modern Love"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Church on time - terrifies me
Church on time - makes me vomit.
Church on time - makes me vomit.
The Real Lyrics:
Church on time - terrifies me
Church on time - makes me party.
Church on time - makes me party.
The Story: It just seemed to make sense, that when one is terrified, sometimes one vomits --and I couldn't decipher anything else until I looked it up today. I'm still not sure the 'corrected version' is right. - Submitted by: Coke Brown Jr.
David Bowie's, "Space Oddity"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Ground control to Major Tom,
your son is dead.
There's something wrong
your son is dead.
There's something wrong
The Real Lyrics:
Ground control to Major Tom,
your circuit's dead.
There's something wrong
your circuit's dead.
There's something wrong
The Story: I always thought the song was about an astronaut who's son got killed in Vietnam, and his father grieves for him in the line 'Planet earth is blue and there's nothing I can'. The line is actually the astronaut losing contact with mission control and being lost in space. Songs from that era have very deep meanings to them and this was more of a misheard 'message' brought on by a misheard lyric. - Submitted by: JasonL
David Bowie's, "Station To Station"
The Misheard Lyrics:
It's not the side-effects of her cooking
The Real Lyrics:
It's not the side-effects of the cocaine
The Story: Just the standard buffoonery of singing aloud with a group of friends: everyone became totally silent as I belted out this silly line during a song from one of the most obvious cocaine albums ever released. - Submitted by: Dick Mac
David Bowie's, "Suffragette City"
The Misheard Lyrics:
My school day's insane
And what's down the drain?
And what's down the drain?
The Real Lyrics:
My school day's insane
My work's down the drain.
My work's down the drain.
The Story: I was listening to Bowie on the radio with my mom. I said, "I never understood that--'My school day's insane and whats down the drain?'" Mom looks at me weird and says, "What are you talking about? It's 'My work's down the drain.'" Now whenever that song comes on, she always reminds me of my mistake. - Submitted by: Alison McKenzie
David Bowie's, "Sufragette City"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I'll suck on your t***y.
The Real Lyrics:
In Suffragette City
The Story: At the end of the song, David Bowie kind of yells, 'Suffragette!' Well, I always thought he was yelling, 'Suck a T**!'!!! - Submitted by: Kirk Norby
David Bowie's, "Sufragette City"
The Misheard Lyrics:
What's up in Tipp City?
The Real Lyrics:
I'm back on Suffragette City.
The Story: I was living in southwest Ohio at the time, and there is a town in the area called Tipp City. - Submitted by: Jerry Windrel
David Bowie's, "The Jean Genie"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Jean cheated, love chicken stack.
The Real Lyrics:
The Jean Genie loves chimney stacks.
The Story: I thought I'd never find the song with only "Jean/Gene cheated". (I thought "love chicken stack" probably wasn't right) to go by, but last night I tried for a long time. After wanting this song for a year or more it was quite a coincidence (last night was the first time I searched for it) that today it came on my iPod (I have almost twelve thousand songs). - Submitted by: Peter Andrew Stanton
David Bowie's, "Ziggy Stardust"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Making love with gazebos
The Real Lyrics:
Making love with his ego
The Story: Actually, my friend, Sarah, heard this lyric wrong. I just think it's funny and everytime we're listening to Bowie together, we scream out 'making love with gazebos'. It's probably quite obnoxious, actually. - Submitted by: Jessica
David Bowie's, "Ziggy Stardust"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Making love with his zego
The Real Lyrics:
Making love with his ego
The Story: I was listening to Ziggy Stardust and all the sudden my brother said, "Did he say 'zego'!?" I replied, "Why would he say 'zego'? That's not even a word!" My brother asked, "What did he actually say?" "'Making love with his ego.'", I answered. "Oh...", my brother pauses. "I thought 'zego' was an odd thing for him to say." - Submitted by: Alison McKenzie
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