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Misheard Song Lyrics -> Stories -> Enya

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!).


A Day Without Rain album at Amazon.com
Enya's, "Anywhere Is"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Emotion on the ocean
The Real Lyrics:
In motion on the ocean
The Story: What I thought I heard seems logical, as the sea does give you feelings somehow. - Submitted by: Natasha
Enya's, "Anywhere Is"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Happiness is
The Real Lyrics:
Anywhere is
The Story: I thought it had to do with the comic strip Peanuts! - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Enya's, "Anywhere Is"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I want to bill Verizon.
The Real Lyrics:
I walk to the horizon.
The Story: I was listening to this song and I figured, "Isn't it usually the other way around?" - Submitted by: The Toronto Subway
Enya's, "Anywhere Is"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Is swept around in bulls***
The Real Lyrics:
Is swept around in motion
The Story: When I first heard the song I was shocked! I never expected anything like that from Enya. And is someone like Roma Ryan really going to write something like that? So I immediately looked up in the Internet searching for the real lyrics. Then only I understood that what I heard is wrong. - Submitted by: Mahesh Chandimal Kamkanamge
Enya's, "Anywhere Is"
The Misheard Lyrics:
No spark of constellation
Don't even know where I am.
The Real Lyrics:
No spark of Constellation
No Vela, no Orion.
The Story: I was plotting a story about a guy going on a walking trip when I was listening to this song on CD. So I somehow got the image of someone trying to find their way using the stars as a compass when I heard these lyrics! - Submitted by: Matrix Refugee
Enya's, "Athair Ar Neamh"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I hate Enya,jee-ah-lay-al.
The Real Lyrics:
Athair ar neamh, dia linn
The Story: As I didn't realise she was singing in Irish Gaelic, I always wondered why she hated herself. I also wondered why she was making up words. - Submitted by: Natasha
Enya's, "Book of Days"
The Misheard Lyrics:
My underwear.
The Real Lyrics:
Far and away
The Story: I've always called this Enya's Underwear Song. When I tell others they give me a dirty look and a "Damn you!" You can never unhear that. - Submitted by: Lord Skudley
Enya's, "Caribbean Blue"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Do I believe the guy above, is carrotbean blue?
The Real Lyrics:
Do I believe the sky above, is Carribean blue?
The Story: Once I was playing this song. My teacher heard it and asked me, 'What colour is carrotbean blue?' And the worst thing was, she may have been serious. - Submitted by: isobella
Enya's, "Caribbean Blue"
The Misheard Lyrics:
If all you told was turned too cold
The Real Lyrics:
If all you told was turned to gold
The Story: I often confused myself between "gold" and "cold". - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Enya's, "Caribbean Blue"
The Misheard Lyrics:
If every man is you
The Real Lyrics:
If every man is true
The Story: I thought every man could've been the one listening to this song! - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Enya's, "Caribbean Blue"
The Misheard Lyrics:
If everyone ate salted pecans
The Real Lyrics:
If every man says all he can
The Story: About a month after receiving the cd in the mail, I decided to ask my brother what the real lyrics in that 'Salted Pecan' part of 'Caribbean Blue' were. My brother checked the cd booklet and found the real lyrics. About three years later, I showed my high school Spanish teacher the song, and I told her about the hard-to-understand lyrics. I then told her the correct lyrics, and then I played the song. She somehow believed that my twisted lyrics sounded closer to what she sang because of the Irish accent. Even after playing that part a dozen times, she still wasn't convinced that Enya said 'If every man says all he can;' it sounds sort of like 'if every mon say sawl be con.' - Submitted by: JohnJoseph Gatchalian
Enya's, "China Roses"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Who can tell me the way to Heaven?
or
Who can tell me the way of Heaven?
The Real Lyrics:
Who can tell me if we have Heaven?
The Story: When we bought the 'Memory Of Trees' cd, my brother broused through the lyric book. He read the correct lyrics, but I guess he forgot them because he sang them as 'Who can tell me the way to heaven' a couple weeks later. Two years after, I bought the 'Paint the Sky With Stars' cd which had a remastered version of 'China Roses' on it, and my brother noticed that Enya sang 'The way of heaven'instead of 'The way to heaven.' I popped in the original cd 'Memory of Trees' and my brother figured out she said 'The way of heaven,' and it was a remaster. He was wrong both times! And I knew it was 'If we have heaven,' no matter what cd. - Submitted by: John Joseph A. Gatchalian
Enya's, "Cursum Perficio"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Curse you fool officio.
The Real Lyrics:
Cursum perficio
The Story: My mom pretty much heard those mondegreens at that point and the same time. - Submitted by: Natalie
Enya's, "Cursum Perficio"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Cuts and wounds, a perfect sequel
The Real Lyrics:
Cursum perficio
The Story: Latin must be a screwed-up language; if the printed lyrics are correct, I cannot understand where so many distinct syllables come from when it is sung. - Submitted by: Fuzzbean
Enya's, "Cursum Perficio"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Thirsty sea cold
The Real Lyrics:
Cursum perficio
The Story: I never mention misheard lyrics really, but I was watching a documentary about a major shipwreck and this track was played as the bodies were carried in. I just assumed that 'thirsty sea *something*' were the lyrics because it was in Latin, a bit slurred and seemed to suit the mood. - Submitted by: Sam
Enya's, "Evening Falls"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Carry me to my own, to where I can grow sober
The Real Lyrics:
Carry me to my own, to where I can cross over
The Story: This lyric stood out, first I wondered why the ghost drinks in the first place. As well as the association with avoiding alcohol, sober also refers to a rational state of mind. It almost made sense, then it was a bit confusing to discover this was not the actual lyric. 'Grow sober' was actually 'cross over', which is more fitting for a poor lost ghost wanting to cross over to a happier place. - Submitted by: Tel_dis_music
Enya's, "Flora's Secret"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Glory of the Sonic Moon
or
Glory of the Sonic Blue
The Real Lyrics:
Glory of the sun in blue
The Story: During the hayday of Napster, I downloaded 'Flora's Secret' before I eventually bought the cd because I wanted to know the songs before the cd even came out in stores. I thought she said, 'Sonic Moon,' some weird imagery for the song. A couple months after I bought the cd, I browsed web sites on mp3 players and came across a Sonicblue brand mp3 cd player. I was thinking, 'Hey, Enya must be an advocate for mp3 downloading.' I figured out the real truth by logging on to enya.com and enya.org, discovering that she used pretty standard imagery of the sun in the clear sky 'sun in blue.' - Submitted by: John Joseph A. Gatchalian
Enya's, "Only Time"
The Misheard Lyrics:
1944
The Real Lyrics:
Night keeps all your heart.
The Story: I thought that the song was about WWII. - Submitted by: Jorge
Enya's, "Only Time"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Frito-lay, Frito-lay, Frito-lay
The Real Lyrics:
Dee dah dah day, dee dah dah day, dee dah day.
The Story: My sister and I were out driving when she decided to call the radio station to request a song. She couldn't remember the name of it, so she called it the Frito-Lay song, and preceded to sing the 'Frito-Lay' part for the DJ. He didn't correct her. When he played the song on the radio, he played the tape of her requesting the song. Then he corrected her. I laughed so hard I had to pull the car over. Now this will forever be the 'FritoLay' song. - Submitted by: Kat
Enya's, "Only Time"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Nerd's last paycheck
The Real Lyrics:
Earth's last picture
The Story: I could have sworn I heard "Nerd's Last Paycheck" the first time I listened to this song. - Submitted by: Andrew Watts
Enya's, "Only Time"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Who can say where's the Rose Bowl
When the jaybirds only fly
The Real Lyrics:
Who can say where the road goes
Where the day throws, only time
The Story: Heard this in a Kraft commercial. For the win win. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Enya's, "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Burnin' up, burnin' up, burnin' up, up, butter
The Real Lyrics:
Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up, ah-ah-adieu
The Story: I always kind of knew it wasn't right, but for the life of me I could not figure out what she was actually saying. I got to the point where I had forgotten that it wasn't the real lyrics and even my mom sang it my way. Then they played it once at work and co-worker and several customers caught me singing it. I got some very... interesting looks. Now I just skip over that part. How was I supposed to know it was french!? From the way she sings it I swear it sounds just like 'butter'! - Submitted by: Timi Zhuo
Enya's, "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)"
The Misheard Lyrics:
C'est Noël, c'est Noël, c'est Noël (French for 'It's Christmas time')
The Real Lyrics:
Sail away, sail away, sail away.
The Story: See confirmation on https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orinoco_Flow The misunderstanding goes on, and French radios still play this song around Christmas... - Submitted by: Mike
Enya's, "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Death death death death death death Death death death death Burn it up, burn it up, burn it all up I do, ooh
The Real Lyrics:
Deh deh deh deh deh deh, deh deh deh deh deh deh Turn it up turn it up turn it up, ah-ah-adieu, ooh
The Story: I wondered why it sounded kind of happy and then suddenly started singing "DEATH". Kinda sacred me. Glad they're not the real lyrics. - Submitted by: Timi Zhuo
Enya's, "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)"
The Misheard Lyrics:
From Paris to Taree
The Real Lyrics:
From Bali to Cali
The Story: I was looking at the actual lyrics of the song & realised I was wrong. - Submitted by: Timi Zhuo
Enya's, "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)"
The Misheard Lyrics:
From parking lots to my mom's, Once we really find Saddam
The Real Lyrics:
From Bissau to Pilau, in the shade of Avalon
The Story: I love Enya. After hearing this song school fifty-five times, I finally was corrected by my boyfriend. Once we did finally catch Saddam, I was like "Hey, we need to change that song!" - Submitted by: Timi Zhuo
Enya's, "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Say the word, say the word, say the word!
The Real Lyrics:
Sail away, sail away, sail away.
The Story: I first heard this as a song on some sort of beverage commercial in '90 or '91. I always thought it was a lovely song and wish it were more than just a song for a commercial. Imagine my joy when I found out it was a real song from an album full of such wonderful music. And imagine my suprise when I finally learned the correct words. :) - Submitted by: Bastian
Enya's, "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)"
The Misheard Lyrics:
There's a sale, there's a sale, Save the bay, save the bay, save the bay
The Real Lyrics:
Let me sail, Let me sail, sail away, sail away, sail away
The Story: I was singing it to my mom. She had no clue what song that was, but years later, we got an Enya cd that had Orinoco Flow on it. After hearing it a few times we both realized what the lyrics were... we still laugh. - Submitted by: Timi Zhuo
Enya's, "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)"
The Misheard Lyrics:
We conceal, we conceal
The Real Lyrics:
We can sail, we can sail
The Story: Kind of having to do with concealing something, I could have thought about concealing in this song! - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Enya's, "Orinoco Flow"
The Misheard Lyrics:
From the deep sea of clouds to the island of Aruba ...
From Peru to Cebu to the Aruba below
The Real Lyrics:
From the deep sea of clouds to the islands of the moon ...
From Peru to Cebu hear the power of Babylon
The Story: I was sure that Enya would include Aruba in this song about sailing. - Submitted by: Julian
Enya's, "Orinoco Flow"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Samurai, samurai, samurai
or
Sunny day, sunny day, sunny day
or
Say you will, say you will, say you will.
The Real Lyrics:
Sail away, sail away, sail away.
The Story: I was about ten when I first heard this song. My friend Karin and I discussed what Enya actually was singing. Karin heard 'samurai' and I heard 'sunny day'. It wasn't until I saw the music video on MTV that I realized it was neither samurai or sunny day but 'sail away'! Many years later I told a friend about this, and she told me she had always thought that the lyrics read: 'Say you will'! - Submitted by: Frida
Enya's, "Orinoco Flow"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Say Vincent Vincent
The Real Lyrics:
Sail away sail away
The Story: I first heard this song when I was a kid in the 1980s. In 2018, 30 years after its release, it was used on a TV show, and I saw the subtitles, finally realizing what they were. - Submitted by: Abe
Enya's, "Oíche Chiúin (Chorale)"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Christ just spat in your face
The Real Lyrics:
Críost an Slánaitheoir Fein
The Story: English translation: "Christ, the saviour himself." - Submitted by: Steven Ansell
Enya's, "Sail Away"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Save a whale, save a whale, save a whale.
The Real Lyrics:
Sail away, sail away, sail away.
The Story: My mom thought this song was some environmental plea to save the whales for many years. Now all we can do is laugh when we hear it on the radio. - Submitted by: Trixie
Enya's, "Sail Away"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Save a whale, save a whale, save a whale
The Real Lyrics:
Sail away, sail away, sail away
The Story: I was working in a new age bookstore in the 80's when a customer approached me, asking for 'the save a whale' song. I asked her to hum it to me. She was not to be convinced that she was mistaken until I actually played her the song and showed her the cd jacket. She seemed irritated, as though someone had played a trick on her, but she bought it. - Submitted by: David Morrison

There are more Enya misheard lyrics available.

Indexes: [#] [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [Y] [Z]

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