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!).
INXS - Greatest Hits album at Amazon.com
Dead inside, dead inside
Every single one of us is dead inside.
Devil inside, devil inside
Every single one of us, a devil inside.
The Story: At the time, I could never work out why my partner at the time used to think I was awful, just because I sang the lyrics to a song. We broke up and I later discovered I was hearing impaired enough to need hearing aids in both ears. A little too late, huh! - Submitted by: Mike J
The devon side, the devon side
The devil inside, the devil inside
The Story: What is the Devon side? I know, this doesn't make any sense. Why would Michael Hutchence sing about a type of sausage, or a county in the south of England? At one point of the song, it sounds like Michael Hutchence got careless with his diction. Other parts of the song clearly say; "The devil inside." - Submitted by: Scott McPhee
INXS's,
"Different World"
I turned around, if you had looked
Out of the red, into the blue
The Story: The misheard lyrics was seen according to the captions of "Crocodile Dundee" on DVD. - Submitted by: Mickey D.
Don't change the 'el'
Don't change for you
The Story: The first time I heard this song on the radio back in 1983, I had just started getting into trains (city subway/elevated systems, commuter rail lines), and I thought for sure that INXS was singing 'Don't Change The 'El', Don't Change A Thing' - Submitted by: Timothy
INXS's,
"Elegantly Wasted"
American waitress
I'm elegantly wasted
The Story: By contrast, earlier mishearings of this song (which was one of the last by the band before Michael Hutchence died later in 1997) had mishearings of "American Wasteland", and the song "Baba O'Riley" had multiple mishearings of "Teenage Wasteland" as "teenage waitress", so this can do for "American waitress". - Submitted by: Cody Finke
INXS's,
"Elegantly Wasted"
Baby's down in the well and she knows it ('cause she owns it).
Baby's down on the world and she knows it ('cause she owns it).
The Story: I always thought that 'Baby's down in the well' was such a great metaphor for being extremely melancholy and isolated from life - the way one might feel if they were stuck at the bottom of a well. What a major disappointment it was to find out that wasn't the actual lyric at all. Oh well, still a very good song. - Submitted by: Robert Miller
INXS's,
"Elegantly Wasted"
Better get a-wasted!
Elegantly wasted
The Story: Even knowing the lyric, I cannot make out 'elegantly' any time he sings it. I always hear 'I better get a-wasted'. - Submitted by: Ed
INXS's,
"Elegantly Wasted"
Married from the waist down.
Elegantly wasted
The Story: I actually thought it was 'married from the waste down' and sang it in the car with 2 friends. The sad thing is that it actually made sense about relationships in the 90's with influential shows like Seinfeld, Friends and Will and Grace. I had a chance to share this with the band right before a concert in 97/98 in Park City, Utah and they laughed and laughed. The drummer even dipped me down and kissed me in his delight. - Submitted by: Kristen Call
INXS's,
"Elegantly Wasted"
Momma needs a waist-band.
Elegantly wasted
The Story: When my brother was young (about 6), he thought this was the actual lyric. It was very cute to hear a little kid yelling this; and it outraged my mom. - Submitted by: Kate
INXS's,
"Guns in the Sky"
Guns in the sky - Child grows up fatigued
Guns in the sky - I used to be Anaemic
Guns in the sky - Child grows up to see
Guns in the sky - I used to be on TV
The Story: I was 13, it was the fisrt song I played on my first album (Kick) on my first walkman. I think I was watching too much casualty on the telly! - Submitted by: Trevor
INXS's,
"Listen Like Thieves"
Lizard-like fiends
Listen like thieves
The Story: My wife would sing these lyrics out of tune while listening to this song on her Walkman. - Submitted by: Bud
INXS's,
"Need You Tonight"
I've got to let you go
I've got to let you know
The Story: I used to think that’s what Michael Hutchence was saying towards the end of the song (or before it segued into “Mediate”). - Submitted by: Cody Finke
INXS's,
"Need You Tonight"
Slide over here and give me a moment
My knees are so raw.
or
Slide over here and give me a moment
My nerves are so raw.
So slide over here and give me a moment
Your moves are so raw.
The Story: This was actually misheard by my best friend Leann. We were playing a game called 'Songburst', where you are told the band, the year, and the first couple of words of line from a song. You then have to sing the remaining words. We were on a team together and when this came up, Leann was so very proud of herself as she yelled 'I know it, I know it!!!'. She proceeded to sing, 'My knees are so raw'. This caused hysterical laughter from her fiance and me. We almost had to go to the emergency room! - Submitted by: MICHELLE
INXS's,
"Never Tear Us Apart"
We may never tell us a part
We may never tear us apart
The Story: Just when I thought Michael Hutchence got into stories or plays… - Submitted by: Cody Finke
INXS's,
"Never Tear Us Apart"
We were never Terry and Garth
We will never tear us apart
The Story: The same applied to this one in addition to one from "Foolish Games" by Jewel and "Tearin' Up My Heart" by 'N Sync. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
In Euston Station
A new sensation
The Story: The first time I misheard this lyric, I was actually driving past Euston Station---on my way to John Henry's music studios at the back of Kings Cross. It stuck with me ever since! - Submitted by: Paulus
And it's no bunny
And it's nobody
The Story: How we were puny..."Nobunny knows Easter better than him". - Submitted by: Cody Finke
And Venice is the ride
And Venice is the show.
Because this is the ride
And this is the show.
The Story: I thought the song was referring to the famous Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas with its gondulas. - Submitted by: Julie
Falling asleep at the Wyn again, baby.
Falling asleep at the wheel again, baby.
The Story: I thought it was about the luxurious new hotel in Las Vegas. - Submitted by: Julie
Get your patients
Up your patience
The Story: I thought it was about doctors in Vegas. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Soup and salad bar
Suicide blonde
The Story: I was working as a waitress when I first heard this song. So you can imagine my joy thinking someone wrote a song about the lows of working in a restaurant. - Submitted by: Jean
Soup inside a bun.
Suicide blonde.
The Story: I sang it this way for well over a decade. Then I asked my husband how do you even get soup inside a bun? After he finished laughing, he explained my error. Oops. - Submitted by: Katie
You wanna make her soup and salad bar
Love sensation, soup and salad bar.
You wanna make her, Suicide Blonde
Love sensation, Suicide Blonde.
The Story: In college we had a soup and salad bar in the cafeteria. My friend from school and I were there one day and this song came on. She said, 'Isn't it hilarious that INXS would write about making someone soup and salad bar?!' Mental. - Submitted by: Jennifer
You want to make a
Soup and salad bar.
You want to make her
Suicide Blonde.
The Story: A Ms. Gron from Michigan proudly sang these lyrics at the top of her lungs until the laughs drowned her out. - Submitted by: Jim Conway
super salad bowl
suicide blonde
The Story: I was unable to find any reference to this song with the lyric that I remembered incorrectly, until I asked someone. - Submitted by: Martin Allen
INXS's,
"The Devil Inside"
Dude on the side, dude on the side
Every single one of us is a dude on the side.
Devil inside, devil inside
Every single one of us, the devil inside.
The Story: My friend and I were watching the film "Rock Star" I thought that it kind of related to the movie because everyone was calling each other dude. I asked him at the end who did the song 'Dude On The Side'. He was laughing really hard, then told me thsong was 'Devil Inside'. He still sings it my way all the time to bug me, and I just frown in shame. - Submitted by: 3023934830
I don't know where
Out of nowhere
The Story: Like I heard "Out of nowhere" as "I don't know where" in the song "All I Wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow, it was the same thing here. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Get your Swatches here!
I'll give you what you need
The Story: My father always thought they were saying this until he looked up the lyrics. It's still an in-joke in the family today. - Submitted by: NJ
Hey! Everybody! Forget about the Fourth of July
Hey! Here's the story. Forget about the troubles in life
The Story: I was driving cross-country, listening to a high quality car stereo, and finally heard the correct lyrics,after 25 years. - Submitted by: Bill Sheingorn
Wash me
what you need
The Story: I used to think it was "wash me". - Submitted by: Cody Finke
There are more INXS misheard lyrics available.
New entries in this section are currently reviewed by Brian Kelly. Previous editors (if any) are listed on the editors page.