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!).
For Everyman album at Amazon.com
Make it pay, baby
Go get a job on the boulevard
It's like this
It's the way it is
Make it pay, baby
It's only time on the boulevard
It's like this
It's the way it is
The Story: I was 14 that summer and I knew that when I started high school that fall, we'd be exploring career choices and opportunities in our Social Studies classes. - Submitted by: Card - Carrying Deadbeat Club Member
You take salad and I'll take soup
There ain't no difference between the two
You take Sally and I'll take Sue
There ain't no difference between the two
The Story: I was a waiter at the time, always asking customers if they'd like the salad or soup with their meal. I figured Jackson must have been a waiter at some point, exasperated as I was with the question. - Submitted by: Dan Kluger
Buckle my eyes
Doctor my eyes
The Story: I wondered what it meant by buckling somebody's eyes. That makes no sense! You can buckle belts, like on jeans and seat belts on cars, but eyes? No way! - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Wide awake or in a tree
It's hard to tell.
Wide awake or in a dream
It's hard to tell.
The Story: I had these lyrics written down in my song book, When my girlfriend (now wife of 30 years) read them, she laughed hysterically, then told me what they really were. She still laughs about it today. - Submitted by: Don Denny
witness with me now
the wind is with me now
The Story: since the song has a Christian tone to it, I thought that lyric was about someone telling someone about Jesus (witnessing) - Submitted by: Paul Amato
Gotta do what you can just to keep your lava light.
Gotta do what you can just to keep your love alive.
The Story: I was about 13 when I first heard this song and one of my favorite possessions at that time was my lava light. I had to argue with my Mom that it didn't make me a 'hippie' but she still made me hide it whenever company came over. I thought Jackson Browne had written that line just for me! - Submitted by: John Abbott
Money for nothing
Running on empty
The Story: Could have sworn this was what inspired Dire Straits to have a song with the title "Money for Nothing"! - Submitted by: Cody Finke
I try to shoot my eyes
I try to shut my eyes
The Story: I swear he was using a Red Ryder BB Gun! - Submitted by: Cody Finke
The Doobies scheduled to appear, a thousand miles away from here
And we'll be scheduled to appear
A thousand miles away from here
The Story: 56 years old and I literally just discovered that I had the lyrics wrong for decades! Laughing at myself for never questioning why Jackson Browne would be talking about the Doobie Brothers in their song. - Submitted by: Michael
New entries in this section are currently reviewed by Brian Kelly. Previous editors (if any) are listed on the editors page.
