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!).
Bowery Songs album at Amazon.com
Donut Donut Donut Donut
Donna Donna Donna Donna
The Story: This song has what may be the most memorably annoying chorus of any folksong I've ever heard. It's stupid and repetitious regardless of exactly what the singer is saying. - Submitted by: Jeffrey
Joan Baez's,
"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"
'Till so much cavalry came
They tore down the tracks again.
'Till Stoneman's cavalry came
They tore down the tracks again.
The Story: The song 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down' was written and originally recorded by The Band. When Joan Baez covered it, she either purposely or accidentally changed the lyric. I like to think she misheard it because there was no point in changing it, and also because it's comforting to know that musicians mishear lyrics too! - Submitted by: brahman48
Joan Baez's,
"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"
The night they towed the gypsy to town
The night they drove old dixie down
The Story: We were listening to my mom's records one night and playing name that tune. 'The night they towed the gypsy to town' was the lyric my little sister came out with, because she'd give lyrics from the song instead of the actual title. It just happened that the title was the same as some of the lyrics. - Submitted by: Amanda
Joan Baez's,
"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"
Till Sherman's cavalry came and tore down the tracks again
Till Stoneman's cavalry came
They tore down the tracks again.
The Story: General William T. Sherman was another US Civil War general. He was actually Stoneman's commander. Sherman was known of his scorched earth policy, so the lyrics would have been fitting to him as well. - Submitted by: Susanna Viljanen
Joan Baez's,
"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"
Till Stonewall's cavalry came and tore up the tracks again
Till Stoneman's cavalry came
They tore down the tracks again.
The Story: General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was another US Civil War cavalry general. - Submitted by: Susanna Viljanen
Joan Baez's,
"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"
Virgil, quick come see, there goes Robert E. Lee.
Virgil, quick come see, there goes the Robert E. Lee.
The Story: Shortly after the Civil War, the Robert E. Lee was a state-of-the-art riverboat; the lyrics are not referring to the man. You'd think a singer of Baez's stature would have cleared permission with Robbie Robertson of The Band, the author of this song, by checking the lyrics before recording them. - Submitted by: Francine Geraci
Buy me a flute
In the gum chute.
Buy me a flute
And a gun that shoots.
The Story: I always wondered where you could find a gum machine that sold flutes. Sounded like a nice cheap deal to me! I was in fourth grade when I first heard this, and just think what I might have heard if Dylan was drawling this instead of Baez! I rarely understand him. - Submitted by: Terri Powers
New entries in this section are currently reviewed by Brian Kelly. Previous editors (if any) are listed on the editors page.
