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!).
16 Biggest Hits album at Amazon.com
All along the southbound hard to sea
The train pulls out to Kentucky.
All along the southbound Odyssey
The train pulls out to Kankakee.
The Story: We sang this song on in comprehensive school on an English lesson. Our teacher had picked up the lyrics off the record and written them down by what she had heard. I played guitar, and I later found the correct lyrics on a country songbook. - Submitted by: Susanna Viljanen
Sauntered north and flossed my teeth
Against a sky of baby blue.
Saw a northbound flock of geese
Against a sky of baby blue.
The Story: My boyfriend was playing a new cd he'd just bought. I was familiar with several Johnny Cash songs but not this one. I took a break to go to the bathroom in the middle of this song, and in the muffled sound that reached me there, the above misheard version was what I thought I heard. I had him replay that song later, and easily heard the words right. I then started laughing, and my boyfriend asked why. I explained my earlier mishearing, and then we both had a good laugh. - Submitted by: Norma Ruiz
And you could have it all,
My in pirate dirt.
And you could have it all,
My empire of dirt.
The Story: Happened while I was watching a YouTube video of Top 50 2000s Songs. - Submitted by: BrilliantJ8
And you could have it all
Lying pile of dirt.
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt.
The Story: I thought Johnny Cash was basically telling someone to take everything that meant something to him, and then calling whoever it was a liar. Hence 'lying pile of dirt'. When I looked up the lyrics, I realized I was quite a bit off. - Submitted by: Chelisse
Promise never to fart
Promise never to part
The Story: My daughter and I were listening to the "Walk The Line" soundtrack, and both of us misheard the same line. - Submitted by: Michael
Will you partake of that last coffee cup?
Will you partake of that last offered cup?
The Story: I don’t know how many times I had to hear the song before I realized that it was “offered cup” and not “coffee cup.” Guess I really needed a cup of joe to lift the mind fog. - Submitted by: Daniel Muldoon
He wondered alone
He wandered alone
The Story: Confusion exists between "wonder" and "wander", doesn't it? - Submitted by: Cody Finke
New entries in this section are currently reviewed by Brian Kelly. Previous editors (if any) are listed on the editors page.
