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
They ran so fast like a house full of ketchup.
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em.
The Story: I was still in grade school when this came out. We didn't have any dogs in the house, but we had ketchup. You go with what you know. - Submitted by: Jim Brown
Ol' Heap-Freak said we could take 'em by surprise, if we didn't fire our muskets 'til we looked 'em in the eyes....
Ol' Hickory said we could take 'em by surprise, if we didn't fire our muskets 'til we looked 'em in the eyes....
The Story: I was about 9 or ten when this song came out, and I had no idea that Colonel Jackson's nickname was "Old Hickory". Later on in the song, it tells about how the soldiers "grab an alligator, and pull another round; we filled it's head with cannonballs and powdered it's behind, and when we set the powder off, the gator lost his mind". Well, I figured Ol' Heap-Freak had to be a not very nice Indian guy from the wild west who would do this to an alligator. - Submitted by: June Ponte
We fired once more and the apes began to running
We fired once more and they began a runnin'
The Story: I always thought it said "apes" and thus started to think it was a racist song, that they were singing about the Black Creoles. - Submitted by: Peggy Schmidt
Get out of the way, Johnny Red, Johnny Red
Get out of the way, Johnny Red.
You fought all the way, Johnny Reb, Johnny Reb
You fought all the way, Johnny Reb.
The Story: Listening on an old 8-track tape in Georgia. - Submitted by: Owen Money
North to Alaska
Going North to save our souls.
North to Alaska
Go North, the rush is on.
The Story: I was singing this tune in my buddy's car one evening. When he started laughing, I asked him what the matter was. He informed me that I missung the lyric. Now when we are headed North for any particular reason I or he says 'We're headed North to Alaska, we're headed North to save our Souls.' - Submitted by: Marshall
North to Alaska
We're going north to the Russian Zone.
North to Alaska
We're going north, the rush is on.
The Story: Young female friend (about age 15 at the time the song came out) used to sing the misheard lyrics while we danced to it. She took a while to convince her of the true lyrics, and even then she remained skeptical. - Submitted by: Hal Smith
Born in Alaska
or
Born in Nebraska
North to Alaska
The Story: I could have sworn he was born in either Alaska or Nebraska, but it was a trip north to Alaska for the Gold Rush! - Submitted by: Cody Finke
On down to Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
The Story: I could have sworn it had to do with going to Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico, but it was really the Mississippi River! - 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.
