Making fun of music, one song at a time. Since the year 2000.
Check out the two amIright misheard lyrics books including one book devoted to misheard lyrics of the 1980s.
(Toggle Right Side Navigation)

Misheard Song Lyrics -> Stories -> Sting

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!).


Brand New Day album at Amazon.com
Sting's, "All This Time"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Saw a ribbiting frog
The Real Lyrics:
Saw a city in the fog
The Story: Sounded like a ribbiting frog! - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Sting's, "An Englishman In New York"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I'm a sapian, I'm a homosapian
I'm a big fish from planet zork.
The Real Lyrics:
I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York.
The Story: I was sat in a bar and thought this is what the words were and was trying to convince my boyfriend. He was right... I was wrong! - Submitted by: Danielle Greenwood
Sting's, "An Englishman in New York"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I'm an alien, I'm an eagle alien
I'm an international Indian.
The Real Lyrics:
I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York.
The Story: I was always really confused by this song. I could never understand the lyrics in the first verse which establish what the song is about (and which I now know to be 'I don't drink coffee I drink tea, my dear' and etc). So when I misheard the chorus, I honestly believe from the words alien, eagle and Indian that it was some kind of protest song about the treatment of Native Americans. I overhead my brother sing the right words one day and the whole thing made a lot more sense. I like my way better :) - Submitted by: Jen
Sting's, "An Englishman in New York"
The Misheard Lyrics:
L.A. International Airport
The Real Lyrics:
I'm an Englishman in New York.
The Story: It took me 15yrs to figure this one out! - Submitted by: SAR
Sting's, "Desert Rose"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I dream of rain in LA LA (Los Angeles)
The Real Lyrics:
I dream of rain
I lift my gaze to empty skies above
The Story: We could use some rain in Los Angeles. - Submitted by: Ari
Sting's, "Englishman In New York"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I'm an alien
I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York.
The Real Lyrics:
I'm an alien
I'm a little alien
I'm a multi-national hero.
The Story: I don't know why, but when I was out in industrial training, in the computer room, this song played for nearly a 1000 times in 4 weeks and I was always misspelling these lyrics. After I came back to school, people were so impressed of my creativity that they even didn't laugh. (We're not native English speakers by the way) - Submitted by: Dogac Senol
Sting's, "Englishman In New York"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Whoa, I'm an idiot, I'm a legal idiot
I'm an Englishman in New York.
The Real Lyrics:
Whoa, I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York.
The Story: My friend Emma doesn't know the words to any song...ever! She was singing these lyrics as if she was word perfect! - Submitted by: Kim Harasym
Sting's, "Every Breath You Take"
The Misheard Lyrics:
My pool hall legs, with every breath you take
The Real Lyrics:
My poor heart aches, with every breath you take
The Story: An old boyfriend was convinced this was the correct line, because he had seen the video and there was a woman with very long legs playing pool in it. I never could persuade him that he had the wrong words, even though it actually makes SENSE with the correct lyrics... - Submitted by: Donna
Sting's, "Fields Of Gold"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Among the fields of Bali
The Real Lyrics:
Among the fields of barley
The Story: The islands of Indonesia are quite idyllic. Sting, a former English teacher, is the sort who'd work such an unusual reference into his songs. But unfortunately, that wasn't the case in this song, as I learned several years after it came out by watching the music video with closed captioning turned on. - Submitted by: codeman38
Sting's, "Fields Of Gold"
The Misheard Lyrics:
And I swear on the mesclun.
The Real Lyrics:
But I swear in the days still left.
The Story: I was about nine when I first heard this song, and I really liked the line I thought I heard. So I actually wrote a story about someone swearing on mesclun. It was pretty funny. - Submitted by: Disneygirl
Sting's, "Fields Of Gold"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I never made promises like it
The Real Lyrics:
I never made promises lightly.
The Story: The misheard lyrics never jived well with the next line, "And there have been some that I've broken." Well...how do you break promises that you haven't made? Luckily the REAL lyrics do make sense :) - Submitted by: JMW
Sting's, "Fields of Gold"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Among the fields of Varley lol
The Real Lyrics:
Upon the fields of barley
The Story: Ha ha ha I didn't even think barley lol! My brain was like nope it's varley lol - Submitted by: Jennifer Archer
Sting's, "Fields of Gold"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I never make promises like American samurai folk
The Real Lyrics:
I never made promises lightly and there have been some that I've broken
The Story: Don’t trust a Jap. Ever. - Submitted by: Eric
Sting's, "Fields of Gold"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Upon the fields of foggy.
The Real Lyrics:
Upon the fields of barley.
The Story: I first heard this song when I was really little (can't remember how old exactly, maybe around 5) and I thought that's what Sting said. I never understood how that would be a suitable place for a couple to go to, since the fields being foggy would create a rather disturbing atmosphere. It wasn't till MUCH later in my life that I found he said barley. You may think how I could possibly get 'foggy' mixed up with 'barley' but if you listen to the song, the way Gordon sings it sounds like it to me. - Submitted by: Doommaster1994
Sting's, "Fortress Around Your Heart"
The Misheard Lyrics:
And let me build a bridge,
For I cannot build a castle
Let me set the mat on this one - ah
The Real Lyrics:
Then let me build a bridge,
For I cannot fill the chasm,
And let me set the battlements on fire.
The Story: I could not figure out what "set the mat on this one" meant, thought it might be Brit slang for something. - Submitted by: Gerry Schuster
Sting's, "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Did I ever lose my faith in you?
The Real Lyrics:
If I Ever Lose My Faith in You
The Story: This is what I thought Sting said! - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Sting's, "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You"
The Misheard Lyrics:
If I have the blues and faith in you
The Real Lyrics:
If I ever lose my faith in you
The Story: That's what I thought I heard back in the day. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Sting's, "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You"
The Misheard Lyrics:
You would say I lost my cents and direction
The Real Lyrics:
You would say I lost my sense in direction
The Story: Once again, why we confuse "sense" with "cents". - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Sting's, "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Sugar free, saccharin free.
The Real Lyrics:
Free free set them free.
The Story: I was only about 4 when this song came out. when Nutrasweet was just becomming big and they always had commercials about gum and candy containing no sugar and no saccharin. I think I got the two confused. - Submitted by: Kari Konyndyk
Sting's, "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free"
The Misheard Lyrics:
You can't control an independent hawk.
The Real Lyrics:
You can't control an independent heart.
The Story: This is not mine, but my American mom's. She believes that what Sting sings is about an independent hawk. However, that doesn't seem to make sense with the next line. Can't tear the one you love apart. Funny how when he sings that line, I can see how she would be confused, as with his accent, it sounds like he actually says, "You can't control an independent hort.". How do I set her straight and convince her that he's talking about a heart, and not a hawk? - Submitted by: Annabelle
Sting's, "If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Three three, Satcom Three
The Real Lyrics:
Free, free, set them free
The Story: Well Telstar was a song about a satellite, so I guess it was possible..... - Submitted by: Old Comedywriter
Sting's, "If You Love Someone, Set Them Free"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Anyone can suck and f*** us.
The Real Lyrics:
Anyone can keep something precious.
The Story: It wasn't until I actually looked up the true lyrics to the song that I understood I was mishearing them. Sting could have sung 'something precious' in such a more normal way than he does in that song and the misheard lyric wouldn't have happened. - Submitted by: Bruce
Sting's, "Rock Steady"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Than is a parrot to the eye
The Real Lyrics:
Than is apparent to the eye
The Story: Another glorious moment of being six years old and not knowing what the lyric meant. The vowel sounds matched up, and I certainly knew what a parrot was. 'Apparent' however was out of my repertoire. I still think parrots fit in the context of the song rather well, by a twisted childhood logic. - Submitted by: Nik
Sting's, "Russians"
The Misheard Lyrics:
We share the same biology. We hardly survive geology.
The Real Lyrics:
We share the same biology. Regardless of ideology.
The Story: It wasn't me, it actually was my sister, Amber who misheard this lyric. When Mom would listen to Sting in the car, when this song came on, it made me wonder why my sister would believe that someone would hardly survive geology. It was my mom who set her straight, thank goodness! However, my sister still believes that her version is the original! - Submitted by: Annabelle
Sting's, "Russians"
The Misheard Lyrics:
We share the same biology
Regardless of our geology.
The Real Lyrics:
We share the same biology
Regardless of ideology.
The Story: For years (1985 until this afternoon!), I thought this was an extremely feeble attempt to substitute 'geology' for 'geography' to make it rhyme with 'biology.' Now that I know what he was really trying to say, it makes much more sense. My respect for Sting and his poignant and intellectually-stimulating lyrics is restored! - Submitted by: Desert Tripper
Sting's, "Soul Cages"
The Misheard Lyrics:
One asshole in the soul cages
The Real Lyrics:
One less soul in the soul cages
The Story: It's so easy to mistake what you're hearing when you're not reading the lyrics. - Submitted by: Demolition Man
Sting's, "Soul Cake"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Soul cake, soul cake, please don't mess with my soul cake
The Real Lyrics:
A soul cake, a soul cake, please good missus, a soul cake
The Story: I couldn't believe that he he actually was saying "soul cake" once I looked up the lyrics. Don't mess with his, though. :) - Submitted by: Bill

There are more Sting misheard lyrics available.

Indexes: [#] [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [Y] [Z]

New entries in this section are currently reviewed by Brian Kelly. Previous editors (if any) are listed on the editors page.

Submissions!

Would you like to Submit some Misheard Lyrics for a song We're always looking for more entries.

Disclaimer

Disclaimer: amIright.com makes no claims to the accuracy of the correct lyrics. All correct lyrics are copyrighted, amIright.com does not claim ownership of the original lyrics.