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!).
Beach Boys - The Greatest Hits Vol. 2: 20 More Good Vibrations album at Amazon.com
Ah, ba ba ba ba Bakurahn
Ba ba ba ba Bakurahn
Oh Bakurahn, it ate my hand
Bakurahn
Ah, ba ba ba ba Barbara Ann
Ba ba ba ba Barbara Ann
Oh Barbara Ann, take my hand
Barbara Ann
The Story: My little brother Lonnie has never been able to sing a song with the correct lyrics in all of his seventeen years of life. It's borderline depressing what this boy does to popular music. I was sitting at the computer one night singing along to "Barbara Ann" by The Beach Boys when Lonnie come running in from the dining room, and he says, "What was that?" I told him what it was, and he says to me, "I've been looking for that song for years. How do you spell Bakurahn." I've never laughed so hard in my life. - Submitted by: Shannon
Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba, Baperen
Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba, Barbara Ann
The Story: Saw it on the movie 3 Ninjas at the end - Submitted by: Monae
Baa, baa, baa, baa- baa- baa-ram
Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba, Barbara Ann
The Story: I'm with my sister, her husband, my brother, and a friend on a little road trip. The song Barbara Ann comes on the radio. I start singing along with the right lyrics, and suddenly my brother says, "Barbara Ann? I always thought it was 'baa-baa-baa-ram"". Of course, the rest of us start busting up laughing...everyone, that is, except my sister's husband, who is suspiciously quiet. A moment later (after said laughter died down), he 'sheepishly' admits he also thought it was 'baa-baa-baa-ram.' - Submitted by: Erin Schadt
Bohr, Bohr, Bohr, Bohr, Bohr, Berähn
Bar, Bar, Bar, Bar, Barbara Ann
The Story: I had this in my earphones when I was at the dentist. ('Bohren' is German for 'drill'.) - Submitted by: unci narynin
Bop Bop Bop Bop Bop- a- ran!
Bar, Bar, Bar, Bar- Barbara Ann!
The Story: I've been singing along to this song since I was just a little girl. I was born in 1980, so I thought maybe bop-a-ran was type of dance from the 60's or so. My mom and my older brothers and sister just let me go on and maybe they didn't know either. My freshman year in college my best friend was like- what? Bop-a-ran? Did you make that up? We started cracking up when she told me and we still maintain that it really is Bop-A-Ran. - Submitted by: Mary
Bop, Bop, Bop, Bop, Bopper Ann!
Bar-Bar-Bar-Bar-Barbara Ann
The Story: Apparently, my mother was singing it the wrong way for over a decade. Though by the time I was born, it was just a funny, if mildly embarrassing, story. I think she was singing it in front of some friends; and they all laughed at her when they realized what she was singing. - Submitted by: Rebecca
Ga-ga-ga-ga-ga for now
Ba-Ba-Ba-Ba-Barbara Ann
The Story: Sounded like it had to do with baby talk. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
On my day we'll all be jacking off at the football game
On Friday we'll be jacked up on the football game
The Story: Found the real lyric on another site but I think what I heard is better - Submitted by: Anomyus
And we stay on the beach, California
And we stay on the beach, California
And we stay on the beach, California Girls!
I wish they all could be California
I wish they all could be California
I wish they all could be California girls.
The Story: I always thought that the singer had a funny way of pronouncing 'stay', it sounded like he'd said 'And we shtay on the beach'... But I just thought it must be another dialect of English I hadn't heard about (English is not my native tongue). - Submitted by: Tarja Kojola
I dream about you off in my pretty bald head.
I don't about you often, my pretty darlin'.
The Story: I KNEW what I heard didn't make any sense, but no matter how many times I listened to it, I couldn't really hear the right lyrics. - Submitted by: Mark
She told me, "Baby, when you leave today just take along my love with you."
She told me, "Baby when you race today just take along my love with you."
The Story: I did not know this was the wrong lyric until I watched it on youtube just now in 2023! - Submitted by: Lorilyn
When I start to Brad about my car
When I start to brag about my car
The Story: Once again, why many people hate their car named Brad from the Liberty Mutual commercials. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Somebody’s baby
Don’t worry baby
The Story: I could have sworn it was a pre-Jackson Browne reference! - Submitted by: Cody Finke
And she'll have fun, fun, fun till her daddy takes the Z-Bird away.
And she'll have fun, fun, fun till her daddy takes the T-Bird away.
The Story: I was really little when I misheard this but my mother and my cousin heard me singing that song and when I got to the chorus I started singing: 'And she'll have fun, fun, fun till her daddy takes the Z-Bird away' and my mother and my cousin laughed at me and they yelled 'T-BIRD!' I smiled at them and my mother asked me if I liked the song and I just said 'yes!' - Submitted by: Celeste Keenan
You shouldn't collide now, you shouldn't collide
You shouldn't have lied now, you shouldn't have lied
The Story: Thought the Boys were worried about her crashing that T-bird into something. - Submitted by: Paul
'til her daddy takes her cheeseburger away
'til her daddy takes her T-Bird away
The Story: It makes sense since they mention "hamburger stand" earlier in the song. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
'til her daddy takes his TV away
'til her daddy takes the T-Bird away
The Story: I seriously thought they were talking about her daddy taking his TV away, but it was really about a Ford Thunderbird. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Gottleby knows what I'd be without you.
God only knows what I'd be without you.
The Story: Could have been someone's last name! - Submitted by: James Beer
Good, good, good
Goodbye Clayton!
Good, good, good
Good vibrations!
The Story: One morning, as I was getting ready for work, I was singing along to this Beach Boys classic. All of a sudden, it dawned on me when I thought about this one time crush I had in church. He started dissing my crooner vocal style ( I am a singer by the way ) that I started singing ' Goodbye Clayton ' instead of ' Good Vibrations '. So there you have it. - Submitted by: Jennifer
I don't know whether she's ten feet ten
I don't know where but she sends me there
The Story: Well, that's how I heard it then - 1967 as a 14 year old - and I still sing it that way when I play the song. - Submitted by: John Lonergan
Ever since you put me down
There've been elves pooping in my bed
Since she put me down
I've been out doin' in my head.
The Story: When my daughter was in first grade, she kept asking us to sing the song "about the pooping elves." We had no idea what she was talking about. Finally, we realized she was talking about "Help Me Rhonda". - Submitted by: charit
Healthy barn, health-healthy barn
Help me Rhonda, help-help me Rhonda
The Story: I only found out the real lyrics about 3 years ago ... I'd been singing the wrong ones for 20 years. And I still can't help it, every time I hear the song I imagine a big barn with dancing, healthy chickens and roosters. And I still sing 'healthy barn', it takes about half the song to realise I'm doing it. - Submitted by: Dean
I get around, from outta town, I'm a real cold twig...
I get around, from town to town, I'm a real cool head...
The Story: A couple years back in high school, no one remembered or knew the Beach Boys except for a few. So a few of my friends and I performed that song at the talent show. We got third place but my grandmother was there. Of course I did the falsetto, and she clearly heard me sing the lyrics wrong, and she was terrified that we weren't gonna get a good score. - Submitted by: Tyler Randles
Round round, get around,
Hoggin' around
Round round, get around,
I get around
The Story: I though they were singing about picking up fat chicks. - Submitted by: Willy
Jock itch, Cruex
Got it, through it
Jock itch, women.
Gotta go to it
Gonna go through it
Gotta get with it.
The Story: I was a 4th grader listening to my father's car radio somewhere in Maryland, 1975. I heard a commercial for Cruex Jock Itch Spray. Then the station played this song, which I thought was an extension of the ad, with the Beach Boys (at least to me) endorsing Cruex and singing about jock itch. - Submitted by: oldsongs
Bodies in the sand
Drop the cocaine, baby, in your hand.
Bodies in the sand
Tropical drink melting in your hand.
The Story: A young boy in church said he wasn't allowed to listen to the song because (it had) the word "cocaine" in it. - Submitted by: Bill Golden
I want to eat that monster rotten steak
Martinique, that Montserrat mystique.
The Story: That’s always what I thought the words were since I was around ten when the movie “Cocktail” came out and the song was super popular. - Submitted by: Jackie
I want to make that Montserrat & steak
Martinique, that Montserrat mystique.
The Story: I was today years old (Dec 10, 2024) when I finally looked up the lyrics to this song. I was 18 in 1988. I went to see them in concert even but the lyrics will always and forever be, “I want to make that Montserrat & steak!" - Submitted by: T-Smoov
Lamont's a rotten stink.
Martinique, that Monserrat mystique.
The Story: Just hearing Missourians arguing about it. - Submitted by: Nemo
Off the Florida Keys
There's a place full of coconuts
Off the Florida Keys
There's a place called Kokomo
The Story: People would love to get coconuts off the Florida Keys! - Submitted by: Cody Finke
That monster atmosphere
That Montserrat mystique
The Story: I wondered how it would be living in a monster atmosphere. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Tomato reek, Vermont's a rotten state
To Martinique, that Monserat mystique
The Story: My girlfriend actually thought the Beach Boys hated Vermont. - Submitted by: Steve Doman
I got the pink slip, Daddy.
I got a big-slip Daddy
The Story: The phrase "big slip" is a reference to a clutch used by drag racer Don Garlits who gained the nickname Big Daddy. The special clutch was called a "Big Slip". The whole Little Deuce Coupe is about what engine and other special equipment they've got in the car. Obviously he's got the pink slip if it's his car!. Now there are also some who claim the term "big slip" refers to a posi-traction rear differential but that's not correct. Look up some history on Big Daddy Don Garlits and you'll understand what a big-slip clutch was. - Submitted by: David
It's My Little Douche Coupe
It's My Little Deuce Coupe
The Story: A friend's young sister misheard this during the 1970's/80's era of the first female hygene television ads and was heard singing to the oldies' radio station. - Submitted by: PBaxter
Little blue scoop
Little Deuce Coupe
The Story: On hearing the song, my Mom was perplexed. She shook her head and said, 'Why you kids want to listen to a song about a little blue scoop is beyond me.' - Submitted by: Karl Sjodahl
There's one more thing
I got the big slip-daddy
There's one more thing
I got the pink slip daddy!
The Story: The term "pink slip" (as it relates to vehicle ownership, not employment termination) is meaningless in much of the Eastern U.S. It was decades before I found out what the Beach Boys were talking about here. - Submitted by: Wendy
Well, I'm not baggin', babe, so don't put it down
Well, I'm not braggin', babe, so don't put me down
The Story: As in bagging groceries. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
And there's one more thing
I got the big flip paddy!
There's one more thing
I got the pink slip daddy!
The Story: I always thought it was 'big flip' until my boss (an attorney) gave me a dictation tape to type, and at the end he sang Little Deuce Coup (he was a rare breed of attorneys - he had a personality!), with the correct lyrics!! Okay, that was much funnier when it happened, but on 'paper', it's so-so. - Submitted by: Eileen Theis
La-la lady
Run, run reindeer
The Story: I thought it referred to a la-la lady. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Caught like a sewer rat, a lone bird I sail.
Caught like a sewer rat, alone but I sail.
The Story: I always thought it was "a lone bird I sail" which seems to me to make more sense as "bird" plays off "rat" in sort of animal linkage. I have listened to the the song repeatedly and "but" sounds like "bird" to me. Has anyone else ever thought this? - Submitted by: Bob B.
Bonnie gonna shut you down
buddy gonna shut you down
The Story: For anybody who is not a big Mike Love fan (which is MOST of us) the thought of his younger (1963) self getting into a drag race with a girl, and quite possibly losing, is pretty irresistable. It's an especially nice scenario since, as far as I can tell, Mike Love is still living in 1963. - Submitted by: Jeffrey Kasten
Cough it up
or
Talk it up
Tach it up
The Story: What the heck does "tach" mean? - Submitted by: Cody Finke
I wanna go hoot
I wanna go home
The Story: It sounded like they wanna be an owl! - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Little surfer, little worm
Little surfer, little one
The Story: Strange how your ears can play tricks on you. Even though I am familiar with this song, I heard it on the radio today. My ears very clearly perceived 'little worm', even though I knew what the real words to that line are. - Submitted by: Adrienne Muldaur
There ain't a little dune buggy for Sarah sue.
They're anglin in Laguna in Cerro Azul
The Story: My buddy and always thought the Beach Boys were using California slang for every surfing song. - Submitted by: Bob Young
If everybody had a notion
To cross the U.S.A.
Then everybody be serving
I can't afford IA
See 'em wearin their badges
And raunchy Sanders, too
A pushy p**** blonde-haired dude
Servin' U.S.A.
If everybody had an ocean
Across the U.S.A.
Then everybody'd be surfin'
Like Californi-a
You'd seem 'em wearing their baggies
Huarachi sandals too
A bushy, bushy blonde hairdo
Surfin' U.S.A.
The Story: Until I discovered it is a surfing song, I thought it was a legal song about being investigated. - Submitted by: PJ
A bushy bushy barn hair do
A bushy bushy blonde hairdo
The Story: Just thought a barn hairdo was a hair style - Submitted by: Phil
Bushy bushy bon hairdos, surfin' USA
Bushy bushy blond hairdos, surfin' USA
The Story: My mother has misquoted this song for years, whenever she she sees someone with poofy hair. What she thinks a bon hairdo is I have no idea. - Submitted by: Deidre
Everybody kann surfen...
Everybody's gone surfin'...
The Story: Not knowing the word "gone" in my childhood- i am native german, i`ve heard "Everybody kann surfen" which means "Everybody can surf" in English. Come to think of it, it would also make sense in that context. - Submitted by: George D.
Karachi sandals, too
Huarachi sandals, too
The Story: Just looked up where Karachi was, then wondered why the Beach Boys were singing about Pakistan. - Submitted by: B
Mariachi Sandals, too
Huarachi sandals,too
The Story: I thought is was referring to shoes members of Mariachi bands wear. - Submitted by: Ralph
She's a handicapped deb who wants to ski for awhile.
She's candy-apple red with a ski for a wheel.
The Story: We've been listening to a lot of holiday music; and this is how my seven-year-old daughter heard it. She later made it make more sense by singing 'She's a handicapped woman who wants to go skiing' even though she knew it wasn't quite right. We were cleaning the house this morning and as this was playing I told my son to turn off the computer, and she was singing to the song. So into the silence she she sang this line. It was weird enough that I turned it on and replayed the song to hear what the line really was. By that time, she'd rewritten it. - Submitted by: Bella Rollison
I never thought a guy could cry, 'til you mated with another guy
I never thought a guy could cry, 'til you made it with another guy
The Story: This was early, and I thought the boys were going right out on a limb with this one. - Submitted by: John Lonergan
Goede nacht, Baby
Sleepin' tot, yeah Baby
Good night, my baby
Sleep tight, my baby
The Story: I thought the Beach Boys were using the Dutch expression for "good night" because it would be "different"... turns out that wasn't the case - Submitted by: Al
New entries in this section are currently reviewed by Brian Kelly. Previous editors (if any) are listed on the editors page.