Misheard Song Lyrics -> Stories -> The Carpenters

The Story: People are saying, I saw millions at the women's March singing, believe me. - Submitted by: Anthony Corriero

The Story: For years I'd heard this song and never doubted that the lyrics were as I'd misheard them. Then last night I found on YouTube what turned out to be an endlessly playing series of music videos. After hearing more than I'd ever planned of YouTube songs (Some good, some less so), I got so sleepy I could hardly hold my head up anymore. Then, with me in that half-asleep state, this song came on. When it got to these lines, the part about "be your remember when" abruptly "clicked" in my mind as the right lyrics. Suddenly I was wide awake. So I checked a lyrics site to make sure I'd heard the lyrics correctly this time. And, indeed, I had. Does that mean some lyrics are easier to hear correctly when one is half asleep? Who knows?!? By the way, after finding out the correct lyrics in this case, I decided I was overdue to go to bed. But I lay down and it took what seemed like hours for me to finally go to sleep. - Submitted by: Karen Smith

The Story: 'Whew!', I used to think when I first heard this. Was this some kind of cruel taunt, or some kind of dire warning? Since this song is from before the days of AIDS, I couldn't think of any reason for such a dire warning, as if to say something like "our love is doomed because you could die from it". So it could hardly be like that, but the opening of the song DOES make it sound like possibly some kind of song of doom and gloom, as the opening line is "Children, It was more fun to be children", a seeming reflection on the innocent days before one ever imagined that life-and-death dilemmas could be in one's future. Since I've learned the real words, I guess it is a relief generally, knowing that it's a generally happy song, but in that case, why the lamenting opening lines? - Submitted by: Ingrid McCannless

The Story: Woke up to this song playing softly, on a small radio under my pillow, this morning. First time I've heard it. Thought it was about two kids pretending to be spacemen. - Submitted by: goggomobil

The Story: I originally heard this song in my tap dance class when I was 7, when I got older and sang at weddings I had to sing this song and finally got to see the correct lyrics. I felt so stupid knowing I had said it wrong for years...and my mother never let me forget it either - Submitted by: Cheryl Mercer

The Story: For a long time I thought the real words were those of my mishearing. I had done karaoke singing for a long time before I ever saw this song available on karaoke. When I finally found it available on karaoke and eagerly signed up to sing it, I knew it well enough to sing it without looking closely at the words on the screen (so I thought). So I enthusiastically sang out the words "And that fits straw", as in my mishearing. The karaoke hostess and some nearby audience members gave a me a strange look and I suspected something was wrong just in time to get one last look at the screen before the correct words of that line disappeared from the screen. Seeing my mistake I let out a little squeal. I almost swallowed some spit and had to cough hard just to get my breath to get in the next lines on time. At least no one knows that I almost pooed my pants at that point. The rest of the song went basically well for me, except for the fact that my face must have been really red! At least I've sung the song other times since and gotten all the words right. - Submitted by: Melissa Zanus

The Story: I've read on one site that "mon'" is short for "money" in this case. So that negates the bizarre image I formerly had of him trading in his mother so he could buy things for Yvonne. - Submitted by: Sharon Goldsmith

The Story: When my sister sang "feelin' like a bump a log" I was laughing so hard I couldn't tell her until I calmed down! To this day, I still won't let her live it down. - Submitted by: Jacke

The Story: Little children are singing this line, so to having them singing about good beer would be rather ironic. [Ed.'s note: Not to mention that it would offend American parents.] - Submitted by: Jamie

The Story: When I was four years old, I had a lovely vision of two birds snuggling in a tree with branches and leaves that resembled feathers-- you know, a featherwood tree. - Submitted by: Robin

The Story: When I was a teenager I was mad about the Carpenters and played them incessantly, day and night. My baby sister told me years later she thought Karen was singing specifically about me in this line because I was so madlly in love with her!!! - Submitted by: Stephen Richardson

The Story: It took me a few times of listening to this song before this line became clear. Before that I was thinking, What does it say? Possibly "....called its elf a Stephen"? That would be quaintly intriguing, I thought, but probably not right. So I listened some more and soon guessed the correct lyrics. - Submitted by: Karen Smith