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Misheard Song Lyrics -> Stories -> The Doobie Brothers
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!).
Captain & Me album at Amazon.com
The Doobie Brothers', "Black Water"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Hold that water, keep on rollin,
or
No black water, keep on rollin,
or
No black water, keep on rollin,
The Real Lyrics:
Old black water, keep on rollin'
The Story: The first misheard lyric "Hold that water, keep on roiiln'" made me think of holding a glass of water and pedaling a bicycle in the air. The words "No black water" in the second lyric made me think that there was no black water allowed. In the actual lyrics, black water is the name of the raft mentioned in the song. - Submitted by: Isac
The Doobie Brothers', "Black Water"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I hear some Fawcetts six o land,
Pretty mama gonna take me Father Dan.
Pretty mama gonna take me Father Dan.
The Real Lyrics:
I'd like to hear some funky Dixieland.
Pretty mama, come and take me by my hand
Pretty mama, come and take me by my hand
The Story: I was 4 years old when this song came out and that's how I heard it. - Submitted by: Jerry
The Doobie Brothers', "Black Water"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Ol' black woman keep on rollin'
The Real Lyrics:
Ol' black water keep on rollin'
mississipi moon won't you keep on shining on me
mississipi moon won't you keep on shining on me
The Story: My cousin casually walked over to my house singing a familiar tune. But I noticed the lyrics didn't match. What he thought he was singing was "black water" by the Doobie brothers, but what he wa singing "ol black women keep on rolling" I calmly told him it was the wrong lyric but he insisted he sing it that way. I think this is because of his recent one night stand with a black girl that lives in a trailer a couple of miles down the road - Submitted by: Chase Carrico
The Doobie Brothers', "Black Water"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Well, I still see her breast and she's ready for clothes
The Real Lyrics:
Well, I built me a raft and she's ready for floatin'
The Story: Just found the correct lyrics ten minutes ago when someone posted them in a chat room. 40+ years must be some sort of record. - Submitted by: Old Comedywriter
The Doobie Brothers', "China Grove"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Charlie Crow
The Real Lyrics:
China Grove
The Story: I thought they were singing about me. - Submitted by: Charlie Crowe
The Doobie Brothers', "China Grove"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Shining gold
The Real Lyrics:
China Grove
The Story: I know this is true, because I'm the one who got it wrong. I had it wrong from its release when I was a child until a DJ actually announced the title when I was a teenager. - Submitted by: Jesse Hauserman
The Doobie Brothers', "China Grove"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Whoa, oh (whoa, oh)
Johnny Go!
Johnny Go!
The Real Lyrics:
Whoa, oh (whoa, oh)
China Grove
China Grove
The Story: I have listened to this song for decades. I recently Googled the lyrics fragment "Though it's a part of the Lone Star State" to see what are the rest of the lyrics. I was shocked to realize I had no idea what the lyrics really said! Including the title "China Grove"! I also learned that the Doobie Brothers just made up a story about this actual town in Texas. - Submitted by: Robert Bernstein
The Doobie Brothers', "It Keeps You Runnin'"
The Misheard Lyrics:
It brings you rubbish
The Real Lyrics:
It keeps you runnin'
The Story: I wondered what it meant by rubbish. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
The Doobie Brothers', "It Keeps You Runnin'"
The Misheard Lyrics:
It keeps you runnin',
Love, it keeps you runnin'
Love, it keeps you runnin'
The Real Lyrics:
It keeps you runnin'
Yeah, it keeps you runnin'
Yeah, it keeps you runnin'
The Story: It stands to reason, what she is running from is love. - Submitted by: Gene Powe
The Doobie Brothers', "Long Train Runnin' (Without Love)"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Dow Doh! We're the Doobies now!
The Real Lyrics:
Without love, where would you be right now?
The Story: I didn't pay attention to the story in the song, just the chorus where I thought they were saying "we're the Doobies Now". - Submitted by: Ron Fowler
The Doobie Brothers', "Rockin' Down the Highway"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Diamonds are lovely
The Real Lyrics:
Rockin' down the highway
The Story: Since the album first came out in the 70s. - Submitted by: Scott Walker
The Doobie Brothers', "Takin' It to the Streets"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Picabo to the street
The Real Lyrics:
Takin' it to the streets
The Story: I could have thought they were making fun to the name of Picabo Street. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
The Doobie Brothers', "What A Fool Believes"
The Misheard Lyrics:
As he rises through her apology
The Real Lyrics:
As he rises to her apology
The Story: I believe McDonald wanted to say 'to', but it came out as 'through' - others think this too when they hear it. 'Through' sounds much better anyway. - Submitted by: Davo
The Doobie Brothers', "What a Fool Believes"
The Misheard Lyrics:
And he rises to her apostrophe
The Real Lyrics:
As he rises to her apology
The Story: As an adult, it's easy to hear how wrong I was, but this is what my brain heard as a little kid. The earnestness of the vocal styling had me convinced it was some kind of grown-up euphemism that I shouldn't ask anyone about. - Submitted by: J
The Doobie Brothers', "What a Fool Believes"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Cool apple pie!
The Real Lyrics:
Who got the power?
The Story: This is a little vocal riff McDonald does toward the end. For 40 years I refused to look at the lyrics because I didn’t want to be disappointed. Finally I did. Alas, he does not sing “cool apple pie.” For the record, I’m not the only one in my household who hears it that way. - Submitted by: Tom
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