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Misheard Song Lyrics -> Stories -> Toto

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!).


Fahrenheit album at Amazon.com
Toto's, "Africa "
The Misheard Lyrics:
I was deranged down in Africa.
The Real Lyrics:
I bless the rains down in Africa
The Story: If you listen hard you can hear it. - Submitted by: Andi
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
As long as Kilimanjaro rises above Estelle Getty
The Real Lyrics:
As long as Kilimanjaro rises above the Serengeti
The Story: I had a hunch on a Golden Girl on this song... - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
As sure as Kilamanjaro rises like a lepress
Above the savagery.
or
As sure as Kilamanjaro rises like an empress
Above the savagery.
The Real Lyrics:
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus
Above the Serengeti.
The Story: This is what it sounded like for a long time. I finally figured out that 'savagery' was Serengeti. But not until I saw this song on your site today did I figure out 'Olympus' as opposed to lepress (which is what I originally thought) and eventually 'Empress' is what I concluded that word was. - Submitted by: Doug Quaid
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like a lepress above the Serengeti.
The Real Lyrics:
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti.
The Story: The misheard version made sense to me as I thought it was referring to a leopardess (female leopard) rather than a lepress (female leper). - Submitted by: Patty Faulkinberrry
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like a lepress above the Serengeti.
The Real Lyrics:
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus
Above the Serengeti.
The Story: I just found out today (January 31st, 2021) that the lyrics are "rises like Olympus" and not "rises like a lepress", which is a female leopard, like I've always thought they were. I actually think "lepress" makes more sense being that leopards are native African wild cats, I'm really disappointed to finally learn it's not that. But I'll always hear the lyrics as "a lepress" and not "Olympus". Oh well, I've always thought it was kind of a strange song anyways. - Submitted by: Edward
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like a member above the Serengeti.
The Real Lyrics:
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti.
The Story: Member means penis in this context. - Submitted by: Bob Jones
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
As sure as killin' the jerro rises like a lymphus
Above Vassarian heat.
The Real Lyrics:
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus
Above the Serengeti.
The Story: I only found out while laughing at others' mistakes. I didn't even question, all my life, that there is no such thing as 'Vassarian heat' or 'killin' the jerro', for that matter. - Submitted by: Sara
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I left s'm (some) brains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had
The Real Lyrics:
Gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had
The Story: My kids have been learning good songs watching "Don't Forget The Lyrics", and this is one of their favourites. I first heard my daughter, 7, singing the wrong lyrics, then my eldest son, 11. But they giggle over it, so I think it's been deliberately misheard! - Submitted by: PW
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Gonna take the life that dragged me away from you
The Real Lyrics:
Gonna take a lot to drag me away from you.
The Story: Always thought it was a vengeance song for a little fling she may have had, whoops - Submitted by: KJ Kimball
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
He turned to me as if to say, hurry up! It's the boys for you.
It's gonna be alright to take me away from you.
The Real Lyrics:
He turned to me as if to say, hurry boy, it's waiting there for you.
It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you.
The Story: I wondering if there is a people warned to this band that the boys are back in town. Because, it sounding like that. However, the original lyrics of this song say that on the other hand they warned to a man that a woman waiting there for that man. That's funny? It also cited by themselves that the original lyrics of this song is about a man who looking for his journey in Africa and the music of this song mixing between the sound of Pop Rock that they made during their career with the sound of the music of Africa by using African instruments to make this song more dynamic again. About this song: "Africa" is track #10 on their fourth studio album released on 8 April 1982. It was written by David Paich and Jeff Porcaro. A Pop Rock power ballad was topping Billboard's Pop Chart and also reaching the Top 20 internationally including the UK Singles Chart where it reaching #3 there. Making they their biggest hit song to date. - Submitted by: Wisnu Aji
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I catched some rays down in Africa.
The Real Lyrics:
I bless the rains down in Africa.
The Story: My best friend Lexie Lam and I had a dumb a** competition about who heard the words right. - Submitted by: La'i Mitchell
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I kissed the whales down in Africa.
The Real Lyrics:
I bless the rains down in Africa.
The Story: I was always concinced that this is the right text..I wanted to listen to the song and tipped the words...and suddenly I have to realise that I have always been singing the wrong text(beside...I always laugh reading about what strange expressions some people her) :D - Submitted by: Madeleine
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I left my brains down in Africa.
The Real Lyrics:
I bless the rains down in Africa.
The Story: I'd loved this song since I was a little kid, and I really truly always thought that those were the lyrics. I remember hearing in a department store when I was 7, and I just thought it was a weird song. Then like a month ago, my family was hearing Ja Rule's 'The Reign'. We had just figured out where we knew the back-track from. My mother sang 'I bless the rains down in Africa'. I said, "Isnt it, 'I left my brains down in Africa'?" My whole family laughed at me. - Submitted by: anya
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I lost my brains down in Africa.
The Real Lyrics:
I bless the rains down in Africa
The Story: We were in Kenya and we started talking about this song, as we were in Africa. This was the lyric that one girl thought it said. We laughed. - Submitted by: katherine
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I miss the rains down in Africa.
The Real Lyrics:
I bless the rains down in Africa.
The Story: This seems to be a common misheard lyric as several people state "I miss the rains down in Africa." is the correct lyric. - Submitted by: Timi Zhuo
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I miss the rains down in Africa.
The Real Lyrics:
I bless the rains down in Africa.
The Story: Always thought it was about someone who misses being in the rains of Africa - Submitted by: Brian
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I miss the rains down in Africa
The Real Lyrics:
I bless the rains down in Africa
The Story: I always assumed he longed for (missed) being in the rain in Africa! - Submitted by: David
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I placed the bets down in Aqueduct.
The Real Lyrics:
I bless the rains down in Africa.
The Story: Aqueduct is a race track in New York. - Submitted by: Timi Zhuo
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I press the reins down in Africa
--or--
I p*** the rains down in Africa
The Real Lyrics:
I bless the rains down in Africa.
The Story: Came here to see which was right, and they're both wrong! - Submitted by: David Shobe
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I saw the mists down in Avalon
The Real Lyrics:
I bless the rains down in Africa.
The Story: I just never knew the title and would sing those lyrics when I heard it - Submitted by: Agustin
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I smelled the rains down in Apricots
The Real Lyrics:
I bless the reins down in Africa.
The Story: My cousin always told me this is what she thought they said. - Submitted by: Dimi
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I taste the rain down in Africa.
The Real Lyrics:
I bless the rains down in Africa.
The Story: That's what I thought it always was until I just saw the real lyrics online - Submitted by: JTT
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I touched a brain down in Africa.
The Real Lyrics:
I blessed the rains down in Africa.
The Story: My girlfriend and I argued several hours about what was actually said. I thought it meant some guy made a big impact down in Africa. 'I touched a brain'. Get it? (Editor's note: No.) - Submitted by: T Micky J
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men from Mars could ever do
The Real Lyrics:
It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
The Story: A lot of commenters say they heard "There's nothing that a hundred men from Mars could ever do" but that doesn't really make sense, because what could they do if they were still on Mars? Now if they came here from Mars they must be very capable, though I suspect a couple of immigration agents would be suitably effective without help from Martians. - Submitted by: me
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Kilimanjoar rises like a leper.
The Real Lyrics:
Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus.
The Story: I didn't really think they would write something that stupid. It was just my best guess. I just mumbled through that part if anyone else was around when I sang along with it. - Submitted by: Angela
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
She's coming in for a bloody fight.
The Real Lyrics:
She's coming in, 12:30 flight.
The Story: I thought this was exactly what the song said for years. It wasn't until karaoke night that I, at last learned the true lyrics of this song. - Submitted by: Joeabuy1000
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
She's coming on a Trans-Atlantic flight.
The Real Lyrics:
She's coming in, 12:30 flight.
The Story: Well I'd think that you'd have to cross the Atlantic to get to Africa (at least from some places!) So it could've made sense. - Submitted by: Larcen Tyler
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Sure as Killem and Jerome rises like a litmus Above the savage in me
The Real Lyrics:
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus Above the Serengeti
The Story: Thought "the savage in me" ties in with "frightened of this thing that I've become" later on in the song. - Submitted by: Timi Zhuo
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Sure as killin' the jerro rises across the desert of the serengeti.
The Real Lyrics:
sure as Kilamanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti.
The Story: I was young. I always wondered what a 'jerro' was. I thought it was some animal he felt he HAD to kill- hence the 'I know that I must do what's right.' - Submitted by: Juls
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
There's no one else in the world I'd rather do
The Real Lyrics:
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
The Story: Now that I know the lyrics, it's really hard to see how I heard it like this, but I did. One time in class someone was singing it and I joined them, but I sang my own lyrics and they sang the real lyrics. That's how I learned the real lyrics. - Submitted by: Zach
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
There's nothing that a hundred men on Mar's could ever do!!
The Real Lyrics:
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do!!
The Story: I even wrote what I thought were the lyrics to my girlfriend. To this day my sister still sings my mis-quoted lyrics and then just laughs her head off - Submitted by: Trey
Toto's, "Africa"
The Misheard Lyrics:
There's nothing that a hundred men on Mars could ever do.
The Real Lyrics:
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do.
The Story: I've sang this lyric wrong for around 24 years, then really laughed at myself when I sat down and really listened to the music. I had a light bulb moment of the right lyric. - Submitted by: Ray
Toto's, "Hold The Line"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Hold the lies.
The Real Lyrics:
Hold the line.
The Story: A bunch of us were typing song lyrics in a chat room and trying to get the others to guess who sang it. One of my acquaintances correctly typed the verses. But when it came to the chorus, she typed, 'Hold the lies.' - Submitted by: Woody
Toto's, "Hold The Line"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Hold the line
Love is a four-way stop sign.
The Real Lyrics:
Hold the line
Love isn't always on time.
The Story: My mother came to me while it was playing and asked, 'What do they mean, love is a 4-way stop sign?? that doesn't even make sense.' - Submitted by: Erik
Toto's, "Hold The Line"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Mow the lawn
The Real Lyrics:
Hold the line.
The Story: I had a cheap, hand-held am/fm radio and the sound was really bad. I couldn't figure out why some band would sing about cutting grass. - Submitted by: Yo Whasssup
Toto's, "Hold The Line"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Toe the line!
The Real Lyrics:
Hold the line.
The Story: I thought this was a song about how parents want their kids to behave themselves on a date. No kidding! - Submitted by: Justine K
Toto's, "Hold the Line"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Pokemon
The Real Lyrics:
Hold the Line
The Story: I always thought that the Pokemon theme song was a shameless rip-off of this song, because they both sound similar - the way "Pokemon" and "Hold the Line" are sung, they have the same melody. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Toto's, "Hold the Line"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Pokémon Love isn't always on time
The Real Lyrics:
Hold the line. Love isn't always on time
The Story: especially the melody and rythm from the phrase "Pokémon" (of the main theme of the series or whatever) and "hold the line" seems to be the same. Even the intros of the both songs are quite similar. - Submitted by: Filth
Toto's, "Hold the Line"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Pokémon!
The Real Lyrics:
Hold the line!
The Story: Heard it when watching a video. - Submitted by: BrilliantJ8
Toto's, "Home of the Brave"
The Misheard Lyrics:
America: The Home of the Brave
The Real Lyrics:
The land we call the Home of the Brave
The Story: Well, since my misheard lyric sounds better, and I didn't know what it was, I used this misheard lyric in a lip sync project for my Drama class. Unfortunately, a lot of people in my class knew the true lyrics, and a lot of people told me about my mistake! - Submitted by: Kelli McClary
Toto's, "I'll Be Over You"
The Misheard Lyrics:
There are those lullabies
The Real Lyrics:
There are no alibis
The Story: I kind of thought how many songs saying "alibis" sound like "lullabies"! - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Toto's, "Rosanna"
The Misheard Lyrics:
All I wanna do in the middle of the evening is hold the line
The Real Lyrics:
All I wanna do in the middle of the evening is hold you tight
The Story: It makes sense since they had a hit before with "Hold the Line" in 1979, and "Rosanna" was an even bigger hit for them in 1982, soon before they would go to #1 with "Africa". - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Toto's, "Rosanna"
The Misheard Lyrics:
All I want to do When I wake up in the morning is see you alive
The Real Lyrics:
All I want to do When I wake up in the morning is see your eyes
The Story: Hey, Rosanna might have some 'issues'. - Submitted by: Timi Zhuo
Toto's, "Rosanna"
The Misheard Lyrics:
All I want to do when I wake up in the morning is theorize
The Real Lyrics:
All I want to do when I wake up in the morning is see your eyes
The Story: Might be an appropriate line for a parody sung by Sheldon Cooper. - Submitted by: AdmiralMercurial
Toto's, "Rosanna"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Be to far away, Rosanna, yeah.
The Real Lyrics:
Meet you all the way, Rosanna, yeah.
The Story: I just always that they were saying both my misheard line and the actual lyric at the same time. It was like a binaural thing. If I had one earphone in I would hear one thing over the other. - Submitted by: Mersadie Smith
Toto's, "Rosanna"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Bout thirty years since you went away
...
Need to fold away, Rosanna yeah
The Real Lyrics:
Not quite a year since you went away
...
Meet you all the way, Rosanna, yeah.
The Story: I've literally been singing it this way since it came out. I only realized this week, forty years on, that I've gotten it wrong - Submitted by: Yav Charles
Toto's, "Rosanna"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Meet you holiday.
The Real Lyrics:
Meet you all the way.
The Story: I've had been singing this for awhile, when my boyfriend asked me what I was singing. (By the way, he is a big fan of Toto...and no, it's not over between us. ;) ) - Submitted by: Jenny
Toto's, "Without Your Love"
The Misheard Lyrics:
It’s ladies’ night
The Real Lyrics:
It’s late at night
The Story: I kept thinking it had to do with Kool & the Gang. - Submitted by: Cody Finke

There are more Toto 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]

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