Musicians agonize over their lyrics.  They struggle for hours to pinpoint the perfect song lyrics to express what they feel, and to make us feel it, too.  They irritably stare at a blank computer screen, as though the machine is withholding brilliant lyrics from them.  They irritably stare at the ceiling, but the ceiling’s not telling them anything, either.  They’re surrounded by wadded up pieces of paper filled with lyrics that came close, but not close enough.  They mutter.  They mumble.  They pace.  They guzzle coffee.  They wonder if they’ll ever sleep again.  Then, when leaping from the roof seems like an appealing option, it finally hits them:  the perfect lyrics!

And, after all of this, what do listeners do?  They misunderstand the lyrics!

Admit it—you’ve done it.  Heck, we’ve all done it.  Driving in the car, radio on, belting out the lyrics to a song at the top of our lungs, when our passenger laughs hysterically and asks, “Is that what you think they’re singing?”  With all due respect to the songwriters, misunderstood lyrics can actually be hilarious.  And some of them have become as famous as the real lyrics.

Here are a batch of misunderstood lyrics.  You might just recognize a few and say, “So, that’s what the lyrics really are!”

“Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix

This Hendrix classic tops the list of most commonly misunderstood song lyrics.

      •     The real lyric:  ‘Scuse me, while I kiss the sky.

      •     The misunderstood lyric:  ‘Scuse me, while I kiss this guy.

“Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Another widely—and comically—misunderstood lyric.

      •     The real lyric:  There’s a bad moon on the rise.

      •     The misunderstood lyric:  There’s a bathroom on the right.

“Blowin’ in the Wind” by Bob Dylan

      •     The real lyric:  The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.  The answer

            is blowin’ in the wind.

      •     The misunderstood lyric:  The ants are my friends, they’re blowin’ in the

            wind.  The ants are a-blowin’ in the wind.

“You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by The Rolling Stones

      •     The real lyric:  We’re gonna vent our frustration.  And if we don’t we’re

            gonna blow a 50-amp fuse.

      •     The misunderstood lyric:  We’re gonna vent our frustration.  And if we

            don’t we’re gonna blow up 5th Avenue.

“Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi

      •     The real lyric:  It doesn’t make a difference if we make it or not.

      •     The misunderstood lyric:  It doesn’t make a difference if we’re naked or

            not.

“Black Dog” by Led Zeppelin

      •     The real lyric:  A big-legged woman ain’t got no soul.

      •     The misunderstood lyric:  A pig-headed woman ain’t got no soul.

“Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” by AC/DC

      •     The real lyric:  Dirty deeds and they’re done dirt cheap.

      •     The misunderstood lyric:  Dirty deeds and they’re done with sheep.

As long as musicians are writing lyrics, listeners will be mangling them.  The songs may not remain the same, but fans’ love of them—misunderstood or not—will.