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!).
BBC Sessions album at Amazon.com
I went down to the crossroads
Tried to play Gay Ride.
I went down to the crossroads
Tried to flag a ride.
The Story: When I first heard this song as a kid, this is what I thought the words were. I assumed it was some sort of game. - Submitted by: David Jones
I'm Going down to Rosedale, take my rider by my side
Goin' down to the crossroads
Take my rider by my side.
The Story: I've never heard anyone sing it: goin' down to the crossroads.... everyone seems to get Rosedale right. - Submitted by: David Ingham
Cream's,
"Pressed Rat and Warthog"
Selling a toner apples Anthropoid hate
Selling atonal apples Amplified heat
The Story: I had this wrong for roughly 45 years. - Submitted by: Bou Galoux
On a boat in the middle of a raging sea,
She would make a scene for it all to be Ignored.
On a boat in the middle of a raging sea,
She would make a scene when it ought to be Ignored.
The Story: Original lyric is what's published, but it doesn't make sense; the correction does. - Submitted by: Russell
She's some kind of demon dusting in the flew
She's some kind of demon messing in the glue.
The Story: I first heard flue was not only influenza but also a stove pipe, and it almost made sense. Dusty place isn't it? Then I learned flew is a fishing net. Try and dust that one! Thus flew came in reasonably as well, groggy times as they were back then. Of cause the demon messes in the glue, what else? Surprised that it comes to me so late. Been listening to this piece for forty years now. - Submitted by: Felix
Cream's,
"Sunshine of Your Love"
It's skidding dear dawn
The night squirrels with tired eyes
It's getting near dawn
When lights close their tired eyes
The Story: I was a big Cream fan in the '70s and '80s and my younger sister would sing these lyrics when I played "Sunshine of Your Love" about night squirrels with tired eyes. I guess it made sense to her that night squirrels would have tired eyes when it was skidding dear dawn. - Submitted by: azchurch
And some d***head, rests his knees, oh, goodbye window.
At the platform, restless diesels, goodbye window.
The Story: The year this album came out, Randy, an older guy who had a band up the street, sang the same lyrics I heard. - Submitted by: Dawin Corvid
I'll wait and f*** you when the trains come by.
I'll wait in the queue when the trains come back.
The Story: I was still new to sex at the time, and rather furtive about it--wouldn't you wait until the train was going by, so no one would hear you going about it? Since then, I've been to Britain a number of times, and now know what a queue is. - Submitted by: Jim Ferguson
In the white room
with my cousins
at the station
In a white room
With black curtains
At the station.
The Story: In 1968 I was 11 years old when this song came out. I had cousins by the dozens. 26 to be exact. We were always together. In my mind, if you are going to be in the white room with anyone, it had to be your cousins. Made sense to me. We spent our summer vacation with my cousins at the beach and we used to leave the beach to go on the boardwalk to put money in the jukebox so we could listen to this song at the arcade. When the song began we all chimmed in singing " in the white room with my cousins at the station". We were age 14 to age 8. All dancing and singing on the boardwalk. Just the girls, of couse, would dance...it was only 4 of us girl cousins at the time on that vacation....They are some of my most vivid memories of my childhood. Everytime I hear "White Room" I go back to that summer and all of its details and fun. I am still close with those cousins. Good times. Good times. (P.S. I did not realize until one year go that we had the lyrics wrong.....) - Submitted by: Gina
In the white room With black cultures
In the white room With black curtains
The Story: When I was little in they played this song on the little commercial on TV. In i heard a snippet of it. I thought it said in the white room with black cultures. Lol đŸ˜†Instead it was in the white room with white curtains. - Submitted by: Mia
Kurt von D***head
Platform ticket
The Story: I was with my parents and a few of my dad's work colleagues in a nice English pub when I was 15. They were talking about Eric Clapton, then I said, 'He must really hate the Germans and the Nazis.' When they asked why, I said because the song 'The White Room' contains the words 'Kurt von D***head'. - Submitted by: Francine N Furter
Platform d***head, restless diesels...
Platform ticket, restless diesels
The Story: I just heard it on Youtube and honestly thought they were saying d***head and not ticket lol - Submitted by: Martha Dodd
Platform d***head, restless measles
Platform ticket, restless diesels
The Story: Whenever I heard this song on the radio, I wouldn't sing the 'platform ticket' line because I thought it said, 'Platfrom d***head' I was afraid my parents would get P.O.'d for me saying that. Then I looked up the lyrics in a song book and finally found out what Jack Bruce was singing! - Submitted by: Ummm. . . Chef?
You're no white dude,
big black cousin at the station
In a white room,
black curtains, at the station
The Story: I thought this song was about black pride. It came out in the 70's when I was a new immigrant. I thought it was a message of how one should be themselves and not something they're not. Then I found out just five years ago what it really was. My wife laughed her head off. - Submitted by: Zarir
There are more Cream misheard lyrics available.
New entries in this section are currently reviewed by Brian Kelly. Previous editors (if any) are listed on the editors page.