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!).
American Pie album at Amazon.com
And good, old boys were drinking whiskey and rice
And good ole boys were drinking whiskey in Rhye
The Story: My mother was Korean and cooked rice on occasion. I was about 10 years old when I first heard 'American Pie' and thought about a drink made with 'whiskey and rice'. It was only a few years later that I learned about the term 'rye', but I still thought Mr. McLean meant a slice of bread that he soaked into his whiskey. - Submitted by: J.C.
And the three men knived my most
And the Three Men I admire most
The Story: I was corrected by a close personal friend and co-worker while we typed lyrics to each other through the company's computer system while we worked. I still laugh about it when I think about it. - Submitted by: The Villa
Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie
Bye, bye MISTER American Pie
The Story: Virtually everyone thinks it's "Miss American Pie," when it was really about Buddy Holly's death, since he had a wholesome "Apple Pie" image, while his death marked the entrance of the more vulgar and sex-oriented Mick Jagger. The phrase "American Pie" refers to the other phrase "American as apple pie," which generally implies traditional values vs. the "sex, drugs and Rock&Roll" of the hippie generation. Since it was about Buddy Holly, not a woman, it would naturally be "MISTER American Pie." - Submitted by: Sarah Goodwich
I was a lonely teenage from Kenfuck.
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
The Story: I always wondered how they could play this on the radio. - Submitted by: Dal Daniels
My, my, Miss American My
Put the chevy to the levy, Miss American My.
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levy, but the levy was dry.
The Story: My 7 year old buddy Jeremy sings the song this way! - Submitted by: Joe Graham
The court took practice in the park
The quartet practiced in the park.
The Story: Actually, I remember doing this song for karaoke, and the version they had had a few unexpected takes on the lyrics for this song, and that was one of them. - Submitted by: Tim Kramar
Them good ole boys were drinkin' whisky and dry...
And good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
The Story: I thought 'Whiskey and Dry' must be an American version of a Scotch and Dry (Scotch whisky with dry ginger ale). - Submitted by: Jarrah
New entries in this section are currently reviewed by Brian Kelly. Previous editors (if any) are listed on the editors page.
