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!).
Golden Classics album at Amazon.com
Brandy used to watch his ass as he told his sailin' stories
She could feel the ocean fulla rise
She saw its raging glory
But he had always told the truth
Lonny was an honest man
And Brandy was too lushed to understand
Brandy used to watch his eyes as he told his sailin' stories
She could feel the ocean fall and rise
She saw its raging glory
But he had always told the truth
Lord, he was an honest man
And Brandy does her best to understand
The Story: This is what I thought it said when I was about twelve or so. This was my childhood sweetheart's (and now ex-wife's) favorite song. - Submitted by: Eric
She sells them whiskey and wine
She serves them whiskey and wine
The Story: Naturally, this happens to be confusing between "sells" and "serves". - Submitted by: Cody Finke
What a good white human being
What a good wife you would be
The Story: I sang it this way since I was a kid, from hearing it on a portable am radio. When I got a K-Tel record with the song on it and heard it on a good stereo, only then did my mistake come to light! - Submitted by: Skane
There's a girl in this harbor town
and she works playin' Whist 'til dawn
There's a girl in the harbor town
and she works layin' whiskey down
The Story: This song came out when I was a teenager and I had never heard of the expression 'laying Whiskey down' so I had always thought that Brandy entertained the sailors by playing cards with them. It wasn't until a year or two ago when my husband heard me singing the song along with the radio that I found out what the correct lyric was. - Submitted by: Elaine Williams
Brandy, you're a fine girl (you're a fine girl)
What a good wife you would be (suit you fine, girl)
Brandy, you're a fine girl (you're a fine girl)
What a good wife you would be (such a fine girl)
The Story: I thought the point was, the wedding ring or the being married would suit you fine -- too bad you've never found anyone, you would indeed be a good wife. - Submitted by: Gene Torisky
There's a girl in this harbor town
And she works laying whiskey down.
They say, 'Brandy, fetch another round'
She's heard of whiskey and wine.
There's a girl in this harbor town
And she works laying whiskey down.
They say, 'Brandy, fetch another round'
She serves them whiskey and wine.
The Story: When this song first came out back in 1972 and was frequently being played on the radio, I misheard it as above. It had me thinking, "Duh! She works as a bartender by all appearances, and they feel a need to tell us that she's heard of whiskey and wine? Gee, if she were an obstetrician, would they feel a need to tell us that she doesn't believe in 'the stork'? - Submitted by: Donna Gelpigi
And he knows where's his hat
And he knows where it's at
The Story: The way it was, it sounded like he knows where to find his hat. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
There are more Looking Glass misheard lyrics available.
New entries in this section are currently reviewed by Brian Kelly. Previous editors (if any) are listed on the editors page.