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Misheard Song Lyrics -> Stories -> Manic Street Preachers
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!).
Everything Must Go album at Amazon.com
Manic Street Preachers', "1985"
The Misheard Lyrics:
So God is dead, like Meacham said.
The Real Lyrics:
So God is dead, like Nietzsche said.
The Story: Historian and journalist Jon Meacham is actually pretty religious. - Submitted by: Spencer
Manic Street Preachers', "A Design for Life"
The Misheard Lyrics:
A design for her life.
The Real Lyrics:
A design for life.
The Story: I totally thought the song was about a girl, lol. - Submitted by: Natasha
Manic Street Preachers', "Born A Girl"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I wish i had been born a girl
and not this massive man
and not this massive man
The Real Lyrics:
I wish i had been born a girl
and not this mess of a man
and not this mess of a man
The Story: It was actually my mom that misheard this,she wandered in while i was listening to the album and muttered'well,i know Nicky Wires tall but he doesn't need to write a song about it does he?'bless her - Submitted by: Laura
Manic Street Preachers', "Faster"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I am merely a drug-addled virgin
That tattled and told.
That tattled and told.
The Real Lyrics:
I am idiot drug-hive, the virgin
The tattered and the torn.
The tattered and the torn.
The Story: I had no idea what this song was on about at first - I owned a taped copy of the album (without a lyrics sheet) before buying the CD about 4 months later. The CD in my local library didn't help as the words to that song were missing - so I was basically improvising. I'd like to say that my lines were better than the originals. But I can't, as they were mostly gibberish to fill in blanks. - Submitted by: miss bad example
Manic Street Preachers', "If You Tolerate This"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I've watched bar rumbles but not with real intent
The Real Lyrics:
I've walked La Ramblas but not with real intent
The Story: For years I've thought this was the correct lyric until I googled the lyrics and found out. - Submitted by: Richard
Manic Street Preachers', "Little Baby Nothing"
The Misheard Lyrics:
My Vas Pokhoronim, crystallized
The Real Lyrics:
Moths broken up, quenched at last
The Story: The Russian phrase “My vas pokhoronim” (Мы вас похороним) translates to English as “we will bury you”. This was infamously said by Nikita Khrushchev, and interpreted as a threat by the west, but what he meant was that communism would outlive capitalism. Given the socialist lyrics of many of the Manics’ songs (including Revol, which mentions Khrushchev), and the communist imagery of the music video, it made more sense to me that they were quoting Nikita Khrushchev. - Submitted by: Spencer
Manic Street Preachers', "Little Baby Nothing"
The Misheard Lyrics:
No-one likes hearing 'atchoo'
You're lacquered beagle's a fence made fatality
Dale needs your renaissance toast heals vacant love and then destroys.
You're lacquered beagle's a fence made fatality
Dale needs your renaissance toast heals vacant love and then destroys.
The Real Lyrics:
No-one likes looking at you
Your lack of ego offends male mentality
They need your innocence to steal vacant love and to destroy.
Your lack of ego offends male mentality
They need your innocence to steal vacant love and to destroy.
The Story: I was singing along, and loudly, at a friend's party, when the power was cut. I finished my verse; and was then corrected by my best friend, who has allowed me to sing my version for nearly 10 years. - Submitted by: m.j
Manic Street Preachers', "Motorcycle Emptiness"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Life lies a slow suicide
All the ducks' dreams and symbolic myths.
All the ducks' dreams and symbolic myths.
The Real Lyrics:
Life lies a slow suicide
Orthodox dreams and symbolic myths.
Orthodox dreams and symbolic myths.
The Story: This line initially confused me because it's at a part of the song in which the music gets slower and more reflective, and James's voice gets a bit softer. Because of this, it didn't seem so strange that he was talking about ducks having dreams and symbolic myths. I imagined a cartoon society of ducks, with their own legends and dreams. I was disappointed when I heard the correct lyric, but I'm over my disappointment now. - Submitted by: Leon
Manic Street Preachers', "Motorcycle Emptiness"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Oh Daddy, I'm loneliness
Motorcycle emptiness.
Motorcycle emptiness.
The Real Lyrics:
Under neon loneliness
Motorcycle emptiness.
Motorcycle emptiness.
The Story: I thought for years that these were the actual lyrics, and I'm really good at English. The truth was brought home to me while going by boat to Scotland. A Scottish pal and I were talking about country-tinged songs, and I sang these lines to make the point. He burst out laughing, then patted my shoulder - 'Nay, that's not haalf it'. I still think these lines would give a special flavour to the point where he sings 'All we want from you are the kicks you've given us'. Got kicks from Daddy? What kind? Or is it 'the cash you've given us'? - Submitted by: Alexandra
Manic Street Preachers', "No Surface All Feeling"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Barry's possessed and so uncivilized.
The Real Lyrics:
Embarrassed, possesed and so uncivilized
The Story: Not really, though it ended in 3 of us singing it at the top of our lungs at the M.E.N Arena gig on December 2004. I also wore a home made manics-esque shirt that had 'Barry's possesed' painted onto it. - Submitted by: Paul 'Grohl' Gardner
Manic Street Preachers', "Slash 'n' Burn"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Kill to live
Kill f***heads.
Kill f***heads.
The Real Lyrics:
Kill to live
Kill for kicks.
Kill for kicks.
The Story: I think this misunderstanding arrives from the fact that I was also a Megadeth fan at the time. Dave Mustaine would certainly have had no problem with my misheard lyrics, but I should have known that the Manics were a little more cerebral than this. - Submitted by: Leon
Manic Street Preachers', "So Why So Sad"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Searching for a dancing straw
The Real Lyrics:
Searching for the Dead Sea Scrolls
The Story: As the Dead Sea Scrolls have already been found, there seems to be little point in searching for them. A dancing straw, on the other hand... - Submitted by: Vince Warrington
Manic Street Preachers', "The Masses Against The Classes"
The Misheard Lyrics:
When the refrigerator's what we believe in.
The Real Lyrics:
When the future is what we believe in.
The Story: When I told my friend about this, I was expecting some cruel joke about Richey Edwards' alcoholism (although these are entirely Nicky lyrics). She managed not to say anything, thankfully. We were wondering what exactly believing in the refrigerator meant-did it mean they worshipped it? Was it some cruel, bitter jab at Richey for leaving? Something about the problem with food and alcohol, and television slobs? In reality, it was about the time ahead of them... (D'oh!) - Submitted by: Tammi
Manic Street Preachers', "Tsunami"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Ce la vie, Ce la vie came washing over me
The Real Lyrics:
Tsunami, Tsunami came washing over me
The Story: My wife Claire actually misheard the lyric, when attending a gig with a friend. After the gig,she told me,with great pride, how they were very close to the front of the stage, and were singing it at the top of their voices! - Submitted by: Julian Weare
Manic Street Preachers', "Tsunami"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Toon army, toon army
The Real Lyrics:
Tsunami, tsunami
The Story: I actually saw someone submit this in a letter to ch4 Teletext. They were referring to Newcastle United's fans and not the military wing of Toon Town in 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit?'. Sadly, with the news of the disaster in Indonesia, we know that a tsunami is a giant wave. - Submitted by: pickle*
There are more Manic Street Preachers misheard lyrics available.
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