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Misheard Song Lyrics -> Stories -> Peter, Paul, And Mary
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!).
The Best Of Peter, Paul & Mary: Ten Years Together album at Amazon.com
Peter, Paul, And Mary's, "Old Coat"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Life is a hard road to travel Ivy League.
The Real Lyrics:
Life is a hard road to travel, I believe.
The Story: At first I thought this song was about supposed tribulations of an elite class who are alumni of the most prestigious universities. But on listening closer I found out it's about an altogether different matter! - Submitted by: Candace Mercer
Peter, Paul, And Mary's, "Puff The Magic Dragon"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Frolicked in the otter mist
In a land called Donna Lee.
In a land called Donna Lee.
The Real Lyrics:
Frolicked in the autumn mist In a land called Hanah-Lee.
The Story: My sisters were always singing it on their trips. I had a tape which it was on (and had some of the children's songs which could give a person a headache, but apparently not my daughters. They sang it on our trips.) - Submitted by: John C
Peter, Paul, And Mary's, "Puff The Magic Dragon"
The Misheard Lyrics:
In a land called Harmony
The Real Lyrics:
In a land called Honna Lee
The Story: When I heard my son, who is five, singing along at the top of his lungs, '...in a land called Harmony' I thought, 'What a great name, much better than the original lyric.' I told some friends on a parentling list and two of them wrote back, 'I thought it was 'Harmony,' I've been singing it that way all my life.' - Submitted by: Jodine Chase
Peter, Paul, and Mary's, "A-Soalin'"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Soul, a soul, a soul gig, please good missus a soul gig.
The Real Lyrics:
Soal, a soal, a soal cake, please good missus a soal cake.
The Story: My uncle is a fan of Peter, Paul, and Mary, and likes to watch their holiday concert on TV around Christmas. One year when I watched it with him, I was trying to make out this song, and the misheard lyrics were what I came up with. My uncle then showed me the real lyrics in a song book, and explained as much about the song as he could. But still, neither of us is exactly sure just what a soal cake is. - Submitted by: Lauren Overstreet
Peter, Paul, and Mary's, "Bamboo"
The Misheard Lyrics:
You take a stick of bamboo, you take a stick of bamboo, you take a stick of bamboo,
And throw it in the water.
Oh Oh, Oh Oh, Honda
And throw it in the water.
Oh Oh, Oh Oh, Honda
The Real Lyrics:
You take a stick of bamboo, you take a stick of bamboo, you take a stick of bamboo,
And throw it in the water.
Oh Oh, Oh Oh, Hanaa
And throw it in the water.
Oh Oh, Oh Oh, Hanaa
The Story: In elementary school music class, Paul, Doug, and I mistook the "foreign" (unfamiliar) word to be the more familiar "Honda", as in cars and motorcycles. - Submitted by: Honda Nighthawk Rider
Peter, Paul, and Mary's, "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"
The Misheard Lyrics:
When the broomstick crawls at the break of dawn
The Real Lyrics:
When the rooster crows at the break of dawn
The Story: Kept thinking it had to do with the future of the Addams Family. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Peter, Paul, and Mary's, "Early Morning Rain"
The Misheard Lyrics:
See the silver wing on fire.
The Real Lyrics:
See the silver wing on high.
The Story: I got this particular Peter, Paul, and Mary cd for some of the other songs and hadn't heard this song before, but I was listening to the cd and it just drifted onto it-and I guess my fear of flying jumped in and interpreted that that way! I listened to it again, sure that couldn't possibly be right, it made no sense-and of course it wasn't, LOL. - Submitted by: Carolee
Peter, Paul, and Mary's, "I Dig Rock & Roll Music"
The Misheard Lyrics:
And if I really say it, the rainy oboes play it. .
The Real Lyrics:
And if I really say it, the radio won't play it. . .
The Story: I thought the line suggested that the song would be made into MUZAK (instrumental "elevator" music) - Submitted by: juliana
Peter, Paul, and Mary's, "I Dig Rock and Roll Music"
The Misheard Lyrics:
And if I really say it, the rainy oboes play it.
The Real Lyrics:
And if I really say it, the radio won't play it.
The Story: When I misheard this lyric, I thought they were referring to Muzak, aka "elevator music", in which pop tunes were given soupy instrumental re-interpretations. - Submitted by: Juliana Sadock Savino
Peter, Paul, and Mary's, "If I Had a Hammer"
The Misheard Lyrics:
All over his hand
The Real Lyrics:
All over this land
The Story: I wondered what it had to do with "all over his hand". - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Peter, Paul, and Mary's, "Leavin' on a Jet Plane"
The Misheard Lyrics:
'Cause I'm leaving on a death train
The Real Lyrics:
'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane
The Story: Many a time I sang those misheard lyrics with sadness. I think my lyrics were much more dramatic!! - Submitted by: Denise Delaney
Peter, Paul, and Mary's, "Lemon Tree"
The Misheard Lyrics:
But the fruit of the poor women
Is impossible to eat.
Is impossible to eat.
The Real Lyrics:
But the fruit of the poor lemon
Is impossible to eat.
Is impossible to eat.
The Story: As a kid, I misheard this as above, and the phrase 'fruit of the poor women' just seemed like utter nonsense to me. Later I learned the real lyrics long before I learned of such a phrase as 'the fruit of the womb'. That may have been a good thing. It may have saved me from being doomed to hear it as a bizarre song of cannibals, wanting to make sure their victims had rich mothers, or something like that! - Submitted by: Stephanie Craddock
Peter, Paul, and Mary's, "Old Coat"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Never heard a nun dis Michael Jordan
The Real Lyrics:
Never hurted none this side of Jordan
The Story: I heard the song on my uncle's cd player, and was singing it as I misheard it. My uncle really started laughing. When I asked him what was so funny, he explained to me what the real words are. In fact, he even showed them to me in his Peter, Paul, and Mary songbook. - Submitted by: Lauren Overstreet
Peter, Paul, and Mary's, "Puff The Magic Dragon"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Noble kings and princes
Would bow when arrows came.
Would bow when arrows came.
The Real Lyrics:
Noble kings and princes
Would bow whene'er they came.
Would bow whene'er they came.
The Story: When I heard this when I was little, I thought that the kings and princes were ducking (bowing) when people were shooting arrows at them! Ha ha! - Submitted by: Dawn
Peter, Paul, and Mary's, "Puff the Magic Dragon"
The Misheard Lyrics:
And frolicked in the ornaments
The Real Lyrics:
And frolicked in the autumn mist
The Story: I like frolicked in the ornaments better. Gives it a nice Christmas feel. - Submitted by: Raymond And The Circle
There are more Peter, Paul, And Mary misheard lyrics available.
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