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Misheard Song Lyrics -> Stories -> Radiohead

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!).


Amnesiac album at Amazon.com
Radiohead's, "Airbag"
The Misheard Lyrics:
My legs were warm
The Real Lyrics:
In the next world war
The Story: The song is about surviving an auto wreck. I originally thought the 'legs were warm' line was a brilliant bit of imagination on the part of Thom Yorke--it seems like a mundane thing you might realize with some surprise after a traumatic experience, i.e. 'I'm not dead--my legs are still warm.' Silly. - Submitted by: Rick Anderson
Radiohead's, "Anyone Can Play Guitar"
The Misheard Lyrics:
If the world does turn and if London brrr's
or
If the world does turn and if London turns
The Real Lyrics:
If the world does turn and if London burns
The Story: So my bother , his friends and I were driving home, and we have 'Pablo Honey' blasting out from the speakers. One of my brother's friends (who is a massive Radiohead fan) decides to kill the moment and sing (eyes rolling everywhere). I know he said something besides 'burn'. All I'm thinking is that after listening to this album for almost ten years, how the hell can he get this wrong? I was too tired to correct him. - Submitted by: spacegirl
Radiohead's, "Black Star"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Blame it on the Samurai
The Real Lyrics:
Blame it on the satellite
The Story: It was really having to do with the Japanese. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Radiohead's, "Bodysnatchers"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I'm a lion trying learn how to fight
I'm a lion trying learn how to fight
If only anyone else could see
If only anyone else could see I'm a lion
The Real Lyrics:
On the lines wrapped round my face
On the lines wrapped round my face
Are for anyone else to see
Are for anyone else to see I'm a lie
The Story: Listening to the song before reading a lyrics sheet. Maybe Thom Yorke is secretly a furry and thinks he's a lion trapped in a human body, hence Bodysnatchers? Nah. - Submitted by: Bob
Radiohead's, "Bones"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Well you've got to eat your vegetables
The Real Lyrics:
When you've got to feel it in your bones
The Story: On the Radiohead newsgroup, someone posted a set list from a concert. By the looks of it, the band opened with a song called 'Vegetables.' The truth is that whoever did the post just didn't know the song, and misheard the lyric. - Submitted by: Luke
Radiohead's, "Creep"
The Misheard Lyrics:
But I'm a dick
I suck dildo
The Real Lyrics:
But I'm a creep
I'm a weirdo
The Story: I don't know why but every time I hear this song playing in the radio, I always hear it this way. Really weird but that is how I hear it. Why the heck is it like that!!!? Besides, there was a time that my classmate sung this in the classroom and he substituted the original lyrics with these and I was surprised why he did that, in fact that isn't appropriate in our school, since our school is Bible-based. Yet, I find it funny. - Submitted by: Ivan Tsarevich
Radiohead's, "Creep"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I don't curve enough
The Real Lyrics:
I don't care if it hurts
The Story: I thought this was the lyric for years, I thought it was a bit weird but two lines after, Thom sings 'I want a perfect body...' so I just took that as confirmation of the line! I assumed he was making a comment on the male/female divide, that if he was female for the day, he might begin to understand women, and how he could never be a woman ('I don't curve enough')!! - Submitted by: jo nicholls
Radiohead's, "Everything in Its Right Place"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Yesterday I woke up suckin' on my momm-
a's titty. I woke up suckin' on my momm-
The Real Lyrics:
Yesterday I woke up suckin' a lemon.
Yesterday I woke up suckin' a lemon.
The Story: I insisted vehemently for multiple conversations with a friend over several months that these were the correct lyrics. I said that the actual correct lyric, which my friend presented, didn't make sense in the context of the larger meaning of the song, which I perceived as conveying the feeling of perfect bliss one might liken to that of a baby breastfeeding. As much as my logic made sense to me, the Internet eventually proved me to be completely wrong. - Submitted by: Matt
Radiohead's, "Exit Music (for a Film)"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Please don't you choke
The Real Lyrics:
We hope that you choke
The Story: My first realization that Radiohead's deceptively mellow music concealed such gloomy concepts! - Submitted by: Tony Patriarche
Radiohead's, "Go to Sleep"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Am I dead, Barney?
The Real Lyrics:
Over my dead body
The Story: Kept thinking this had to do with anti-Barney humor (even though I loved him as a kid). - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Radiohead's, "Idioteque"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Ass itch coming
Ass itch coming
The Real Lyrics:
Ice age coming
Ice age coming
The Story: This is what my friend though the lyric was. I still sing it this way. It is funnier. - Submitted by: jen
Radiohead's, "Idioteque"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Lucy Parker
The Real Lyrics:
Who's in a bunker?
The Story: For the longest time, I seriously thought these were the lyrics. I kept wondering who Lucy Parker was and I came up with a number of theories. My most recent was that she was an ex-girlfriend of Thom's, and he added her name in the song to emphasize the apocalyptic feelings she gave him. - Submitted by: Carolyn
Radiohead's, "Karma Police"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Arrest this girl
Her hypno hairdo
Is makin' me feel ill.
The Real Lyrics:
Arrest this girl
Her Hitler hairdo
Is makin' me feel ill.
The Story: In a drunken state I spent an hour arguing with two guys from my class in college insisting that it's 'hypno' - the following morning I woke up and read the lyrics sheet. 'Oops', I said. - Submitted by: Alan Broderick
Radiohead's, "Karma Police"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Karma Police, arrest this man
He talks in mouths
He buzzes like a fridge
He's like a dead geranium.
This is what you get when you mess with love.
The Real Lyrics:
Karma Police, arrest this man
He talks in maths
He buzzes like a fridge
He's like a detuned radio.
This is what you get when you mess with us.
The Story: I am a cover artist, and I play in bars around town. I looked up the lyrics to this song to cover it tonight at a gig. Thank God I did. There are a lot of hardcore Radiohead fans in Peoria, IL. - Submitted by: Nan
Radiohead's, "Karma Police"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Karma Police
The rest is 'matic toxic waste
It pushes like a franchise's lack of TV radio
The Real Lyrics:
Karma police
Arrest this man
He talks in maths
He buzzes like a fridge
He's like a detuned radio
The Story: What to say? My misheard lyrics make no sense. I was 13 and not a native speaker. But it's just amazing how long you can walk around thinking something you heard as a kid is right and never stop to think that maybe you misunderstood something. I also thought that electricity is what makes windmills go round. So yeah. - Submitted by: Goose
Radiohead's, "Karma Police"
The Misheard Lyrics:
She's like a digital radio
The Real Lyrics:
She's like a detuned radio
The Story: I have no idea what a "detuned radio" really is. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Radiohead's, "Karma Police"
The Misheard Lyrics:
This is what you get when you mess with love
The Real Lyrics:
This is what you get when you mess with us
The Story: We were listening to this song in the car and someone asked if i had a clue what it was about. I made up a story that it's about the laws of Karma and what you eventually get if you are being unfaithful. I still think my version is pretty cool... - Submitted by: heartbeat
Radiohead's, "Let Down"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Take it off, Miranda
The Real Lyrics:
Taking off and landing
The Story: I was dating a Miranda at the time.. she is a huge radiohead fan, so i started listening to them to impress her. I put the cd in my car stereo, and started singing along to show off my newly found band, and I started talking about how it's weird that her name was in one of their songs. She, of course, had no idea what I was talking about, so when this part came up, I pointed to it and said.. 'right here.. they say 'take if off, Miranda..'' she just laughed at me. I felt like an idiot when she told me what they were really saying. - Submitted by: Travis
Radiohead's, "Molasses"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Shake Heads Genocide Molasses Jay Parked Caravans Molasses
I'm taboo, youre stale cum rent free earthquakes on molasses
The Real Lyrics:
Shake Hands Genocide Molasses Jet Powered Caravans Molasses
I'm too good, you're stuck on Rent free earthquake zone, molasses
The Story: Me and my best friend always used to compete to get the words to Radiohead songs. In my haste to beat her, I came up with this. I sang it to her and unfortunately for me, she had the real words and I looked like a complete (perverted) idiot. Oh Well - Submitted by: Vivien
Radiohead's, "Morning Bell"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Kunte Kinte's back, Kunte Kinte's back
The Real Lyrics:
Cut the kids in half, cut the kids in half
The Story: Kunte Kinte is the main guy in the movie 'Roots' the guy Lavar Burton played.. When I first heard that..I really wondered why Thom was singing about Kunte... then I rewound the song.. and realized that I'm not to bright. - Submitted by: Space Wax
Radiohead's, "Myxomatosis"
The Misheard Lyrics:
She's screwy in the mind.
The Real Lyrics:
She screwed me in a vice.
The Story: To be honest, I just realized today that I had gotten almost every lyric wrong in Myxomatosis. I never bothered to look them up. Also, "screwy in the mind" is pretty funny. - Submitted by: Jonah Louque
Radiohead's, "Nice Dream"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Less string
The Real Lyrics:
Nice dream
The Story: My husband couldn't understand why someone would write a song about less string... - Submitted by: Zoe
Radiohead's, "Optimistic"
The Misheard Lyrics:
If you try to masticate
If you try to masticate
The Real Lyrics:
You can try the best you can
You can try the best you can
The Story: I kept asking myself, 'Is this song about eating or something?' Then I read the lyrics... - Submitted by: SalsaShark!
Radiohead's, "Optimistic"
The Misheard Lyrics:
The best you can is getting it in the rough.
The Real Lyrics:
The best you can is good enough.
The Story: I thought it was weird, Radiohead singing about golf. - Submitted by: Sam
Radiohead's, "Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I'm a reasonable man
Get off my face.
The Real Lyrics:
I'm a reasonable man
Get off my case.
The Story: I was at a Radiohead concert with a co-worker in Aug; both of us are huge Radiohead fans. I'd had a couple drinks before the concert, which contributed to me being a little bit 'out of it' (what can I say; they make pretty strong vodka and cranberry at Madison Square Garden...) Anyway, I was singing pretty loudly to this song, not even noticing I was singing the wrong lyrics. I didn't even realize what I'd been singing till 3-4 hours later, when I was finally getting into my car to go home. I started listening to 'Amnesiac' and realized what a dork I was... ok, it was pretty minor, and the arena was noisy, but I still felt stupid! - Submitted by: Dippy Radiohead Fan
Radiohead's, "Paranoid Android"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Mission makes you look preety ugly
kinky sleezy squishy little piggy
The Real Lyrics:
Ambition makes you look preety ugly
Kicking stealing Gucci little piggy
The Story: At the concert in Chicago, I barely figured out the correct 'piggy' line since a guy was wearing a shirt that displayed the correct lyrics. - Submitted by: Dana
Radiohead's, "Paranoid Android"
The Misheard Lyrics:
When I am king
You will be thrust against the wall.
The Real Lyrics:
When I am king
You will be first against the wall.
The Story: Actually, in earlier versions of the song, the word IS "thrust", but was later changed for unknown reasons. Radiohead is known to do this. - Submitted by: ?Mitch
Radiohead's, "Phillipa Chicken"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Sing a song for you
The Real Lyrics:
I won't fall for you
The Story: I've been looking for a Radiohead song including this sentence in its lyrics for years (and every time I tried, I only found the song "Sing a Song for You"), until I finally knew I misheard it... - Submitted by: schatz
Radiohead's, "Street Spirit"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Rows of thousands, all bearing down on me.
The Real Lyrics:
Rows of houses, all bearing down on me.
The Story: Caused a great argument on the Radiohead message board. - Submitted by: The Goose King
Radiohead's, "True Love Waits"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I'd drown my beliefs
To have your babies.
The Real Lyrics:
I'd drown my beliefs
To have you be in peace.
The Story: There's a HUGE debate about whether it's 'babies' or 'in peace'. I have three versions of the song: on one it's definitely 'babies', on one it's definitely 'in peace' and on one it's pretty much ambiguous. I prefer 'babies' though, even if it doesn't make much sense. - Submitted by: Kralia
Radiohead's, "True Love Waits"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Your crazy kiss and smile.
The Real Lyrics:
Your crazy kitten smile.
The Story: Are you sure it's kitten smile? It's posted on lyrics sites as kiss and smile also... - Submitted by: MJ

There are more Radiohead misheard lyrics available.

Indexes: [#] [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [Y] [Z]

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