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Misheard Song Lyrics -> Stories -> Roger Miller
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!).
All Time Greatest Hits album at Amazon.com
Roger Miller's, "Chug-A-Lug"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Great wine in Mason jar
An old maiden brought to school
By a friend in my math class.
An old maiden brought to school
By a friend in my math class.
The Real Lyrics:
Grape wine in a Mason jar
Homemade and brought to school
By a friend of mine 'n' after class.
Homemade and brought to school
By a friend of mine 'n' after class.
The Story: That's what I heard from when the song first came out. I thought it was a rare mention of a math class in popular music, which I found refreshing, being one of those 'nerd' types who likes math. Only recently when I saw the printed lyrics, I saw - oops - not a reference to math class after all. - Submitted by: Wendy Carpenter
Roger Miller's, "Dang Me"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Dang it, dang it
You oughta take a rope and hang it
Skies of the eighty-three
Won't you listen to me?
You oughta take a rope and hang it
Skies of the eighty-three
Won't you listen to me?
The Real Lyrics:
Dang me, dang me
They oughta take a rope and hang me
High from the highest tree
Woman, would you weep for me?
They oughta take a rope and hang me
High from the highest tree
Woman, would you weep for me?
The Story: This is how my brothers used to sing it when they were eight. My mother would hear them singing the first bit all the time. One day, she came to me and asked, 'What are they so mad about?' It took a while for us to get what they were actually singing! - Submitted by: melaniekatemoo
Roger Miller's, "Dang Me"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I lack fourteen dollars of havin' twenty-seven cents.
The Real Lyrics:
like, fourteen dollars an' twenty-seven cents.
The Story: Listen close to this one, it's oft misheard! The line before says what he spent the $14.27 on. Maybe it's misheard because of Roger's often whimsical lyrics, and "Lacking 14 dollars OF HAVING 27 cents" would fit right in with that, but, lo, that's not what he did. - Submitted by: Fixitman
Roger Miller's, "Dang Me"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I like fourteen dollars, havin' twenty-seven cents.
The Real Lyrics:
Like fourteen dollars and twenty-seven cents
The Story: I always assumed this meant that he was in debt. He owed sombody $13.73, so if he had fourteen dollars, he'd really have 27 cents. (To 'like' something means to be short by that.) - Submitted by: Carolee
Roger Miller's, "England Swings"
The Misheard Lyrics:
The rosy red cheeks of the little chilled wren.
The Real Lyrics:
The rosy red cheeks of the little children.
The Story: Until my sister stopped me in disgust, I always sang about little birds who were cold and it depressed me. - Submitted by: Kathie Eich
Roger Miller's, "King Of The Road"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Two hours of pushin' broom
Buys a 8 by 12 four-bed room.
Buys a 8 by 12 four-bed room.
The Real Lyrics:
Two hours of pushin' broom
Buys a 8 by 12 four-bit room.
Buys a 8 by 12 four-bit room.
The Story: I never really thought about why a jobless drifter would want four beds in his room, or even how they'd fit. But after repeated listenings to this song on a long-haul international flight, the correct lyrics finally hit me. - Submitted by: Chris Kuan
Roger Miller's, "King Of The Road"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Two hours of pushin' broom
Buys a 8 by 12 morbid room.
Buys a 8 by 12 morbid room.
The Real Lyrics:
Two hours of pushin' broom
Buys a 8 by 12 four-bit room.
Buys a 8 by 12 four-bit room.
The Story: For years, I wondered if he really was singing about a morbid room. At one time I decided that he was really singing about a '8 by 12 boardin' room'. But it turns out that was wrong too! - Submitted by: Gord
Roger Miller's, "King of the Road"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Destination: Hanger lane
The Real Lyrics:
Destination: Bangor, Maine
The Story: For the longest time I misheard this. I suppose living in London and using the underground it was inevitable. - Submitted by: Archonic_Energy
Roger Miller's, "King of the Road"
The Misheard Lyrics:
King on the run
The Real Lyrics:
King of the Road
The Story: I swear it's what inspired Paul McCartney's song "Band on the Run". - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Roger Miller's, "King of the Road"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Sailors for sale or rent
The Real Lyrics:
Trailers for sale or rent
The Story: Used to sing this all the time as a child and nobody corrected me. - Submitted by: Elaine
Roger Miller's, "King of the Road"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Trailers for sailor rent
The Real Lyrics:
Trailers for sale or rent
The Story: Always wondered why the trailers could only be rented by sailors. - Submitted by: TJ
Roger Miller's, "Old Toy Trains"
The Misheard Lyrics:
All is calm, all is well
Soon you'll hear Chris crinkling the jingle bells.
Soon you'll hear Chris crinkling the jingle bells.
The Real Lyrics:
All is calm, all is well
Soon you'll hear Kris Kringle and the jingle bells
Soon you'll hear Kris Kringle and the jingle bells
The Story: When I first heard this, I did not yet know of 'Kris Kringle' as an alternate name for Santa Claus. So I wondered who this Chris was and why he or she would crinkle jingle bells. (Where I grew up, at least, 'Chris' was about equally commonly either a girl's or boy's name.) - Submitted by: Regina Olsen
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