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!).
Danny Boy album at Amazon.com
I want to leave from Narrow Town.
I want to leave ol' Durham Town.
The Story: I heard this song for the first time in the seventies. I didn't know who the singer was, but I really liked the song. It was considered very romantic for dancing at that time. More than ten years later I heard it again incidentally and was able to see the written title. - Submitted by: Elisa E
I'm going to leave that dumb-dumb town
I'm going to leave ol' Durham Town.
The Story: I first heard the song in the late 70s as a kid. It wasn't until I was an adult I learned the words were "Durham town" - Submitted by: Chris
I've got an evil Valentine.
I've got to leave old Duhram town.
The Story: The station we listen to on the radio at work always plays this song. We all complain about the station because we hate this old elevator sounding music. One day, my friend Carol said that the worst song was 'Evil Valentine'. The rest of us just cracked up, but if you listen, the lyrics really do sound like it. I hope you post this so Carol's lyrics will be immortalized. Thanks. - Submitted by: Chris Rowe/Carol Gabrielsen
I've got to leave old Allentown
I've got to leave old Allentown
I've got to leave old Allentown
And the leaving's going to get me down.
I've got to leave old Durham town
I've got to leave old Durham town
I've got to leave old Durham town
And the leaving's gonna get me down.
The Story: I'm serious, I always thought it was Allentown, until I saw it in this week's misheard lyrics. Of course, whenever I tried to find it, I got the Billy Joel song, which is no relation to this one. - Submitted by: Michael McVey
I've got to leave old Berlin town
I'm going to leave ol' Durham Town.
The Story: I heard the song in the background while I was working; I had to listen for the second chorus to hear the correct lyric. - Submitted by: Mike Calol
Nine out of ten are Venice nights.
Nein, auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.
The Story: I was listening to this song on my uncle's CD. I realized it must not be in English, but thought this line sounded like what I reported. Then I asked my uncle. He told me that the song is sung in German and gave me the correct lyrics! - Submitted by: Natalie York
New entries in this section are currently reviewed by Brian Kelly. Previous editors (if any) are listed on the editors page.
