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Misheard Song Lyrics -> Stories -> Rush
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!).
2112 album at Amazon.com
Rush's, "Bastille Day"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Ooo A**hole Breath
The Real Lyrics:
Ooo there's no bread
The Story: I've never been a big Rush fan myself, so I only heard the song a few days ago. My brother-in-law actually pointed out to me that the lyric sounded a lot like 'A**hole Breath', so much so that he, nor my sister, nor I could figure out what the lyric really is. (We were laughing too much.) I looked it up myself just a few minutes ago so that the next time I see them I will be able to say that I've solved the Rush A**hole Breath mystery. - Submitted by: Stephanie Burkhart
Rush's, "Bastille Day"
The Misheard Lyrics:
There's no bread. Lemony cake.
The Real Lyrics:
There's no bread. Let them eat cake.
The Story: Just take a listen to the first lines Geddy sings! After you read it, you'll never not hear "lemony cake"! - Submitted by: Steve
Rush's, "Cold Fire"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Icculus will wait on a tropical sea
with a cold fire
with a cold fire
The Real Lyrics:
The phosphorescent wave on a tropical sea
Is a cold fire
Is a cold fire
The Story: - Submitted by: Rob
Rush's, "Limelight"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Living in the Fish Islands
The Real Lyrics:
Living in a fish-eye lens
The Story: Mike and his wife Tina, both Rush fans, are listening to Rush cd 'Signals' while painting their living room; and this song 'Limelight' that they both have heard a million times is playing. After hearing that line, Mike says to Tina, "Where the **** are the 'Fish Islands'?" and Tina responds, "What?" Mike says, "You know, he just said, 'Fish Islands'." Tina snaps, "You retard! It's fish-eye lens! Why would you be in the 'camera eye' if you are on the 'Fish Islands'? Are they such popular islands??" - Submitted by: Mike Reggie
Rush's, "Limelight"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Living in the Fish Islands
The Real Lyrics:
Living in the fish-eye lens
The Story: I thought Geddy Lee added this line in appreciation for a notable Long Island, New York fan base. In pre-British colonial Long Island history, the island itself was called 'Fish Island,' either by the Dutch or the Native Americans, I'm not so sure. Nevertheless, this is what the line sounded like to me, and that was why I thought it was there. - Submitted by: The Skuz
Rush's, "Limelight"
The Misheard Lyrics:
The real relation
Beyond the lightning
Beyond the lightning
The Real Lyrics:
The real relation
The underlying theme
The underlying theme
The Story: Every single time I listen to this line I swear that's what Geddy Lee says "beyond the lightning" and not "the underlying theme". Even live. I would have never known it was "the underlying theme" if I didn't look at the lyrics online. - Submitted by: Brian
Rush's, "New World Man"
The Misheard Lyrics:
He's a seagull turning green
The Real Lyrics:
He's a signal turning green
The Story: My friend Roger sang the misheard lyrics on-stage for years before we finally corrected him. - Submitted by: J Brett
Rush's, "Red Barchetta"
The Misheard Lyrics:
From a better Spanish time
The Real Lyrics:
A brilliant red barchetta
From a better, vanished time.
From a better, vanished time.
The Story: I figured "Spanish" time made sense given the name of the car "barchetta" sounds like it could be Spanish rather than an Italian word. - Submitted by: Pickle
Rush's, "Red Barchetta"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Uncle Tom's Cabin
The Real Lyrics:
Red Barchetta
The Story: This isn't really a misheard lyric, but a misheard song title. I was playing this on my bass for a friend and he said, 'I know that song; that's Uncle Tom's Cabin by Rush.' - Submitted by: Jeff Z
Rush's, "Spirit of the Radio"
The Misheard Lyrics:
For the words of the prophets were written on the strip of your arm
Guns at heart
Guns at heart
The Real Lyrics:
For th words of the profits were written on the studio wall
Concert hall
Concert hall
The Story: I'm stubborn enough to not look up lyrics and thought this was the lyric then got curious on the rush website and found out the actual lyric I thought this for 14 years ( my whole life ). - Submitted by: Jacob Habitzruther
Rush's, "Spirit of the Radio"
The Misheard Lyrics:
and the words of the prophets were written on the subway walls
G. D. hall! (cheers)
G. D. hall! (cheers)
The Real Lyrics:
and the words of the prophets were written on the subway walls
concert hall (cheers)
concert hall (cheers)
The Story: the album lyrics say "concert". That makes more sence now. A few years later I was at a religious retreat in the Chicago area and one of the songs sung was Simon and Garfunkel's "Sound of Silence" (don't ask me why). I saw the lyric sheet and realized that Rush were making a tribute to Simon and Garfunkel in their 1980 hit. Also, Geddy Lee is Jewish and the band pretty much doesn't use swear words in their lyrics let alone G.D. I've seen Rush live 3 times and I'm older, wiser, and more accustomed to the peculiarities of Canadian accents and I could make out what Geddy Lee said much more clearly than when I was a teen. - Submitted by: 1980 teen
Rush's, "Subdivisions "
The Misheard Lyrics:
Suffering
The Real Lyrics:
Subdivisions
The Story: I thought the lyric was "Suffering" when I was young. Coupled with "In the high school halls, in the shopping malls...", the song took on a darker meaning. - Submitted by: Al
Rush's, "The Camera Eye"
The Misheard Lyrics:
The folks, well they shop in the city.
The Real Lyrics:
The focus is sharp in the city.
The Story: I was sitting in traffic thinking how cool it was to hear someone else listening to Rush. And then the guy screams at the top of his lungs in time with the song, of course, 'The folks, well they shop in the ci-ty!!!!' I thought I'd die laughing. - Submitted by: n8rhythm
Rush's, "The Spirit Of Radio"
The Misheard Lyrics:
For the words of the prophets were written on the strip of your arm, Guns at heart
The Real Lyrics:
For the words of the profits were written on the studio wall concert hall (cheers)
The Story: I misheard this for 14 years - Submitted by: Jacob Habitzrtuther
Rush's, "The Spirit Of Radio"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Ripe and tender gristle with the energy
The Real Lyrics:
Bright antenna bristle with the energy
The Story: A few friends and I were on a road trip some 10-odd years ago, and this song came on the radio. We were singing along when one of the other guys sang this lyric. We laughed are asses off at him, and I still can't help but hear his interesting intrepretation every time the radio plays it... - Submitted by: the man
Rush's, "The Spirit of Radio"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Blithe contenders bristle with the energy
The Real Lyrics:
Bright antennae bristle with the energy
The Story: I've been singing "blithe contenders" along with the radio (with blithe certainty) for 43 years, until looking up the song for no particular reason today. No one has ever corrected me. Maybe they didn't notice? And maybe no one knows these lyrics! - Submitted by: TinasBoobPunch
Rush's, "The Spirit of Radio"
The Misheard Lyrics:
The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
'God D*** All!'
'God D*** All!'
The Real Lyrics:
The words of the profits are written on the studio walls
'Concert Hall'
'Concert Hall'
The Story: Being 13 at the time and knowing my parents wouldn't approve of what I thought the song said, I actually recorded over that phrase on my tape of it! - Submitted by: Cassie Nielsen
Rush's, "The Temples of Syrinx"
The Misheard Lyrics:
We are the priests
Of the devils of Syrinx
Operate the new church
Fill the hollowed halls
Of the devils of Syrinx
Operate the new church
Fill the hollowed halls
The Real Lyrics:
We are the priests
Of the Temples of Syrinx
Our great computers
Fill the hollowed halls
Of the Temples of Syrinx
Our great computers
Fill the hollowed halls
The Story: I misheard the lyric, "of the Temples of Syrinx" until approx. 15 years ago; however it wasn't until just today (09-15-18) that the lyric, "Our great computers" was not, "Operate the new church"! :-O - Submitted by: Craig Johnson
Rush's, "The Trees"
The Misheard Lyrics:
The maples scream 'Oppression!'
And the oaks just s*** their pants.
And the oaks just s*** their pants.
The Real Lyrics:
The maples scream 'Oppression!'
And the oaks just shake their heads.
And the oaks just shake their heads.
The Story: At first, it caught me off guard that Rush would have lyrics like that. But I didn't pay any mind to it. I was checking lyrics for another part of the song and realized the real lyrics. I felt pretty stupid. - Submitted by: Cam Peckham
Rush's, "Tom Sawyer"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Although his mind is not for rent
Don't put down his surrogate
He's hopelessly quite content
Writing down the day's events
"The River".
Don't put down his surrogate
He's hopelessly quite content
Writing down the day's events
"The River".
The Real Lyrics:
Though his mind is not for rent
Don't put him down as arrogant
His reserve, a quiet defense
Riding out the day's events
The river.
Don't put him down as arrogant
His reserve, a quiet defense
Riding out the day's events
The river.
The Story: The first time I heard this song, I thought it was a tribute to Mark Twain, by what I misheard as "writing down the day's events". It wasn't until I heard this at a karaoke bar, years later, with the lyrics on the screen, that I realized my hilarious error. - Submitted by: Christi
Rush's, "Tom Sawyer"
The Misheard Lyrics:
When the Space Invader gets his eye on you
The Real Lyrics:
Today's Tom Sawyer, he gets high on you
The Story: I first heard this song in Futurama during a scene involving the video game "Space Invaders", I thought it was some 80s song about the Space Invaders game. - Submitted by: Thomas
Rush's, "Tom Sawyer"
The Misheard Lyrics:
though his mind is not for rent by any god or government
The Real Lyrics:
though his mind is not for rent don't put him down as arrogant
The Story: The lyrics I misheard aren't these precisely but I also thought that the word government was said after though his mind is not for rent to drive home the point about his mind not being for rent. - Submitted by: Brian Seabury
Rush's, "Twilight Zone"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Boy, the boogy man sure is cross.
The Real Lyrics:
Where the fourth dimension is crossed.
The Story: I was taking my new girlfriend (at the time) to a Rush concert. She had about a month to get to know the band and their music. I've been a fan of theirs since '76, and I've never been asked, 'What did he say about the boogy man?' (until she asked me that night) It caught me way off guard, woah. But that was ten years ago, and she hasn't missed a show yet. - Submitted by: Curtacus Anubis
Rush's, "Working Man"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Well I eat up unleavened bread
The Real Lyrics:
Well I get up at 7 yeah
The Story: This was before I knew that Neil had written this song and I thought that, since Geddy was Jewish, he wrote it that way about passover or something. (I was very young) - Submitted by: Me
Rush's, "Xanadu"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I have hurt the whisk burned tails of immortality
The breakfast misery
Searching for the lost Santa dude
The breakfast misery
Searching for the lost Santa dude
The Real Lyrics:
I have heard the whispered tales of immortality
The deepest mystery
Searching for the lost Xanadu
The deepest mystery
Searching for the lost Xanadu
The Story: I just think that this song I should great and should be loved always. Unrelated:The songs “Just What I Needed” by The Cars, “8675309 Jenny” by Tommy Tutone, “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N Roses and “You Make My Dreams Come True” by Hall and Oates all sound like this ;) - Submitted by: Chakaslovokia
There are more Rush misheard lyrics available.
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