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Misheard Song Lyrics -> Stories -> Simon and Garfunkel
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!).
Simon and Garfunkel's, "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Like a pitcher of water
The Real Lyrics:
Like a bridge over troubled water
The Story: Paul Simon told this story in an interview with Rolling Stone. It seems that when the first 'mock-up' of the album cover was done, it was titled 'Like A Pitcher Of Water.' The artist hadn't been told the title of the song, and that's the way he heard it. - Submitted by: Kurt Kruse
Simon and Garfunkel's, "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Sail on silver bird, sail on by.
The Real Lyrics:
Sail on silver girl, sail on by.
The Story: Anticipating Mark Lindsay's "Silver Bird" by about six months! - Submitted by: David Dana-Bashian
Simon and Garfunkel's, "Cecilia"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Oh Cecilia, get off of my knees.
You’re breaking my knees, so go home.
You’re breaking my knees, so go home.
The Real Lyrics:
Oh Cecilia, I’m down on my knees.
I’m begging you please to come home
I’m begging you please to come home
The Story: I thought this Cecilia lady was some sadistic maniac. Cheats on the guy, then stands on his knees in an attempt to break them. - Submitted by: Garf
Simon and Garfunkel's, "Hazy Shade of Winter"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Look around,
Knees are brown
Knees are brown
The Real Lyrics:
Look around,
leaves are brown
leaves are brown
The Story: My best friend and I were listening to the Bangles version of this song, and we he said, 'Knees' I just about died laughing. His reasoning was that 'people are falling, so their knees got brown.' .... he was in utter awe of how much more sense the song made with the right lyrics... I still tease him about it! - Submitted by: Lexie
Simon and Garfunkel's, "I Am A Rock"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I have my books,
and I grow a tree to protect me
and I grow a tree to protect me
The Real Lyrics:
I have my books
and my poetry to protect me
and my poetry to protect me
The Story: Thought this was the lyric since I was a young child, and only realized I had been misinterpreting the line in the mid-90s. We laughed our socks off! Unbelievable ;) - Submitted by: Pam
Simon and Garfunkel's, "Mrs. Robinson"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Going to the camp to gangsturbate.
The Real Lyrics:
Going to the candidates' debate.
The Story: My mom bought me a book about puberty when I was like 11 and, as I remember it, there was a question and answer section where the overwhelming majority of the questions from boys were some form of "I did ____ with my friend/friends/brother. Does that mean I'm gay/evil/going to hell/going to die of AIDS?". Shortly later, I got one of my first CDs, the soundtrack to 'Wayne's World' which had the Lemonheads cover of Mrs. Robinson. That book (and the other lyrics in the song hinting at dirty secrets that might clash with certain religious ideas) must have pushed me towards hearing this. I had never heard the term 'gangsturbate' before, but that book did explain a similar word, so it just seemed immediately obvious to me what 'gangsturbating' at camp with the other boys would mean.
So now, 31 years later, I'm about to order a copy of the same book, the 1992 edition of The New Teenage Body Book by Kathy McCoy. Because I'm curious how well I remember all those questions. And also because when I had the book, I noticed the teenage girl on the cover was wearing short white shorts that I thought looked kind of see-through and it... uhh... caught my attention. This was back before I had internet. - Submitted by: Dorkin Srobb
So now, 31 years later, I'm about to order a copy of the same book, the 1992 edition of The New Teenage Body Book by Kathy McCoy. Because I'm curious how well I remember all those questions. And also because when I had the book, I noticed the teenage girl on the cover was wearing short white shorts that I thought looked kind of see-through and it... uhh... caught my attention. This was back before I had internet. - Submitted by: Dorkin Srobb
Simon and Garfunkel's, "Mrs. Robinson"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Jokin' Joe has left and gone away.
The Real Lyrics:
Joltin' Joe has left and gone away.
The Story: For years I heard the words as 'Jokin' Joe'. So I thought this reference to Joe DiMaggio meant that he had a reputation as something of a joker. Eventually I wold learn that if anything, he was an overly serious dude. On finally seeing the lyrics in print, I learned that it is 'Joltin' Joe', clearly a reference to his ability to hit baseballs hard. - Submitted by: Valerie Cameron
Simon and Garfunkel's, "Mrs. Robinson"
The Misheard Lyrics:
She's a slut and more than you know.
The Real Lyrics:
Jesus loves you more then you will know.
The Story: I thought it was a horrible song about abusing 'special' people at first. [Ed.'s note: It's best not to ask.] - Submitted by: Shikkarasu
Simon and Garfunkel's, "Scarborough Fair/Canticle"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Sleeps on a willow brook, cloudy and calm.
The Real Lyrics:
Sleeps unaware of the clarion call.
The Story: I have synesthesia and high functioning autism. When I first heard the song as a small child, then a teenager, I thoroughly visualized the words, the scene and the various stereophonic musical instruments in the piece. It all appears as an animated fantasy filled with abstract verbal imagery and a lullaby tranquility. - Submitted by: Kevin Degidon
Simon and Garfunkel's, "Sound of Silence"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Hello darkness, smile a friend
I come to talk with you again
Because your vision softly decreaping
Left tis seat while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
With in the sound of silence
And resteless dreams I walked away
Now the streets are coming strong
We fought halo at the eastern street vale
I turned my car into the coldest train
When my eyes where stayed by the flash of an ion light
Split the night
And thuched the sound of silence.
I come to talk with you again
Because your vision softly decreaping
Left tis seat while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
With in the sound of silence
And resteless dreams I walked away
Now the streets are coming strong
We fought halo at the eastern street vale
I turned my car into the coldest train
When my eyes where stayed by the flash of an ion light
Split the night
And thuched the sound of silence.
The Real Lyrics:
Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.
The Story: This wasn't even me that misheard it. I was on a guitar tab website for this song and the person who submitted the tab obviously didn't even bother to check to see if the lyrics were correct or not. Luckily this was all of the song that they put down. - Submitted by: Genevieve
Simon and Garfunkel's, "The Boxer"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Asking only workman's wages
I come looking for a job
But I get no offers
Just a Come home from the war zone every thousand years
I come looking for a job
But I get no offers
Just a Come home from the war zone every thousand years
The Real Lyrics:
Asking only workman's wages
I come looking for a job
But I get no offers
Just a come on from the whores on Seventh Avenue.
I come looking for a job
But I get no offers
Just a come on from the whores on Seventh Avenue.
The Story: I would always mumble that part when I was singing it, because what I thought it said didn't make any sense. Eventually my brother heard me mumble and made me say what I thought the lyrics were out loud. Embarrassing but at least I know the Lyrics now! - Submitted by: Elena Moon
Simon and Garfunkel's, "The Sounds of Silence"
The Misheard Lyrics:
And echoed in the sounds of Simon
The Real Lyrics:
And echoed in the sounds of silence
The Story: Well, we have PAUL SIMON on this song, don't we? - Submitted by: Simon Sez 'Da-Du Da-Du'
There are more Simon and Garfunkel misheard lyrics available.
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