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Misheard Song Lyrics -> Stories -> Tears For Fears

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!).


Chronicles: The Hurting/Songs from the Big Chair/The Seeds of Love album at Amazon.com
Tears For Fears', "Bloodletting Go"
The Misheard Lyrics:
If I can't remember nothin'
Then the sun don't shine
And the grass don't grow.
The Real Lyrics:
If I care for nothing
Then the sun don't shine
And the grass don't grow.
The Story: I really love Roland Orzabal and this song, when I first got this song on a Tears For Fears compliation (this song is a b-side). I would sing to it as loud as I could and I kept singing the misheard until after, I wondered if I had screwed up the lyrics until I read them! - Submitted by: alana
Tears For Fears', "Break It Down Again"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Stand tall like a man
Who's h**g like a horse.
The Real Lyrics:
Stand tall like a man
Headstrong like a horse.
The Story: In 1993, I sang this song at a karaoke bar with the misheard lyrics. I'd been singing it along with the radio incorrectly for weeks, and even though I saw the monitor, the words I'd been used to singing came out of me. The crowd seemed to like my version better. - Submitted by: Clay
Tears For Fears', "Closest Thing To Heaven"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Evil countries that are making billions.
The Real Lyrics:
Eat the countries that are making billions.
The Story: I found out I've had this lyric wrong for nearly three years just here and now. Though I'd always thought it was rather a nasty snap towards my homeland and maybe a bit out of character for the band, I had such conviction that it was 'Evil Countries,' that 'Evil countries' made so much more sense that I checked four respective websites to be sure! - Submitted by: Judith
Tears For Fears', "Everybody Wants To Rule The World"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Everybody Wants To Fool Around
The Real Lyrics:
Everybody Wants To Rule The World
The Story: I heard this song when I was a lad when mum drove me to and from school in the 1980s. I thought it meant that everyone wanted to 'fool around' (ie: have s*xual intercourse.) - Submitted by: Barry Hart
Tears For Fears', "Everybody Wants To Rule The World"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Everybody wants to move around.
The Real Lyrics:
Everybody wants to rule the world.
The Story: It made sense to my 13-year-old ears, until I was belting it out in my with my friend and her mother, and they started laughing at me. - Submitted by: Charjam
Tears For Fears', "Everybody Wants To Rule The World"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Everybody wants to move around
The Real Lyrics:
Everybody wants to rule the world
The Story: My mother is the queen of misheard lyrics! We were driving around one day and this song came on and she told me how much she liked it. Started singing it and when she got to the chorus - I couldn't stop laughing long enough to tell her that she was singing the wrong words!!! - Submitted by: Lori
Tears For Fears', "Everybody Wants To Rule The World"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Married with a lack of vision
The Real Lyrics:
Parried with a lack of vision.
The Story: It sounds like married. Some artists even sing it married, but if you look at the original video of this song you can see the lips of the original artist pronounce the P parried. Indecision married with a lack of vision is simplistic, but doesn't really make sense. Check it out and see if you can find out. - Submitted by: Garry Scarabello
Tears For Fears', "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"
The Misheard Lyrics:
It's my own desire, it's my only loss
The Real Lyrics:
It's my own desire, it's my own remorse
The Story: I had the wrong lyrics in my head for a long time in high school and still hear the wrong ones when I hear the song. - Submitted by: ROb
Tears For Fears', "Everyone Wants To Rule The World"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Everyone want's to mow the lawn.
The Real Lyrics:
Everyone want's to rule the world.
The Story: I'm listening on a slightly scratchy mono AM transistor radio in the middle of the night, when I first heard this song. I remember thinking that either these guys were really stupid, or that 'mowing the lawn' must be some sort of metaphor for sex. Ahh, the idiocy of a 12-year old. - Submitted by: Jimdoggy
Tears For Fears', "Head Over Heels"
The Misheard Lyrics:
And dreaming of adopting
The Real Lyrics:
And dreaming I'm a doctor.
The Story: Finally looked up the lyrics here in 2018. I was adopted..I used to think. "cool, tears for fears is writing about this in a ding I love". I was in a fraternity when this was a hit and would run to the source and crank it whenever the electronic echoing little drum break occurred. Who cares, right? - Submitted by: Joe Hougelman
Tears For Fears', "Head Over Heels"
The Misheard Lyrics:
But the CHIPs and I go crazy 'gainst the charm in your face.
The Real Lyrics:
But traditions I can trace against the child in your face
The Story: The TV show C.H.I.P.s was in first-run syndication at the time. - Submitted by: Liz
Tears For Fears', "Head Over Heels"
The Misheard Lyrics:
My mother and my brothers used to leave me to dad And dream that I'm adopted
The Real Lyrics:
My mother and my brothers used to breathe in clean in air And dreaming I'm a doctor
The Story: I guessed that the rest of the family thought Roland was too "strange" and couldn't understand him but the daddy could. - Submitted by: TeFoFe
Tears For Fears', "Shout"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Shout, shout, Larry's all out
The Real Lyrics:
Shout, shout, let it all out.
The Story: Kept thinking they are talking about a guy named Larry - Submitted by: Gabe
Tears For Fears', "Shout"
The Misheard Lyrics:
They gave you life
And in return, you gave them h***.
The Real Lyrics:
They gave you life
And in return, you gave them hell.
The Story: A couple of friends and I were up really late listening to this song. After it was over, we were all silent for a minute. I asked them, "Did anyone else hear him say something about giving h***?" I'm not sure if everyone was laughing at it or laughing at my stupidity. - Submitted by: Sarah
Tears For Fears', "Sowing The Seeds Of Love"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Sewing machine of love
The Real Lyrics:
Sowing the seeds of love
The Story: I remember when the song first came on the radio, I had no idea what the title was. I could have sworn it said 'sewing machine'. One day while the song was playing, I asked a friend if they had a sewing machine of love, then what would a sewing machine of hate be like? Naturally, he didn't know what I was talking about, since those weren't really the lyrics. Nevertheless, he came up with the theory a sewing machine of hate would probably be gas powered and kill. I'd have to say I agree. - Submitted by: Jon Wyncroft
Tears For Fears', "Sowing the Seeds of Love"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Check out the star-sent messages.
The Real Lyrics:
Kick out the style, bring back the jam
The Story: I assumed that line was about horoscopes. - Submitted by: Liz
Tears For Fears', "Sowing the Seeds of Love"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Sowing the seeds
And Anthony
The politics are green with love.
The Real Lyrics:
Sowing the seeds
An end to need
The politics of greed with love
The Story: When I was a kid singing this song, I was teasing my former classmate named Anthony with the song and then the rest of my classmates started singing that part as well and stuck with him for life. Poor Anthony! - Submitted by: Christie Marie M
Tears for Fears', "Change"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Change, Girl can’t change.
The Real Lyrics:
Change, you can't change.
The Story: Heard this song on an airplane. That’s what it sounded like to me. - Submitted by: hamletmiss
Tears for Fears', "Change"
The Misheard Lyrics:
You were a phonograph
The Real Lyrics:
You were a photograph
The Story: I often confused myself between “photograph” and “phonograph”. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Tears for Fears', "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Everybody wants to move around.
The Real Lyrics:
Everybody wants to rule the world.
The Story: I heard this on an advertisement for an '80s compilation. - Submitted by: Anonymous
Tears for Fears', "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"
The Misheard Lyrics:
It’s my own remote
The Real Lyrics:
It’s my own remorse
The Story: I thought it was his own remote control. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Tears for Fears', "Head Over Heels"
The Misheard Lyrics:
And dreamed I was a Nazi
The Real Lyrics:
And dreaming I'm a doctor.
The Story: It still sounds like Nazi to me even though I know it isn't./ - Submitted by: Greg
Tears for Fears', "Head Over Heels"
The Misheard Lyrics:
It's hard to be a man when there's a gun in your hand
The Real Lyrics:
It's a hard to be a man when there's a girl in your head
The Story: This is funny ? A girl I was dating (back in the 80's) was singing the song out loud to the radio, when I caught her singing the wrong lyrics. We actually argued about it and she insisted that what she was singing was correct. She had no idea! We then went to my brother who had the album (yes, a vinyl copy)with the lyrics printed on the cover. - Submitted by: Jay Schuck
Tears for Fears', "Head Over Heels"
The Misheard Lyrics:
My mother and my fathers used to beat me to death
While dreaming of adoption
The Real Lyrics:
My mother and my brothers used to breathe in clean in air
And dreaming I'm a doctor
The Story: Seriously, I thought that's what they said. - Submitted by: Fuzzbean
Tears for Fears', "Laid So Low (Tears Roll Down)"
The Misheard Lyrics:
To the phone down too low
The Real Lyrics:
Chewed the bone down too low
The Story: I also got confused between "bone" and "phone". - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Tears for Fears', "Listen"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Throw me out a chicken, I pick up the scent
The Real Lyrics:
Cumpleaños chica, no hay que preocuparse
The Story: I always wondered what was the fascination that TFF had with that chicken, and especially with its smell! - Submitted by: Mike
Tears for Fears', "Mad World"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Enlarging your world
The Real Lyrics:
A Harlagan World
The Story: This came from the man himself. It was hard to decipher what Curt was actually singing but he finally came clean and admitted that he added that line as a joke. :) - Submitted by: Celeste
Tears for Fears', "Mad World"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Halargian World
The Real Lyrics:
Enlarge your world
The Story: I think people correcting "Enlarging World" to "Halargian World" are wrong. It's like the original Mondegreen, why out of the clear blue would they make a reference to a place named "Halargian World"? They've been singing about a closed minded people running a rat race and they seem to have lived on planet Earth. I suspect they are singing a bit of advice: Enlarge your world or Enlargind Your World but to suddenly make reference to Halargian World?
- Submitted by: Richard Childs
Tears for Fears', "Mad World"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Halogeon
The Real Lyrics:
Halargian world
The Story: It is actually 'Halargian.' I'm from there and I've been a TFF kook since a 13-day Famine made basically everyone TFF kooks. - Submitted by: Orzadatchler HVN-DD_MLN
Tears for Fears', "Shout"
The Misheard Lyrics:
And when you take a dump on God
If I could change your mind I'd really love to break your heart
I'd really love to break your heart
The Real Lyrics:
And when you've taken down your guard
If I could change your mind I'd really love to break your heart
I'd really love to break your heart
The Story: I really thought this was what they were saying at the time the song came out all the way until a few years ago. I thought it was a sneaky way to put some kind of subversive message about religion into their song, but I never really discussed it with anyone. And then somewhere around 2010 I was having a conversation with my younger cousin and he had independently heard the same line exactly as I had and asked me about it. We busted a gut laughing when we looked up the lyrics to verify what we heard! - Submitted by: Scott Byorum
Tears for Fears', "Shout"
The Misheard Lyrics:
On Valentine's, you shouldn't have to sell your soul.
The Real Lyrics:
In violent times, you shouldn't have to sell your soul
The Story: Thought it was just a message to those hopeless romantics about not giving yourself away so easily. - Submitted by: Julie
Tears for Fears', "Shout"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Shout, shout, ready or not!
These are the things I can do without.
Come on, I'm talking to you.
or
Shop, shop, ready or not!
These are the things I can do without.
Come on, I'm talking to you.
The Real Lyrics:
Shout, shout, let it all out.
These are the things I can do without.
Come on, I'm talking to you.
The Story: It was more funny than previous posts. About this song: "Shout" is track #1 on their second studio album, "Songs from the Big Chair", released on 25 February 1985. It was written by Roland Orzabal and Ian Stanley. It topping Billboard's Pop Chart as well as reaching #4 on the UK Singles Chart and also entering the Top 40 internationally. Making them their first biggest hit single before "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", the third single from this album, become their most well known song. - Submitted by: Wisnu Aji
Tears for Fears', "Sowing the Seeds of Love"
The Misheard Lyrics:
No books to read
The Real Lyrics:
There are books to read
The Story: I kept thinking this had to do with a line in the song "The Air That I Breathe" by the Hollies. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Tears for Fears', "The Way You Are"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Getting away
The Real Lyrics:
Getting nowhere
The Story: I wondered what it really was having to do between "away" and "nowhere". - Submitted by: Cody Finke
Tears for Fears', "When in Love with a Blind Man"
The Misheard Lyrics:
When in love with a black man
The Real Lyrics:
When in love with a blind man
The Story: Curt and Roland are bad at pronouncing words, so I heard the word black instead blind. Now we joke around about Curt being in love with a black man. - Submitted by: Amy
Tears for Fears', "Woman in Chains"
The Misheard Lyrics:
You better run run away, you're better away
The Real Lyrics:
You better love lovin' and you better behave
The Story: I only realised I've been saying it wrong all this while when I saw the lyrics on Spotify. - Submitted by: Kash

There are more Tears For Fears 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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