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Misheard Song Lyrics -> Stories -> The Clash

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!).


Singles album at Amazon.com
The Clash's, "Clampdown"
The Misheard Lyrics:
When we’re working for the Rat Pack
or
When we’re working for the Clampetts
or
When we’re working for the class act
The Real Lyrics:
When we’re working for the clampdown
The Story: Swear it could have been Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., the Beverly Hillbillies or a class act! - Submitted by: Cody Finke
The Clash's, "Complete Control"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Uncle Joe in the morning
Uncle Joe in the night
The Real Lyrics:
I'm controlled in the body
I'm controlled in the mind.
The Story: That before it says 'I'm controlled in the body, I'm controlled in the mind', it says 'This is Joe Public speaking.' So it's funny because I heard 'Joe' later then when it actually said it did, but it did say 'Joe.' - Submitted by: Alyssa
The Clash's, "Death or Glory"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Their so sorry
The Real Lyrics:
Death or glory
The Story: The lyrics were so hard to actually hear that I could only hear them when I played the Social Distortion version - Submitted by: UltraPrime
The Clash's, "I Fought The Law"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Hop on the log and have fun
Hop on the log and have fun.
The Real Lyrics:
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law and the law won.
The Story: A friend was singing this song and though it was about frogs playing. That's why he was singing 'hop on the log'. - Submitted by: A.j
The Clash's, "I Fought the Law"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I fought the mall and the mall won
The Real Lyrics:
I fought the law and the law won
The Story: Being the little punk I am, I misheard it as that... Great job, myself! XD - Submitted by: DireStraitsFan
The Clash's, "London Calling"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I will buy you linens
The Real Lyrics:
I live by the river
The Story: This is what I thought linens for, especially over the song "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight". - Submitted by: Cody Finke
The Clash's, "London Calling"
The Misheard Lyrics:
London calling, and we aint got no hide,
Except for that worm with the yellowy eyes
The Real Lyrics:
London calling, and we ain't go no high
Except for that one with the yellowy eyes.
The Story: Come on surely that worm with the yellowy eyes is the tube trains running through the filthy tunnels of the late seventies depressed London. Remember the rubbish on THE tube tracks and the cigarette smoke filled carriages, It makes much more sense that its worm not the one.. If only strummer was alive to clear this confusion. - Submitted by: ferret1968
The Clash's, "Rock The Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
'Cause it's mental retardation.
The Real Lyrics:
Fundamentally, he can't take it.
The Story: Another funny lyrical mess up from my sister. Near the end of the song she's said, 'Why would they say that?' (about mental illness). We had a good laugh afterwards. - Submitted by: !*!
The Clash's, "Rock The Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Charlene dont like it
Rock the kasbah.
or
The shiekh don't like it
Rock the Casbah.
The Real Lyrics:
Shariff don't like it
Rock the Casbah.
The Story: I been singing 'Charlene don't like it' for 20 years. I read it in a book the other day. I just burst out laughing like a fool in a bookstore. - Submitted by: Chris
The Clash's, "Rock The Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
F*** the Casbar
The Real Lyrics:
Rock the Casbah
The Story: From what I understand this song wasnt allowed to be played on the air for a long time because it was suggested that The Clash, like many groups before put in suggestive lyrics that sounded like one thing but were in actuality another. - Submitted by: mike
The Clash's, "Rock The Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Fuck the casbah, fuck the casbah
The Real Lyrics:
Rock the casbah, rock the casbah
The Story: I'd swear that at the end of the song, they switch from "rock" to "fuck". . . . - Submitted by: Dominick Grace
The Clash's, "Rock The Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I really don't like it
F*** the fastball
F*** the fastball
The Real Lyrics:
Sharif don't like it
Rock the Casbah!
Rock the Casbah!
The Story: I was a baseball pitcher without a great fastball. Every time it gets called for me to throw I sing that in my head. - Submitted by: Bobby Hall
The Clash's, "Rock The Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Na-Nu don't like it
Rock the shazbot
The Real Lyrics:
Sharif don't like it
Rock the Casbah.
The Story: I thought they liked the TV show Mork & Mindy and maybe wrote this song about it. - Submitted by: Del
The Clash's, "Rock The Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Rock the asphault.
The Real Lyrics:
Rock the Casbah.
The Story: I would hear the song in my local internet cafe. And to the dislike of all the customers, I would begin singing. Soon after my sing began, I was corrected by people around me. Thank God, I looked like a jackass anyway! - Submitted by: Paul Hiller
The Clash's, "Rock The Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Rock the dance floor.
The Real Lyrics:
Rock the Casbah.
The Story: One day, my friends and I were driving down the road listening to music when 'Rock the Casbah' by the Clash came on and my best friend Cassie started to sing it. I interrupted her and said it's 'rock-the-dance-floor' not 'rock-the-casbah'. At first she defended herself and stated that it was 'rock-the-casbah', but I insisted that my lyrics sounded more realistic as did everybody else in the car. The rest of that day and the rest of that night, we joked about it. 'Hey cassie rock the Casbah!' She'd smile - embarassed and we'd all laugh. Still thinking I was right it wasn't until I meet a Clash fan who set the record straight and proclaimed that the song and lyrics were 'Rock the Casbah.' Once I told Cassie about the news, she made fun of me the rest of that day and the rest of that night. - Submitted by: Koree
The Clash's, "Rock The Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Sharif don't like it
Michael Aspel! Michael Aspel!
The Real Lyrics:
Sharif don't like it
Rock the Casbah! Rock the Casbah!
The Story: I heard someone on 'Coronation Street' actually singing this misheard lyric, preceded by asking her fellow seamstresses, "Who sang 'Rock The Casbah - Sham 69?" - Submitted by: Pickle*
The Clash's, "Rock The Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Sharlene I like it
Rock me real hard
Rock me real hard
The Real Lyrics:
The sharif don't like it
Rock the casbah
Rock the casbah
The Story: I loved the song for years but I could never find it because of the lyrics I typed in Charlene I like it and rock the casbah popped up - Submitted by: Eliza wells
The Clash's, "Rock The Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
She needs an indictment
Rock the crossbar.
The Real Lyrics:
The sharif don't like it
Rock the Casbah.
The Story: It was my buddy Chris. I heard him singing it like that and I was cracking up. He is the king of mishearing lyrics. - Submitted by: Pauliss
The Clash's, "Rock The Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
She really don't like it
Rock the cat's box.
The Real Lyrics:
The sharif don't like it
Rock the Casbah.
The Story: I thought the song was a girl losing her virginity but the boyfriend doesn't care. That's why she really don't like it but he's rocking the cat's box (vagina). - Submitted by: Michael
The Clash's, "Rock The Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Sheree don't like it
Drop the gas bomb
The Real Lyrics:
Sharif don't like it
Rock the Casbah
The Story: I was about 4 when this song came out, always thought these were the lyrics. - Submitted by: Gav Parker
The Clash's, "Rock The Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Stock the hashpot!
The Real Lyrics:
Rock the Casbah!
The Story: i heard it when i was drunk and started singing it like that and people thought i was stoned - Submitted by: Manda
The Clash's, "Rock The Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
The sheik he drove his Cadillac
He went a-cruisin' down the hill
The prisoner was a stand-in
Above the radiator grille.
The Real Lyrics:
The sheik he drove his Cadillac
He went a-cruisin' down the ville
The Muezzin was a-standing
On the radiator grille.
The Story: For some reason I had this mental picture of some poor prisoner being used as a hood ornament. [I've been listening to too many current events news stories, I guess.] - Submitted by: Deborah Mitchell
The Clash's, "Rock The Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
The shiek, he don't like it
F*** the gas pump, f*** the gas pump.
The Real Lyrics:
The shareef don't like it
Rock the Casbah, rock the Casbah.
The Story: It was shocking to me because in the video, they were playing in front of some oil wells. - Submitted by: Timmis
The Clash's, "Rock the Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
"It's like mental retardation!"
The Real Lyrics:
Fundamentally, he can't take it
The Story: I always hear the song at work and between thinking "Yeah we don't like it" instead of Sheriff don't like it, the ending bit truly threw me for ages. I couldn't believe they were saying that but it turns out they weren't. - Submitted by: CS
The Clash's, "Rock the Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
But we bed up on that border
The Real Lyrics:
But the Bedouin they brought out
The Story: I tried my best to pick up the whatever he said. - Submitted by: Wafzal2P
The Clash's, "Rock the Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Drop the cat box
The Real Lyrics:
Rock the Casbah
The Story: As a cat owner it made sense to me that Ali wouldn't like it if someone would drop the cat box. - Submitted by: PE Rowan
The Clash's, "Rock the Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
F--k you sasquatch,
f--k you sasquatch
The Real Lyrics:
Rock the casbah,
rock the casbah
The Story: I was just getting to know the president of my school's christian club, and she seemed like the pious and polite type. Just as I was beginning to think she never went against the grain, she told me, out of the blue, that she always thought 'rock the casbah' was 'f--k you sasquatch.' Guess nobody's perfect :) - Submitted by: szeto
The Clash's, "Rock the Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Fundamental retardation
The Real Lyrics:
Fundamentally, he can't take it
The Story: I always thought that was what they were singing at the end. It wasn't until YEARS later I found out I was wrong.....lol. - Submitted by: Mike
The Clash's, "Rock the Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
His niece don't like it,
Funky Asthma,
Funky Asthma
The Real Lyrics:
Shariff don't like it
Rockin' the Casbah,
Rock the Casbah
The Story: I love '80s music, so my kids hear loads of it. One day I heard my 7-year old daughter singing this song, with her own version of the lyrics. She insisted that's what she heard. - Submitted by: VJ
The Clash's, "Rock the Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I really don’t like it,
Funky passport,
Funky passport
The Real Lyrics:
Sharif don't like it
Rock the Casbah! Rock the Casbah!
The Story: My school plays this course every single day twice a day as a signal that the tardy bell is about to ring. - Submitted by: Michelle Taylor
The Clash's, "Rock the Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
It's got fleas
I don't like it; f*** the cat off, f*** the cat off.
The Real Lyrics:
Sharif don't like it,
Rock the Casbah,
Rock the Casbah.
The Story: Whilst working under a welding mask, it's what we all swear we heard, out of the radio. So we've sung it like that ever since. - Submitted by: az
The Clash's, "Rock the Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
It's really undecided
Chalk or plaster, caulk or plaster
The Real Lyrics:
Shariff don't like it
Rock the casbah, rock the casbah
The Story: First heard this many years ago blaring (literally) from a pizza restaurant's juke box. I've been wondering why they hadn't decided something before now! - Submitted by: Jonathan Spurlock
The Clash's, "Rock the Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Sherida you like it!
Drop the cash off, drop the cash off!
The Real Lyrics:
Sharif don't like it
Rock the Casbah! Rock the Casbah!
The Story: My little brother, Deece asked: "Why would they wanna drop their cash off?" - Submitted by: Sunny, Reece and Deece
The Clash's, "Rock the Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Sherri don't like it
F***ing a**hole, F***ing a**hole
The Real Lyrics:
Shariff don't like it
Rock the Casbah, Rock the Casbah
The Story: Drunk coworker Dancing and singing the misheard lyrics - Submitted by: Josh
The Clash's, "Rock the Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Sherry don't like it
Lock the taskbar! Lock the task bar!
The Real Lyrics:
Sharif don't like it
Rock the Casbah! Rock the Casbah!
The Story: I never heard this song when it originally came out so when I first heard it I 100% sympathized with their plight of having the taskbar disappear on you when it isn't locked. - Submitted by: Riley
The Clash's, "Rock the Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
The sheep don't like it
It's not the cat's fault.
The Real Lyrics:
Sharif don't like it
Rock the Casbah.
The Story: An acquaintance went into a record store and asked for the album that had lyrics that went like this. - Submitted by: David
The Clash's, "Rock the Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
The sheep don’t like it,
Rockin’ the cash bar,
Rockin’ the cash bar….
The Real Lyrics:
The sharif don't like it
Rock the Casbah, rock the Casbah.
The Story: Son singing it to me - Submitted by: Martha Rath
The Clash's, "Rock the Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
We really don’t like it.
F*ck the cash bar. F*ck the cash bar.
The Real Lyrics:
Sharif don't like it
Rock the Casbah! Rock the Casbah!
The Story: Once they stuck in my head that’s all I hear. I had to look up the original lyrics…… - Submitted by: Thomas Timberg
The Clash's, "Rock the Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
You're really gonna like it
Stop the cat box
Stop the cat box
The Real Lyrics:
Sharif don't like it
Rock the Casbah
Rock the Casbah.
The Story: I first heard this song on MTV back in the early-1980s; the thing I remembered most about the MTV video was the gorgeous red ghetto blaster. :-) - Submitted by: Craig Johnson
The Clash's, "Rock the Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
You're really gonna like it
Lock the cash box
Lock the cashbox
OR
You're really gonna like it
Stop the catbox
Stop the catbox
The Real Lyrics:
Sharif don't like it,
Rock the casbah
Rock the casbah
The Story: I've misheard these lyrics since this song was published in the early 1980s.

If I remember correctly, a cellular telephone company (Cingular, I believe) used the "Lock the cash box" and "Stop the catbox" lyrics in a television advertisement right around the turn of the century as well. - Submitted by: Craig Johnson
The Clash's, "Rock the Casbar"
The Misheard Lyrics:
F%*k the ashphalt!
The Real Lyrics:
Rock the Casbar
The Story: A bunch of us were out at a local nightclub that has an 80's retro night when they played this song. My one friend leaned over and told me that she didn't like this song very much...that it was disgusting, why would anyone want to do that to the ashphalt. I looked at her for a second, and then asked her what she thought the words were...when she told me, I just about died laughing, then told the rest of the group...we still tease her about that to this day. - Submitted by: Leah
The Clash's, "Rock to Casbah"
The Misheard Lyrics:
The Sheriff don't like it, rob the cashvault, rob the cashvault. The Sheriff don't like it, rob the cashvault, rob the cashvault. By the order of the prophet!
The Real Lyrics:
Sharif don't like it Rockin the casbah Rock the casbah Sharif don't like it Rockin the Casbah Rock the Casbah By order of the prophet
The Story: I was in my dad's car singing along to this song. At first I thought it was rock the cashvault. But, I knew I was wrong. So, I changed it to "rob the cashvault" to fit the "sheriff don't like it." I was wrong on both accounts. - Submitted by: Alice
The Clash's, "Safe European Home"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I went to the place
Where everyone faces an invitation to Robert Reed's.
The Real Lyrics:
I went to the place
Where every white face is an invitation to robbery.
The Story: Until I learned the correct lyrics, I could never figure out where this alleged place was that everyone gets an invite to the home of the guy who played the dad on 'The Brady Bunch' (Hollywood, maybe?). Or why this was such a scary prospect for The Clash, anyway. - Submitted by: Sheila
The Clash's, "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?"
The Misheard Lyrics:
It's my decision, me molester.
The Real Lyrics:
Esta indecision me molesta
The Story: My sister and I have always thought that he said he was a molester, but we never knew it was in a different language. - Submitted by: Mumble
The Clash's, "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Salvation of my naked eyes
The Real Lyrics:
Sabes que ropas me queda?
The Story: This was the best I could make out, although I figured I was probably mishearing. Mick Jones has many skills, but fluent Spanish is not among them. - Submitted by: Patrick
The Clash's, "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?"
The Misheard Lyrics:
This indecision's bugging me
El calzoncillo me molesta.
The Real Lyrics:
This indecision's bugging me
Esta indecision me molesta.
The Story: This misheard lyics has been accepted as the actual lyric form over 10 years in an entire country. Not becasue we´re dumb but because they can´t sing right. - Submitted by: Nak
The Clash's, "Stay Free"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Never took no sh!t from no one, we were fools
The Real Lyrics:
Never took no sh!t from no one, we weren't fools
The Story: I heard the opposite of what it actually was--- I understood it as the singer showing some mature reconsideration of his youthful bravado. - Submitted by: Patrick
The Clash's, "The Crooked Beat"
The Misheard Lyrics:
It's a bird! It's a plane!
No - it's that dog Weinstein - Lane!
The Real Lyrics:
It's a bird! It's a plane!
No - it's the dubwise stylee!
The Story: When I first heard this song, more than 35 years ago, I was shocked at what seemed to be a underhanded anti-Semitic slur. I imagined that Mr. Weinstein - Lane was a notorious, half-Jewish, South London club manager who was despised for cheating his musicians and customers alike. Now, after all these years, thanks to this website, I finally know the truth. Merci beaucoup! - Submitted by: Henny Kerman
The Clash's, "The Crooked Beat"
The Misheard Lyrics:
It's a bird! It's a plane! No - it's the dog Weinstein lane.
The Real Lyrics:
It's a bird! It's a plane! No - it's the dubwise stylee.
The Story: Clashcity.com commenters Kory and Wolter, respectively, speak for me here: I had always wondered who the dog, Weinstein was. And why they named a lane after him. - Submitted by: Scott Lahti
The Clash's, "The Magnificent Seven"
The Misheard Lyrics:
What do you have for entertainment?
Cod, chicken, chips, peas on the pavement.
The Real Lyrics:
What do you have for entertainment?
Cops kicking gypsies on the pavement.
The Story: Not got a clue why I thought they'd be singing this, but I think I just imagined a group of people outside a chip shop and someone had dropped their chippy tea on the floor. I guess I wasn't particularly political in them days! - Submitted by: Tony
The Clash's, "Wrong 'em Boyo"
The Misheard Lyrics:
It is the ride on mower.
The Real Lyrics:
It is the wrong 'em boyo.
The Story: My best friend actually got this wrong. We were listening to this in the car, when she sang it and then went into saying how she thought ride on mowers had been around alot longer than The Clash. - Submitted by: Jessica
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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