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!).
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Yeah, the one with the champagne iron
Yeah, the one with the champagne eyes
The Story: I assumed that a "champagne iron" was a device for pressing grapes? - as her father was a farmer. - Submitted by: Robert Woodrow
Until I kissed a stop sign and a dirty porcupine.
But when I kissed a cop down at 34th and Vine
The Story: I was watching the Mickey Mouse Club when it was on again several years ago (I was about 14). They were singing 'Love Potion #9'. When I heard that line, I was insistent that the singer on the show was wrong! - Submitted by: TJ
When I kissed that cow down at 44th & Vine
When I kissed that cop down at 44th & Vine
The Story: I kept wondering how a cow could take anything away from anyone & also, why the song referred to it as 'him' in the next line. - Submitted by: mdales
Broke my little heart, love
Love potion no. 9
Broke my little bottle of
Love potion no. 9
The Story: I've always loved this song, and it wasn't until I heard James Durbin cover it on "American Idol" that I learned what the lyrics really were. - Submitted by: flipside
When I kissed the cow down on 34th and Vine
When I kissed the cop down on 34th and Vine
The Story: I misheard this when I was young, took me years to correct myself. - Submitted by: Kathy
I took my troubles down to Madame Rue.
I took my troubles down to Madame Ruth.
The Story: Because of poor enunciation in recordings, I thought it was "Madame Rue." I've seen here and elsewhere that it's "Madame Rue," but it's a Leiber and Stoller song, from Smokey Joe's Cafe, and I found that sheet music on the Web. And the sheet music itself says "Madame Ruth." - Submitted by: Lisa Williams
You know that gypsy with the old tattoo
You know that gypsy with the gold tattoo
The Story: I wondered which was right. - Submitted by: Cody Finke
She'll feel those needles and pinsels.
She'll feel those needles and pins.
The Story: My sister used to sing along when she was a kid and did not know any English. So she mistook "pins" for "pinsels" (a German word for "brushes"). - Submitted by: joe
Enzio Pinza
Needles and Pins
The Story: A well know operatic singer with a deep bass voice. - Submitted by: James Beer
New entries in this section are currently reviewed by Brian Kelly. Previous editors (if any) are listed on the editors page.
