Mangled Song Lyrics

Have you ever been singing along to a song on the radio only to discover that you are completely mangling the lyrics?

Case in point: A few years back, Son #1’s favorite song was “Heartbreaker” by Pat Benatar. Lyrics should be “You’re a heartbreaker, dream maker...” He’d sing “You’re a heartbreaker, boom baker...”

A woman I worked with several years ago would mangle the lyrics of “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison. Instead of “Hey there, where did we go?” she’d sing, “Hey there, Rodrigo.” However, to this day, I can't hear that song without thinking about her.

Another woman I know was shopping for a 45 - that’s a record that was played on a turntable for those of you too young to remember. (If you’re too young to remember a turntable, then it’s probably past your bedtime. G’nite!)

Anyway, her daughter wanted the 45 of the song “Hooked on a Feeling” by BJ Thomas. (“I’m hooked on a feeling, I’m high on believing that you’re in love with me.”) This lovely lady had the record store clerk completely flummoxed when she asked for “Stuck on a Ceiling.”

Son #3 is partial to the song ‘We Will Rock You’ by Queen, except instead of the correct lyrics - “We will, we will rock you!” - he’d sing “We were, we were Rotten!” (autobiographical, perhaps?)

The song that always tripped me up? “Blinded by the Light” by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (Of course after reading the actual lyrics from www.lyricsondemand.com, I think it’s easy to see why….)

Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Madman drummers bummers,
Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder, feelin' kinda older,
I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasin', sneezin' and wheezin,
the calliope crashed to the ground
The calliope crashed to the ground
But she was...
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Some silicone sister with a manager mister told me I go what it takes
She said "I'll turn you on sonny to something strong,
play the song with the funky break"
And go-cart Mozart was checkin' out the weather chart to see if it was safe outside
And little Early-Pearly came by in his curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride
Asked me if I needed a ride
But she was...
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tired
She's gonna make it through the night
She's gonna make it through the night
But mama, that's where the fun is
But mama, that's where the fun is
Mama always told me not to look into the eye's of the sun
But mama, that's where the fun is
Some brimstone baritone anticyclone rolling stone preacher from the east
Says, "Dethrone the dictaphone, hit it in it's funny bone,
that's where they expect it least"
And some new-mown chaperone was standin' in the corner,
watching the young girls dance
And some fresh-sown moonstone was messin' with his frozen zone, reminding him of romance
The calliope crashed to the ground
But she was...
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
Madman drummers bummers, Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder, feelin' kinda older,
I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasin', sneezin' and wheezin,
the calliope crashed to the ground
Now Scott with a slingshot finally found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sand
And some bloodshot forget-me-not said daddy's within earshot save the buckshot, turn up the band
Some silicone sister with a manager mister told me I go what it takes
She said "I'll turn you on sonny to something strong"

Explains a lot, huh? And sad to say, current hits aren't immune to my own personal (ahem) revisions. So, ‘fess up. What’s your biggest lyrical blunder? Post a comment and let me know!