I recently asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell me what song lyrics they realized they've been hearing incorrectly.
It turns out we all have bad hearing.
Here are some of the lyrics people have been mishearing over the years:
1. "This sounds really dumb but when I was younger listening to '22' by Taylor Swift, I thought it was 'I don't know about you, but I'm feeling sweaty, too.'
"Then I was like, that's a weird thing to say in a song. Anyway, looked at the lyrics a few years ago and found out how off I was."
(The real lyric is: "I don't know about you / But I'm feeling 22")
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2. "Of course, we have to include the 'Starbucks lovers' in Taylor Swift's 'Blank Space.' I don’t know what I hear, but it’s not 'long list of ex-lovers.'"
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3. "I used to think Charlie Puth's 'Attention' went like 'you've been running around running around throwing that turtle on my name.'"
(The real lyric is: "...that dirt all on my name")
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4. "In 'Anaconda,' instead of hearing 'I make him buy me Balmain,' I heard 'I make him buy me lo mein.'
"I thought it was great that she got to enjoy post-sex Chinese food and chill in her own space while Michael slept. I was kinda bummed when the difference was pointed out to me."
5. "In 'Anaconda' by Nicki Minaj, I thought I heard 'dick soaked and was muddy' instead of 'big dope dealer money.'"
—✎
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6. "My favorite is from my brother — instead of 'there's a bad moon on the rise,' he sang 'there's a bathroom on the right.'
"For the longest time, he couldn't understand why Creedence would sing about a bathroom."
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7. "'Don't go, Jason Waterfalls!'"
(The real lyric is: "Don't go chasing waterfalls")
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8. "When I was younger, my dad thought 'feeling so fly like a G6' was 'feeling so fried like a cheese stick.'
"He was very confused, and I still think it's hilarious."
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9. "In 'When I Grow Up' by The Pussycat Dolls, I thought the line 'I wanna have groupies' was 'I wanna have boobies.'
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(The real lyric is: "Don't cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?")
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11. "I thought Michael Jackson was saying 'Annie are you walking?' instead of 'Annie are you OK?' I mean, she was struck down, so it made sense lol."
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12. "Singing along with my husband to 'Edge of Seventeen' by Stevie Nicks, and he pulls out this gem: 'Just like the ONE-winged dove sings a song, sound like she’s singin'...'"
(The real lyric is: "Just like the WHITE-winged dove / Sings a song, sounds like she's singing...")
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13. "Here's a newer one: I thought 'I do my hair toss, check my nails' from Lizzo’s 'Good as Hell' was 'I do my hair tall, check my nails' lol.
"Lizzo doing a beehive."
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14. "I thought the line in [Toto's 'Africa'] that goes like 'there's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do' went like 'there's nothing but a hundred men on North Avenue.'
"I live near a North Avenue, so I wanted to find these 100 men lol!"
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15. "Bon Jovi's 'Livin' on a Prayer.' When I was a kid, I thought when he sings 'it doesn't make a difference if we make it or not,' he was saying 'it doesn't make a difference if we're NAKED OR NOT.'
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16. "The Smashing Pumpkins, 'Disarm.' I knew he was talking about his father, and I thought he was saying 'sodomy is a part of me.' Always thought it was a bit bold to just play it on the radio. ... Took me way too late in life to realize he was just saying 'inside of me is a part of you.'"
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17. "When T.I. came out with 'Whatever You Like,' I thought he was saying 'I want Joe Biden, need Joe Biden.'
"Before you judge, it came out in 2008 during Obama's first election!"
(The real lyric is: "I want your body, need your body")
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18. "I learned the (correct) lyrics to 'Rock the Casbah' on a family road trip when I was 12 or so. My mom busted out laughing when she heard me confidently singing '...drop a gas bomb' from the back of the car.
"The fart jokes have followed me ever since."
—Anonymous
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19. "'Hey there amigo' in 'Brown Eyed Girl' instead of 'Hey where did we go?'
"I sang it in the car one day, and my mom couldn’t stop laughing."
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20. "My mother thought the [lyric] 'it's too late to apologize' was 'it's too late for Farmer Giles.'
"I died! 😂"
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21. "I was 17 when I found out Bob Marley sings 'I shot the sheriff' instead of 'I stopped to share it.'
"It was on the radio, and I took notice of the follow-up sentence — 'but I did not shoot the deputy' — for the first time, which I associated with the word sheriff and then yes…"
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22. "In 'Build Me Up Buttercup,' I always thought the lyric was 'I'll be the xylophone waiting for you.' Turns out it's 'I'll be beside the phone...'
"Oops."
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23. "'No Rain' by Blind Melon, almost the whole chorus on my end, LOL. 'I just want someone to save me' is actually 'I just want someone to SAY to me' and 'you know I like to keep my cheeks driving' is 'you know I'd like to keep my cheeks dry today, hey.' I thought they said 'cheeks driving.'
"WTF would that even MEAN????"
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24. "When 'Mambo No. 5' came out, it was the height of Clinton’s impeachment, so I was like 'there’s no way they’re seriously airing a song right now about a girl named Monica,' and I figured the lyric had to be 'a little bit of Mardi Gras in my life.'
"Found out I was wrong about 10 years later."
—PHM8
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25. "'Can't stand gravy' instead of 'constant craving.'"
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26. "Shania Twain's 'That Don’t Impress Me Much': 'I can’t believe you’d kiss your carpet knife.' In my head, she was singing about a carpet fitter."
(The real lyric is: "I can't believe you kiss your car goodnight"
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27. "Years ago, when 'Say My Name' came out, my mum was like what a dumb song, 'Lemonade, Lemonade.'
"But then many years later, Beyoncé released Lemonade the album lol. I think it was an early sign of my mum's hearing loss."
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28. "'Poundcake' by Van Halen. I thought for the longest time the first line was 'She’s got an asshole' when it’s really 'she’s gotta have a soul.'
"EEEEEE."
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29. "I thought Shawn Mendes' 'Stitches' said 'need a little bread gonna wind up dead' instead of 'needle through the thread gonna wind up dead.'"
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30. "No Doubt: 'Don’t tell me, cousin Earl' [instead of] 'don’t tell me 'cause it hurts.'"
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31. "Bryan Adams definitely sings 'standing on your momma's PORSCHE' in 'Summer of '69.' Not 'porch.' Just not."
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32. "I had a friend who thought 'Bennie and the Jets' went 'she’s got electric boobs, a bowl of soup' instead of 'she’s got electric boots, a Mohair suit.'"
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33. "I always thought the song 'Blinded by the Light' said 'revved up like a douche' and not 'Revved up like a deuce.'"
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34. "I thought the lyrics to Emmy Meli's 'I AM WOMAN' were 'I am woman, I am FETUS, I am sexy, I'm divine...' for way too long.'"
(The real lyric is: "I am woman, I am FEARLESS, I am sexy, I'm divine")
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35. "'Good riddance (Time of Your Life)' by Green Day. As a kid, I thought the lyrics 'but in the end it’s right, I hope you have the time of your life' were actually 'an Indian is right, I hope you have the time of your life.'
"This was around the time when I learned Native Americans used to be called Indians, so I thought the song was saying an Indian is right, meaning they are very wise. When I was about 26, I learned the lyric 🤦🏼♀️."
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36. "I never thought he was actually saying this, but it's what it sounded like, and I didn't learn the correct lyrics for YEARS. Anyway, in 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams,' [Billie Joe Armstrong] says, 'Sometimes, I wish someone out there will find me,' but to me it always sounded like, 'Sometimes, I wish a polar bear will find me.'
"Like wow, life must be tough if that's what you've been reduced to hoping for, lol."
