While cleaning the cat box, i overheard the blue oyster cult classic, "Don't Fear The Reaper". Well, back in the day many folks thought that the lyric was Don't Fear The Reefer. Wondering about other miscommunicated communications not necessarily about sickle yielding potheads.
People used to believe Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4" was an obscure drug reference. Robert Lamm, the writer, says it is a much simpler thing It was getting late when he wrote it. He was wondering if it was 25 minutes or 6 minutes to 4:00am. Why was he wonder that? Probably delirious from his all-nighter
LIG-
The song is indeed called "Blinded by the light." Originally written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. The version that seems to get more play on classic rock radio is by Manfred Man. Neither version makes a lick of sense. I think Bruce was going for some sort of Don McLean style thing.
For what it's worth I always thought is was:
Cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night.
Gonna get dressed for side sex. (dressed for sucess) I thought this was the naughtiest song of all time, and was embarrased every time it came on. I was like 8.
Mayo wants to potty all the time. (Michael wants to party all the time.)
i had some trippy older cousins that went for this song from Eric Burden: Spill that wine, dig that pearl
to my freakin ears: do I, dig that girl?
that song was so weird, it freaked me out - the flute from that song was my constant soundtrack when I first got small years later
another one is Brian Ferry singing More than This - he REFUSES to sing the 's'..... more that QUOI??? what are you SAYING. very slinky music, i have to say, now that I'm older. The whole avalon album is for one thing only.
I plead alignment to the untitled snakes of America,
and to the Republicans,
for which the scam,
one nacho, underpants, with licorice and jugs of wine for owls.
speakin of the boss...
when darkness on the edge of town was released. a member of vado retro who worked at a record store got the first copy and was telling us about the disc. he was tellin us about a tune, he kept singin 'groovin all night, groovin all night." well it was really "prove it all night" what a dork...
ok, here are the lyrics for real, at least according to some website I googled. I think it makes even less sense now. I'm going to go listen to Ashes to Ashes so my world will make more sense.
Madman drummers bummers and 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 unpleasing sneezing and wheezing, the calliope crashed to the ground
Some all-hot half-shot was headin' for the hot spot, snappin' his fingers, clappin' his hands
And some fleshpot mascot was tied into a lover's knot with a whatnot in her hand
And now young Scott with a slingshot finally found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sand
And some bloodshot forget-me-not whispers, "Daddy's within earshot, save the buckshot, turn up the band"
And she was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tight, but she'll make it alright
Some brimstone baritone anti-cyclone rolling stone preacher from the East
He says, "Dethrone the dictaphone, hit it in its funny bone, that's where they expect it least"
And some new-mown chaperone was standin' in the corner all alone, watchin' the young girls dance
And some fresh-sown moonstone was messin' with his frozen zone to remind him of the feeling of romance
Yeah, he was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
He got down but he never got tight, but he's gonna make it tonight
Some silicone sister with her manager's mister told me I got what it takes
She said, "I'll turn you on, sonny, to something strong if you play that song with the funky break"
And Go-Cart Mozart was checkin' out the weather chart to see if it was safe to go outside
And little Early-Pearly came by in her curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride
Oh, some hazard from Harvard was skunked on beer, playin' backyard bombardier
Yes, and Scotland Yard was trying hard, they sent some dude with a calling card, he said, "Do what you like, but don't do it here"
Well, I jumped up, turned around, spit in the air, fell on the ground and asked him which was the way back home
He said, "Take a right at the light, keep goin' straight until night, and then, boy, you're on your own"
And now in Zanzibar, a shootin' star was ridin' in a side car, hummin' a lunar tune
Yes, and the avatar said, "Blow the bar but first remove the cookie jar, we're gonna teach those boys to laugh too soon"
And some kidnapped handicap was complainin' that he caught the clap from some mousetrap he bought last night
Well, I unsnapped his skull cap and between his ears I saw a gap but figured he'd be all right
He was just blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun
Oh, but Mama, that's where the fun is
I was blinded
I was blinded
I was blinded
actually another springsteen misquote just came to me. my friend's mom misheard the lyric "hidin' on the backstreets" and asked my friend "what's he doing on the bedsheets?" classic...
Stephanie-
You're experience with weed must have been vastly different from mine, cause this thread has exceptionally high (pfft, HIGH!) levels of stoniness.
as today is the ides of march, i was reminded of the time i heard a dj on an oldies station refer to the musical combo "the ides of march" (who had the monster hit-"vehicle"- back in the day) as the IDEAS of march.
Another factor in the success of the record may have been the rumor that the lyrics were intentionally slurred by the Kingsmen. Allegedly, this was to cover the fact that it was laced with profanity, graphically depicting sex between the sailor and his lady. Crumpled pieces of paper professing to be "the real lyrics" to "Louie Louie" circulated among teens. The song was banned on many radio stations and in many places in the United States, including Indiana, where it was personally prohibited by the Governor, Matthew Welsh. These actions were taken despite the small matter that practically no one could distinguish the actual lyrics. Denials of chicanery by Kingsmen and Ely did not stop the controversy. Even the FBI became involved in the controversy - but concluded a 31-month investigation with a report that they were "unable to interpret any of the wording in the record".
this phenomenon of misunderstanding words in songs is known as a 'mondegreen' and has been added to the Merriam Webster Dictionary today (7 July, 2008) as a legit word -
i always thought roberta flack was singing 'he was strummin' my bed with his fingers' or 'he was strong in my bed with his fingers' whereas it is really 'Stromin my pain with his fingers' in Killing me softly
Don't Fear The Reefer
While cleaning the cat box, i overheard the blue oyster cult classic, "Don't Fear The Reaper". Well, back in the day many folks thought that the lyric was Don't Fear The Reefer. Wondering about other miscommunicated communications not necessarily about sickle yielding potheads.
People used to believe Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4" was an obscure drug reference. Robert Lamm, the writer, says it is a much simpler thing It was getting late when he wrote it. He was wondering if it was 25 minutes or 6 minutes to 4:00am. Why was he wonder that? Probably delirious from his all-nighter
"Why was he wonder that?"
Nice English, you jerk!
As I understood it garpike broke his leg while saving a bunch of kittens from a fire.
Boy was I wrong.
heh, heh, heh. i'll show my age here. that was the first concert i ever saw.
BOC or Chicago?
...and I thought "Don't You Want Me Baby" by The Human League was actually "Don't Chew On Me Baby".
And I thought Steely Dan was a person. Named Dan.
black sabbath: paranoid.
real: 'i tell you to enjoy life i wish i could but its too late"
what outraged moral types thought: 'i tell you to end your life i wish i could but its too late'.
caused all sorts of shenanegins
KISS: "I want to rock and roll all night and part of every day!!!!!"
I got David Lee Roth and Van Halen confused. I didn't realize Van Halen was the guitarist and Roth was IN Van Halen and did a solo gig.
I'm your p*nis,
I'm your fire,
Your desire.
Sorry. I'm trying to get to 50 posts and 1000 comments.
I had a friend who thought that in the last bit of REM's Radio song KRS 1 was saying:
"DJs commute! To Damascus,
Sexy violent cowchairs!"
instead of:
"DJs communicate to the masses
Sex and violent classes"
I don't think even Mike Stipe is wacky enough to come up with sexy violent cow chairs.
More cowbell!
(almost forgot.)
Wow, that kind of ties the thread and the mis-understood lyrics thread together nicely. Cow chair - cow bell.
(plus this will be my 200th comment, stick that in your pipe and smoke it diabase!)
LOL at your lyrics, diabase...that's a very good one, it actually makes more sense than the original, IMO.
There's that one song (I forget the artist and title) that always sounds like:
Blinded by the light
Wrapped up like a douche in the middle of the night
mmmmmm mondegreen
LIG-
The song is indeed called "Blinded by the light." Originally written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. The version that seems to get more play on classic rock radio is by Manfred Man. Neither version makes a lick of sense. I think Bruce was going for some sort of Don McLean style thing.
For what it's worth I always thought is was:
Cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night.
From my childhood:
Gonna get dressed for side sex. (dressed for sucess) I thought this was the naughtiest song of all time, and was embarrased every time it came on. I was like 8.
Mayo wants to potty all the time. (Michael wants to party all the time.)
There's a bathroom on the right....
side sex - fantastic. sounds cool
i had some trippy older cousins that went for this song from Eric Burden: Spill that wine, dig that pearl
to my freakin ears: do I, dig that girl?
that song was so weird, it freaked me out - the flute from that song was my constant soundtrack when I first got small years later
another one is Brian Ferry singing More than This - he REFUSES to sing the 's'..... more that QUOI??? what are you SAYING. very slinky music, i have to say, now that I'm older. The whole avalon album is for one thing only.
driving.
i have no idea what these guys are talking about
fall out boy
that is the first time i have ever inserted anything into any of my posts...i am damn proud of myself...who wants to touch me?
"Excuse me while I kiss this guy"
I plead alignment to the untitled snakes of America,
and to the Republicans,
for which the scam,
one nacho, underpants, with licorice and jugs of wine for owls.
Some of Matt Groenings finest work.
speakin of the boss...
when darkness on the edge of town was released. a member of vado retro who worked at a record store got the first copy and was telling us about the disc. he was tellin us about a tune, he kept singin 'groovin all night, groovin all night." well it was really "prove it all night" what a dork...
Kim Mitchell in 'Alana Loves Me': 'Be Brave' sounded like 'Pea Brain'
HA! They just played "Blinded by the Light" on NPR! The OG Springsteen version.
farmer - I always thought it WAS "pea brain"
Did I just confess to something Kim Mitchell-related? Heh.
'Cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night' refers to a deuce coupe hot rod, I do believe
ok, here are the lyrics for real, at least according to some website I googled. I think it makes even less sense now. I'm going to go listen to Ashes to Ashes so my world will make more sense.
Madman drummers bummers and 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 unpleasing sneezing and wheezing, the calliope crashed to the ground
Some all-hot half-shot was headin' for the hot spot, snappin' his fingers, clappin' his hands
And some fleshpot mascot was tied into a lover's knot with a whatnot in her hand
And now young Scott with a slingshot finally found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sand
And some bloodshot forget-me-not whispers, "Daddy's within earshot, save the buckshot, turn up the band"
And she was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tight, but she'll make it alright
Some brimstone baritone anti-cyclone rolling stone preacher from the East
He says, "Dethrone the dictaphone, hit it in its funny bone, that's where they expect it least"
And some new-mown chaperone was standin' in the corner all alone, watchin' the young girls dance
And some fresh-sown moonstone was messin' with his frozen zone to remind him of the feeling of romance
Yeah, he was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
He got down but he never got tight, but he's gonna make it tonight
Some silicone sister with her manager's mister told me I got what it takes
She said, "I'll turn you on, sonny, to something strong if you play that song with the funky break"
And Go-Cart Mozart was checkin' out the weather chart to see if it was safe to go outside
And little Early-Pearly came by in her curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride
Oh, some hazard from Harvard was skunked on beer, playin' backyard bombardier
Yes, and Scotland Yard was trying hard, they sent some dude with a calling card, he said, "Do what you like, but don't do it here"
Well, I jumped up, turned around, spit in the air, fell on the ground and asked him which was the way back home
He said, "Take a right at the light, keep goin' straight until night, and then, boy, you're on your own"
And now in Zanzibar, a shootin' star was ridin' in a side car, hummin' a lunar tune
Yes, and the avatar said, "Blow the bar but first remove the cookie jar, we're gonna teach those boys to laugh too soon"
And some kidnapped handicap was complainin' that he caught the clap from some mousetrap he bought last night
Well, I unsnapped his skull cap and between his ears I saw a gap but figured he'd be all right
He was just blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun
Oh, but Mama, that's where the fun is
I was blinded
I was blinded
I was blinded
man, i thought this thread was going to be about weed.
blinded by the light makes perfect sense. you had to be there man!
actually another springsteen misquote just came to me. my friend's mom misheard the lyric "hidin' on the backstreets" and asked my friend "what's he doing on the bedsheets?" classic...
Stephanie-
You're experience with weed must have been vastly different from mine, cause this thread has exceptionally high (pfft, HIGH!) levels of stoniness.
need more COWBELL
in a james brown song, he says "aint it funky".... i always thought he said "eat a pumpkin"....haha........
and the das efx song "they want efx"....try to figure that one out...took me a while
"it's not fair to deny me
the cross-eyed bear that you gave to me,
you, you, you, ought to know"
the song: you ought to know/alanis morrisette circa 1995
the person: my cousin at a family get together...she was showing off her new cd
Hold me closer Tony Danza!
"If the song is called 'Tiny Dancer', why is he talking about Tony Danza?"
as today is the ides of march, i was reminded of the time i heard a dj on an oldies station refer to the musical combo "the ides of march" (who had the monster hit-"vehicle"- back in the day) as the IDEAS of march.
ha ha ha, this thread is great. of course, the most misunderstood song lyrics of all time has to be the kingsmen's version of louie louie.
from wikipedia:
Another factor in the success of the record may have been the rumor that the lyrics were intentionally slurred by the Kingsmen. Allegedly, this was to cover the fact that it was laced with profanity, graphically depicting sex between the sailor and his lady. Crumpled pieces of paper professing to be "the real lyrics" to "Louie Louie" circulated among teens. The song was banned on many radio stations and in many places in the United States, including Indiana, where it was personally prohibited by the Governor, Matthew Welsh. These actions were taken despite the small matter that practically no one could distinguish the actual lyrics. Denials of chicanery by Kingsmen and Ely did not stop the controversy. Even the FBI became involved in the controversy - but concluded a 31-month investigation with a report that they were "unable to interpret any of the wording in the record".
its the feelgood hit of this endless summer
don't fear the reefer is playing now!!!
this phenomenon of misunderstanding words in songs is known as a 'mondegreen' and has been added to the Merriam Webster Dictionary today (7 July, 2008) as a legit word -
http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/nation/ny-usdict075755458jul07,0,3263162.story
more here
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/mondegreen.html
credit goes of course to 8888. dang!
i'm in love, a marshall cup (i'm all shook up)...
-the king
...But you’re looking good, baby, I believe you’re feeling fine, shave my body (shame about it)...
sopranos theme song
i always thought roberta flack was singing 'he was strummin' my bed with his fingers' or 'he was strong in my bed with his fingers' whereas it is really 'Stromin my pain with his fingers' in Killing me softly
"scuse me, while i kiss this guy."
my favorite song from the 90's.... tried to sing along...but thats another story
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmiiW936jqw
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