Your favorite misinterpreted songs

Books, comics, TV, music
1

I was listening to a national sports radio network today and they played ZZ Top’s “Pearl Necklace” as they were coming out of a commercial break. They started talking about the song and it was pretty clear they didn’t understand what it is actually about. To be honest, I was laughing pretty hard. See, ZZ Top has a tendancy to put a lot of sexual inneuendo in their songs, and “Pearl Necklace” is not exception. Note the lyrics (I’ve bolded the important bits):

[I]Shes really upset with me again,
I didnt give her what she likes.
I dont know what to tell her,
Dont know what to say.
Everything got funky last night.

She was really bombed,
And I was really blown away,
Until I asked her what she wanted,
And this is what she had to say:
A pearl necklace.
She wanna pearl necklace.
She wanna pearl necklace.

She gets a charge out of bein so weird,
Digs gettin downright strange.
But I can keep a handle on anything,
Just this side of deranged.

She was gettin bombed,
And I was gettin blown away,
And she held it in her hand
And this is what she had to say:
A pearl necklace.
She wanna pearl necklace.
She wanna pearl necklace.

Shes so cold, as pure as the driven slush.
And thats not jewelry shes talkinabout,
It really dont cost that much.

She was gettin bombed,
And I was gettin blown away,
And she took it in her hand,
And this is what she had to say:
A pearl necklace.
She wanna pearl necklace.
She wanna pearl necklace. [/I]

In other words, this is not a song about an actual pearl necklace. :-)

So what are some other good examples of this?

2

'Scuse me while I kiss this guy. (and many variations)

3

This is pretty obscure, but “Don’t This Way” by the 77s. On first listen, it sounds like a moderately bitter breakup song, about a couple drifting apart and eventually going their separate ways. It’s actually about death, and is one of the saddest songs I’ve ever heard. It’s also absolutely gorgeous.

[I]Imagine
All those years together
As a blackbird with no song to sing
Imagine
Throwing it to the air
But it falls from broken wings

Don’t leave this way, so many words unsaid
Don’t lie this way, stretched straight from
Feet to head

Imagine
The sky is pouring down
On the back of all those years
Imagine
That bird helpless on the ground
Shot down by all those tears

Don’t leave this way, so many words unsaid
Don’t lie this way, stretched straight from
Feet to head
Don’t look this way, closed eyes, unmoving lips
Don’t feel this way, cold hands and fingertips[/I]

4

The all-time misunderstood lyric:

“Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night”

Bruce sings it correctly; he wrote the song, but what was Manfred Mann smoking when he sang it? Try not to hear the word “douche” in the chorus of the Earth Band’s version.

5

I listen to alot of music that involves so much screaming to the point where I either have to ignore the lyrics all together, or I end up coming up with my own lyrics, here’s a couple:

Band: Fear Factory
Album: Obsolete
Song: Securitron (Police State 2000)
Specific Lyric: “Watchful and aware.”
I hear: “Wash bowl, hands all wet.”

Enigma:
Lyric: Bunch of monk-speak
I hear “He said, she said, extra-medium”

6

“Gee our old LaSalle ran great”

(Also, I see I really misread the OP. This isn’t so much misheard lyrics as misunderstood songs, in which case I change my vote to Possession by Sarah McLachlan)

7

Despite latter-day protests to the contrary by members of the band and Lee Mavers himself, the famous and oft-covered La’s song “There She Goes” is his own personal ode to a brief fling with heroin. (Denials be damned–I was told off the record by someone I met at a press thingy that the story is absolutely true, but Mavers–who got off the horse very quickly–was so embarrassed by the actual story that he and the band have remained in full deny mode since.) Once you know the back-story–and , the lyrics are painfully obvious, and covers by Christian rock bands like Sixpence None The Richer become even more unintentionally hilarious.

There she goes
There she goes again
Racing through my brain
And I just can’t contain
This feeling that remains

There she goes
There she goes again
Pulsing through my veins
And I just can’t contain
This feeling that remains

There she goes
There she goes again
Racing through my brain
And I just can’t contain
This feeling that remains

There she goes
There she goes again
She calls my name,
Pulls my train
No one else could heal my pain
And I just can’t contain
This feeling that remains

There she goes
There she goes again
Chasing down my lane
And I just can’t contain
This feeling that remains

There she goes
There she goes
There she goes

8

Violent Femmes Blister in the Sun:

Let me go,
Big Hans, I know you’re the one!

For obvious reasons.

9

One of my favourite stealth drug songs is Seal’s “Kiss From A Rose”:

There used to be a greying tower alone on the sea
You became the light on the dark side of me
Love remained a drug that’s the high and not the pill

But did you know
That when it snows
My eyes become large and
The light that you shine can be seen

Baby
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey
Ooh
The more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah
And now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey

There is so much a man can tell you, so much he can say
You remain my power, my pleasure, my pain
Baby, to me you’re like a growing addiction that I can’t deny
Won’t you tell me is that healthy, baby?

But did you know
That when it snows
My eyes become large and
The light that you shine can be seen

Baby
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey
Ooh
The more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah
And now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey

(I… I’ve been kissed by a rose on the grey)
I’ve been kissed by a rose on the grey
(I… I’ve been kissed by a rose…)
I’ve been kissed by a rose
(…on the grey)
(I… I’ve been kissed by a rose on the grey)
…And if I should fall, would it all go away?
(I… I’ve been kissed by a rose…)
I’ve been kissed by a rose
(…on the grey)

There is so much a man can tell you, so much he can say
You remain, my power, my pleasure, my pain
To me you’re like a growing addiction that I can’t deny
Won’t you tell me is that healthy, baby?

But did you know
That when it snows
My eyes become large and
The light that you shine can be seen

Baby
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey
Ooh
The more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah
And now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey

Yes, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey
Ooh
The more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah
Now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey

Now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey

10

Enh. Different artists can sing the same song with their own intent. Trent Reznor and Johnny Cash are not singing about the same thing in their respective versions of Hurt, for example.

In some cases, like when a conservative/Republican artist covers Born in the USA or someone tries to make Every Breath You Take or Possession into a straight romantic song, the idea of working directly against the specific intent of the original artist opens up people for some criticism (especially if they are doing it unconsciously and not attempting a deliberate subversion), but in the case of There She Goes, I don’t get the sense the original artist and Sixpence are particularly at odds with each other politically or philosophically, they’re just using the same words to sing about different things.

But then I like the Sixpence version, so I’m biased. :)

11

Not Exactly on topic but my favorite dirty song from the '30

Made famous by Ukulele Ike AKA Jiminy Cricket

I’M GOING TO GIVE IT TO MARY WITH LOVE
Cliff Edwards

Cliff Edwards rec 25/10/33

I am just a bashful boy, in love with Mary Green,
She really is the sweetest gal that I have ever seen.
I’ve always lacked the courage to even sqeeze her tight,
But I’ve resolved to do my stuff when I see her tonight.

I’m gonna give it to Mary with love,
I’ve got something that she’s fondest of;
Now I know that she has had it before,
And Mary’s a girl that all the fells adore.

I’ll let her take it right in her hand,
'Cause I know that she’ll stroke it so grand.
Like Jack and Jill,
We’ll both get a thrill
When I give it to Mary with love, my little kitten,
I’ll give it to Mary with love.

I’m gonna give it to Mary with love,
She’s my sweet cute turtle dove.
About my lovin’ she’s always been keen,
She’ll say, when I give it, it’s the finest she’s seen!

She’ll think of it long after I’m gone,
I’m gonna put it right where it belongs,
Like Cleo and Mark,
We’ll spoon in the park
When I give it to Mary with love, I mean a necklace!
I’ll give it to Mary with love.

I’m gonna give it to Mary with love,
When I do it I may need a shove!
Because, you see, I’m so bashful and shy,
I’m afraid she’ll take it from some other guy.

I wanna be her number one man,
And give it the best that I can;
I’ll be darin’ and dashin’,
For she is my passion,
When I give it to Mary with love, I mean a diamond!
I’ll give it to Mary with love!

12

Besides the aforementioned “Blister In The Sun” - an ode to masturbation that, in Canada anyway, has traditionally been used to sell beer to frat boys - the most misunderstood song of all time has got to be “Lust For Life” by Iggy Pop. I have seen this pop up in some pretty odd places, most recently as the soundtrack for a Carnival Cruise commercial. I’m not sure how a song about a deceased heroin dealer fits in with the idea of a getaway cruise. Maybe the dudes from Carnival like getting it in the ear.

13

There’s a whole genre of Youtube videos subtitling songs with what people actually hear.

I like Joe Cocker:

http://www.elwp.com/Joe%20Cocker.html

14

How about Every Breath You Take? It’s one of the most played songs at weddings and is essentially about stalking people. Sting says he cringes every time someone tells him that he/she requested it at the wedding.

Also, the point of this thread isn’t about misunderstood lyrics, right? It’s about people missing what the lyrics MEAN, the subtones, the thoughts between the lines.

15

The classic, Yellow Ledbetter Potato Wave: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLd22ha_-VU

16

Except Bruce’s version is “Cut loose like a deuce.”

17

What are they each singing of?

18

Reznor’s version is the non-specific existential angst of a man who really should have grown out of it at his age. Cash’s version is the existential angst of a man teetering on the brink of death, a man whose body is failing him and a man who knows that he doesn’t have long for this world.

I like Reznor’s version but Cash’s makes me tear up every damn time I hear it - especially when it’s accompanied by that video.

19

Well, also a guy struggling with clinical depression and drug addiction.

Cash’s version is the existential angst of a man teetering on the brink of death, a man whose body is failing him and a man who knows that he doesn’t have long for this world.

I like Reznor’s version but Cash’s makes me tear up every damn time I hear it - especially when it’s accompanied by that video.

20

Okay, that too.

How has that album aged anyway?