I was flipping through the TV the other day and landed on MTV. Actual music videos — imagine that. And there was Prince, strutting through a purple haze of 80s glory, singing what I have confidently introduced on radio stations as “Raspberry Parade.”
Except, of course, it’s “Raspberry Beret.”
Early in my career, I was a Top 40 jock at a couple of stations (you moved around a lot and took any gig), introducing that record, god knows how many times. And not one listener, PD, or record rep ever called to say, “Hey Don, it’s beret, not parade.” I was researching songs that people and I saw Volkswagen’s ‘Misheard Lyrics’ video on YouTube later, and nearly spit up my coffee. I wasn’t laughing at the people in the car—I was one of them.
Turns out, we’re all lyric criminals. Our brains crave rhythm more than accuracy, so we fill in the blanks with nonsense that sounds right. Here’s proof: the 20 songs America’s been joyfully butchering since vinyl met FM radio.
1. “Purple Haze” – Jimi Hendrix
Misheard: “’Scuse me while I kiss this guy.”
Actual: “’Scuse me while I kiss the sky.”
Other misfires: “Excuse me while I eat this pie.” / “’Scuse me while I kiss this fly.”
At this point, Jimi’s probably in heaven wondering how his sky turned into a buffet.
2. “Blinded by the Light” – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band
Misheard: “Wrapped up like a douche.”
Actual: “Revved up like a deuce.”
Other gems: “Cut loose like a goose.” / “Ripped up by the juice.”
Manfred Mann’s the only band in history that made “douche” a radio sing-along.
3. “Tiny Dancer” – Elton John
Misheard: “Hold me closer, Tony Danza.”
Actual: “Hold me closer, tiny dancer.”
Bonus offenders: “Count the head lice on the highway.” / “Lay me down in sheets of lemon.”
I’ll never hear this without picturing Tony Danza under a yellow blanket.
4. “We Will Rock You” – Queen
Misheard: “Kicking your cat all over the place.”
Actual: “Kicking your can all over the place.”
Others: “Waving your banner all over the place.” / “Hitting your man all over the face.”
Either way, Freddie had rhythm—and maybe a restraining order.
5. “Bad Moon Rising” – Creedence Clearwater Revival
Misheard: “There’s a bathroom on the right.”
Actual: “There’s a bad moon on the rise.”
Also heard as: “There’s a baboon on the rise.” / “There’s a bat boom in your eyes.”
Honestly, John Fogerty should’ve leaned into it—CCR bathroom signage merch would’ve sold out.
6. “Like a Virgin” – Madonna
Misheard: “Like a surgeon.”
Actual: “Like a virgin.”
Extras: “Touched for the thirty-first time.” / “Like a sturgeon.”
Weird Al wins again for making this one canon.
7. “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” – Eurythmics
Misheard: “Sweet dreams are made of cheese.”
Actual: “Sweet dreams are made of this.”
Bonus confusion: “Sweet dreams are made of these.” / “Who am I to disagree?” heard as “Who am I to dish debris?”
Every version works if you’ve had enough wine.
8. “Livin’ on a Prayer” – Bon Jovi
Misheard: “It doesn’t make a difference if we’re naked or not.”
Actual: “It doesn’t make a difference if we make it or not.”
Other offenders: “Tommy used to work on the dogs.” / “We’ve got to hold on to the night we’ve got.”
Bon Jovi karaoke: where accuracy goes to die and key changes take hostages.
9. “Every Time You Go Away” – Paul Young
Misheard: “Every time you go away, you take a piece of meat with you.”
Actual: “…you take a piece of me with you.”
Extras: “Every time you go away, you take my keys and shoes.” / “Every time you go away, you take my Jeep and booze.”
Love hurts. So does running out of brisket.
10. “Africa” – Toto
Misheard: “I left my brains down in Africa.”
Actual: “I bless the rains down in Africa.”
Also heard: “I guess it rains down in Africa.” / “I miss the rains down in Africa.”
No one actually knows this line; we all hum through it and pretend we’re in a Jeep commercial.
11. “Dancing Queen” – ABBA
Misheard: “See that girl, watch her scream, kicking the dancing queen.”
Actual: “See that girl, watch that scene, diggin’ the dancing queen.”
Others: “Feet are sweet, only seventeen.” / “Leave that girl, wash that scene.”
ABBA fans will fight to the death defending whatever they think they heard.
12. “Money for Nothing” – Dire Straits
Misheard: “Money for nothin’ and your chips for free.”
Actual: “Money for nothin’ and your chicks for free.”
Alternates: “Money for nothin’ and your checks for free.” / “Money for nothin’ and your shifts for free.”
Honestly, chips sound like a better deal.
13. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” – Nirvana
Misheard: “Here we are now, in containers.”
Actual: “Here we are now, entertain us.”
Also: “A mulatto, an albino” becomes “I’m a liar, I’m a vinyl.” / “A mosquito, my libido” becomes “I’m a seagull, I’m a beetle.”
Kurt’s mumbling was the 90s version of CAPTCHA.
14. “Rocket Man” – Elton John
Misheard: “Rocket man, burning out his fuse up here alone.” (Correct, but misheard as “fuse out here along.”)
Others: “Rock it, man!” / “Pocket man.”
We’re all guilty of fading into wordless hums halfway through this song anyway.
15. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” – Def Leppard
Misheard: “You got the beaches, I got the cream.”
Actual: “You got the peaches, I got the cream.”
Also: “Livin’ like a lover with a red iPhone.” (should be radar phone) / “Pour some shook-up ramen.”
Hair spray and misheard words powered the entire 80s.
16. “We Built This City” – Starship
Misheard: “We built this city on sausage rolls.”
Actual: “We built this city on rock and roll.”
Other versions: “We built this city on logs and coal.” / “We milked this kitty for rock and roll.”
If you sang the sausage roll line, congratulations—you’re British Twitter royalty.
17. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” – The Beatles
Misheard: “I get high, I get high.”
Actual: “I can’t hide, I can’t hide.”
Also: “I wanna hold your ham.” / “I wanna fold your hand.”
Even early Beatles fans weren’t immune to a good mondegreen.
18. “Don’t Stop Believin’” – Journey
Misheard: “Just a small town girl, living in a lonely whirl.”
Actual: “…living in a lonely world.”
Bonus chaos: “Born and raised in South Detroit” misheard as “Born and raised in Salty Troy.” / “Strangers waiting” becomes “Strangers waving.”
A thousand wedding DJs have kept these wrong lyrics alive.
19. “Bohemian Rhapsody” – Queen
Misheard: “Spare him his life from his pork sausage tea.”
Actual: “Spare him his life from this monstrosity.”
Other bits: “Galileo” becomes “Carry a low.” / “Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me” becomes “The algebra has a devil for a side of beef.”
Freddie’s operatic phrasing gave the world 40 years of creative confusion.
20. “Raspberry Beret” – Prince
Misheard: “Raspberry Parade.” (Guilty.)
Actual: “Raspberry Beret.”
Also: “The kind you find in a secondhand store” turns into “The kind you find in a secondhand drawer.” / “She walked in through the out door” becomes “She walked in through the outdoor.”
If there’s a heaven with a DJ booth, Prince is still smirking at me and the rest of us who sing his song wrong.
We get lyrics wrong because music isn’t about precision—it’s about connection. The words blur, the melody wins, and if you’re lucky, the song still hits you right in the ribs. So sing loud, sing wrong, and enjoy every off-key syllable.