Mondegreen Fun: In The GoldenTwilight Zone Earring

 Time for another round of "Mondegreen Fun" AKA "Misheard Lyrics". This one is from a song that was released in 1982 by the band Golden Earring, they are most notably known for their song "Radar Love". The song I had misheard the lyrics from is "Twilight Zone" from their album "Cut". 

The real lyrics are: 

"Soon, you will come to know

When the bullet hits the bone."

However, for many many years I heard the last line as "When the bullet hits the phone." Occasionally I would think that it was "Foam".

Mondegreen Fun - Misheard Lyrics A Rush Job

 It is time for another round of Misheard Lyrics or as it is technically known as "Mondegreen". Sometimes they can be earworms, sometimes not. But usually they will stick with you until you learn the real lyrics, if you do.

So for this episode I present a song from the rock group Rush. From their 1980 Album "Permanent Waves".

The song I misheard the lyrics to is "Freewill". 

The words are from the chorus, this line "I will choose a path that's clear, I will choose freewill". 

What I heard was "I will choose a bathysphere, I will choose freewill". I admit it was decades before I realized what the real lyrics were.

Misheard Lyrics: Swing From That French Avenue Baby

It has been a while since I've made one of these Misheard Lyrics posts. I'm not sure if I have mentioned this in passing on any of the other posts. I'm not going to go back to look I'm just going to write it and post it the way things should be done. Hehehe.

This one comes from Sia off of her 1000 Forms of Fear album.

The song is Chandelier the lead single released from the album.

Now the real lyrics to the chorus are:

I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier

I'm gonna live like tomorrow doesn't exist

Like it doesn't exist

What I thought the lyrics were:

I'm gonna swing from the shan de liason, from the shan de liason

I'm gonna live like tomorrow doesn't exist

Like it doesn't exist

It made no sense that she wold be singing about swinging from a river. I was probably thinking about "Champs-Elysées" which is actually a famous French Avenue. UGH damn my semi knowledge of foreign things.

Also the line "one, two, three, one, two, three, drink" sounded like "one, two, three, one, two, three, three" as in dance choreography not party game instructions.

The Return of Apple Pop-Tarts?

"When I was younger just a bad little kid..."

Original Frosted Pop-Tarts Flavors

OK forget those "Little Shop of Horrors" lyrics. I'm reaching back to when I was a kid and a favorite snack food. Not really a "junk food" snack but one of those sort of good for you things. I'm talking about Kellogg's Pop-Tarts. When I was little just about all the flavors they made had two versions the plain "good for you" unfrosted version and then the frosted version of that same flavor. 

Original box design for Frosted Dutch Apple Flavor (1968-1970something?)

Many of the same flavors available today were around back then; Strawberry, Cherry, Blueberry, Brown Sugar Cinnamon, Chocolate Fudge, and a few others. My favorite of all time was one that is discontinued for whatever reason I don't know the Frosted Dutch Apple.

Newer box design for Frosted Dutch Apple Flavor (1970something to 1980something?)

I recall it had a deep rich flavor with plenty of cinnamon flavor. Also back then when they said FROSTED they meant FROSTED. Good tasty frosting as well. Now the frosting is just a light glaze sometimes not even that and has barely any taste to it. Of course any sweet food stuff made before the mid 1980s was sugar ladened with real sugar not some chemical substitute. The newer sugar substitutes and lower fat sugars have ruined the sweetness flavor of many things. The pastry part of modern Pop Tarts sometimes is a bit dry, or too floured flavored, or possibly unsalted?

I don't recall when they pulled the Dutch Apple flavor (early 1980s?). I didn't notice it right away it may have been at least a year or two before I realized it was gone. Isn't that the way it always goes? Then for many years there was no such thing as Apple flavored Pop-Tarts or for that matter much of  anything apple flavored. Maybe there was an Apple Flavor scare like in the late 70s Red Dye #3 or 6 or whatever red dye was supposedly bad for you.

Recently while doing a Target Run I noticed an Apple flavored Pop-Tart box, it was a true Kellogg's Pop-Tarts not some off brand or the Target house brand. The flavor "Orchard Apple Cinnamon", um OK not DUTCH APPLE but hey it was frosted so I had to get a box and give it a try.

NEW Orchard Apple Cinnamon Pop-Tarts

IT is OK, not great, and I was a bit bummed when I saw the green apples on the box design. This flavor is a bit tart, thus the green apples instead of red ones I guess. I hope someday they do bring back the Dutch Apple flavor as close to the same recipe as possible.

Note: All images except for the new Orchard Apple Cinnamon image were found from a Google search for "Kellogg's pop tarts frosted dutch apple". Orchard Apple Cinnamon image scanned from my test box.

Misheard Lyrics: Diana Ross Edition

On April Fools day I heard part of a song that I hadn't heard in a long time and thought the title and words were something else.

The Song: Diana Ross "I'm Coming Out"

from the album "Diana"

For years and years I thought this song was titled "I'm Coming UP". I Never really thought about it I Used to avoid the song for 15 years or more. Not because I don't like Diana Ross, but because I didn't like the song during that time.

As I said I never spent too much time actually thinking about the song. When I don't like a song I rarely think about it. (so why do many atheists spend so much time talking about God?) The song has apparently been used by many in the LGBQT Community as an anthem. What with the "coming out" and all. Again never really thought that much about. Nor do I care too much about it.

Feliz Navidad = Merry Christmas

Image from RateYourMusic.com

For many years one of my favorite Christmas time songs was recorded by Puerto Rican folk singer Jose Feliciano Feliz Navidad. It is a catchy tune and I have always loved foreign language songs. This song is a mix of English and Spanish so it could be called Spanglish I guess. I prefer to call it Amerikan Music.

Feliz Navidad was a song recorded in 1970 and for many years was played on the radio just about every year. For me it wasn't Christmas until I heard Feliz Navidad on the radio. In the mid 1980s it wasn't played as often and when I looked for a copy of the song around Christmas Time I could never find it. I eventually did get a copy from Tower Records (I think).

The lyrics are simple a few lines of Spanish a few lines of English (the translation?), repeat and rinse a few times. Basically the lyrics are:

Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad
Prospero Año y Felicidad

I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas
I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas
I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas
From the bottom of my heart

One would think it was a straight and simple translation, but wait. "Feliz Navidad" is just "Merry Christmas" not "I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas" and "Prospero Año y Felicidad" does not translate to "From the bottom of my heart".

Lets see: "Feliz Navidad" does indeed translate to "Merry Christmas" and "Prospero Año y Felicidad" translates to "Happy New Year and happiness", "I want to wish you a Merry Christmas" translates to "Quiero desearte una feliz navidad" and "From the bottom of my heart" translates to "Desde el fondo de mi corazón".

So a strict English Translation is:

Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas
Happy New Year and happiness

I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas
I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas
I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas
From the bottom of my heart

With a strict Spanish Translation:

Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad
Prospero Año y Felicidad

Quiero desearte una feliz navidad
Quiero desearte una feliz navidad
Quiero desearte una feliz navidad
Desde el fondo de mi corazón


*Thank you Google Translate. Saves me from digging out my old Spanish/English Dictionary and translating word for word for an hour or two.

Misheard Lyrics: Tonight, Tonight

Hey it's another round of Misheard Lyrics. This time it is some lyrics from the song "Tonight, Tonight". No not from the musical "West Side Story" (that is just one tonight) it is a pop song from the group Hot Chelle Rae off the 2011 record "Whatever".

Album cover Whatever - Hot Chelle Rae (2011)

Yeah they are pretty much a one-hit wonder.

Single cover Tonight Tonight - Hot Chelle Rae (2011)

'What I thought the lyrics were:
"I woke up with a strange tattoo
Not sure how I got it, not a dollar in my pocket
And it kinda looks just like you
Mixed with that gal from Nackass" (or "from Nassis")

I was wondering where Nassass was or what television show or movie Nackass was.

The real lyrics are:
"I woke up with a strange tattoo
Not sure how I got it, not a dollar in my pocket
And it kinda looks just like you
Mixed with Zach Galifianakis"

Later in the song there is a line, although I didn't mishear it, I frown upon the line. It seems a little bit racist.

"Just singing like whoa, oh, oh
Come on, oh, oh, oh, all you party people
Whoa, oh, oh, all you singletons, oh, oh, oh, even the white kids"

Rant Or Misheard Lyrics?

When I first thought of what I was going to blog about this month I had a couple of ideas that I kept forgetting what it was I was going to write. So I thought about doing a mid-year update on my self appointed posting quota. That would be depressing because as usual I've been procrastinating and will most likely yet again barely crank out the bare minimum of one a month possibly a little more. I don't mind too much since I am making the low minimum. Sort of like when you are only making minimum wage and still living at home with Mum and Dad.

I also thought about doing a rant about some current political event or personality, but I don't like controversy on my blog. I also don't want to have to delete all the comments it would attract, or the spam I'd have to report and then delete.

Then I remembered some more lyrics I had misheard over the years. So:

I recalled that for one of my previous "Misheard Lyrics" posts, I had forgotten to include one of the lines I used to mishear.

Once again it was from The Bangles "Walk Like An Egyptian".

What I thought the line was:

The phone waitresses take their trays,

They spin around and they cross the floor.

The real line is:
The blond waitresses take their trays,
They spin around and they cross the floor.

Another song that I had misheard some lyrics to, has recently been getting more radio airplay due to a recent cover of it. Well the cover has been getting a lot of airplay, and also the original. The Song is "Africa" originally written and recorded by the band TOTO from their Toto IV album.

Toto IV 1982

This year Africa was covered by the band Weezer and is a very faithful cover.

The part of the song that I had misheard for many years was part of the chorus.

What I thought it said:
I Guess it rains down in Africa

The Real Lyrics:
I Bless the rains down in Africa

So um Yeah. That is it for now.

Misheard Lyrics: Voices Carry

I have done a post like this before about misheard lyrics. Well I have another misheard lyrics memory. I should have mentioned it in the other post but didn't think about it at the time. This gives me a post for the month if I can't think of anything else.

The song for this post is Voices Carry from the album of the same name recorded by 'Til Tuesday. The lead singer Aimee Mann has a soft and very pleasant voice.

The real lyrics are:
Hush hush, keep it down now, voices carry

What I thought was being sung:
Hush hush, even downtown, voices carry

Those words might sound logical, but later at the end of the song the line "He said shut up, he said shut up" talking about downtown makes no sense whatsoever.

On a totally different note, I didn't realize til  I searched and then downloaded the image how Aimee Mann on the album cover looks a lot like Kate McKinnon from Saturday Night Live, or rather how Kate looks like Aimee did. It isn't exact but close enough that when I Googled to try to find some comparison pictures I came across a reddit discussion from about a year ago that makes makes the comparison of Kate to Aimee (from 30 years ago). Upon further exploring there are times when Kate looks more like Jenny McCarthy Now wonder when I first saw Kate she looked familiar.

Misheard Lyrics: Bangles Walk Like An Egyptian

We have all done it, mankind has done it since he started putting vocals to music. I am talking the musical version of "the telephone game". You know where something is said but you hear something completely different and believe what you heard is the right line. A mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase or song lyrics is called a Mondegreen. There are at least two websites devoted to this sort of thing as it applies to song lyrics: Am I Right? and KissThisGuy Can you believe all the people who used to think (and some still do) that Jimi Hendrix sang the line "Excuse me while I kiss this guy"?

One of the songs that it took me a while to get the right words for was Elton John's "Bennie & The Jets". NO I didn't think that "electric boots" were "electric boobs" like so many did. I was too young to know what a mohair suit was but understood that line.  For me it was the line "Oh Bennie she's really keen" at first I couldn't figure out the "really keen" part and thought it was "Oh Bennie she's a rent-a-Queen" or "Bennie she's a real queen.". Which is a little closer. Oh maybe I should be a writer for "Don't Forget The Lyrics!"

Now as for the song I intended this thread to be about. For as long as the song has been around there were some lyrics that I never quite heard correctly. Even seeing the real lyrics and trying to listen for them it is hard for me to hear the real lyrics. The song I am talking about as recorded by The Bangles from their Album Different Light is Walk Like An Egyptian.

The Bangles: Different Light copyright The Bangles and Columbia Records.

To start things off the opening line:
I used to think the second line was "They do the SAME dance don't you know"

The real line is:
"All the old paintings on the tombs,
They do the sand dance don't you know"

Screen capture from official "Walk Like an Egyptian" video.

Here is the more difficult verse/lines:
Most of the line was unintelligible to me something like "slight bit a street and your back, shift then you call a cop (also sounds like call a cock), Let the Sargent know (oh whey oh), they strike a pose on a Cadillac".

Now the real verse is:
"Slide your feet up the street bend your back,
Shift your arm then you pull it back,
Life is hard you know (oh whey oh),
So strike a pose on a Cadillac.

If you want to find all the cops,
They're hanging out in the donut shop."

Screen capture from official "Walk Like an Egyptian" video.

OK so excuse me NO I will not kiss this guy, I don't play for that side of the field.
Now my favorite misheard song lyrics- "Don't hold on tonight, It's bound to take your life, There's a bathroom on the right."