Infographic: The Most Commonly Misunderstood Lyrics in Music

The lyrics to songs are not always the easiest to understand, and people constantly are embarrassing themselves at the karaoke bar by singing the weirdest lyrics imagined. The reason for the confusion is because of mondegreens. A mondegreen is a misinterpretation of a phrase due to homophony. Here is a complied list of the top mondegreens in music history.

  • Jimi Hendrix acknowledged the mishearing and deliberately sang the wrong lyrics live in concert - Jimi Hendrix "Purple Haze".
  • The song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is thought to be a reference to LSD because of the initials of the song - The Beatles "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".
  • Written by Keith Richards as homage to Mick Jagger for having to carry the band while Keith was strung out on heroin - The Rolling Stones "Beast of Burden".
  • On VH1's The Greatest Songs of the '80s special, this was voted the best song of the decade - Bon Jovi "Livin’ On a Prayer".
  • At the end of King Nothing the lyrics, “Off to never-never land” are spoken as a nod to their famous song Enter Sandman - Metallica "King Nothing".
  • According to lead singer Adam Levine, this song is about how he was fed up with the record label pressuring the band for more songs - Maroon 5 "This Love".
  • Taylor Swift wrote this song in 9th grade for her school’s talent show - Taylor Swift "Our Song".
Infographic: Top Most Commonly Misunderstood Lyrics in Music