What's one song that you misunderstood for years?

[u/wrenboy666]

Mine was Bob Marley's 'No Woman, No Cry', it guess it demonstrates my ignorance of Jamaican culture and dialect, but for years I thought the title kind of mean 'No woman, no problems' rather than 'No Woman, Don't Cry'. In my defence, I was about 7 when I heard it first and never questioned it. I always adored the song but found the hook confusing with the rest of the lyrics until I realised how dumb I was being.

[u/Cognac_and_swishers]

"Only Happy When It Rains" by Garbage has a line that I always heard as "You know I love it when the music's bad." I always loved this line, because it morphed what would otherwise be a pretty bleak and negative song into something more jokey. As a teen in the '90s, obviously the bleakness and negativity spoke to me as well (although lines like "I'm riding high upon a deep depression" were a bit much even for a cynical early Millennial like me), but that one line about liking bad music seemed to hit the perfect note of the mixture of actually thinking the whole world sucks, and only joking about the whole world sucking that was so intrinsic to '90s alt-rock.

The line made me picture Shirley Manson and other '90s rockers hanging out in some secret dive bar where the jukebox only plays famously bad songs like "MacArthur Park" and "If You Like Pina Coladas." They would all ironically nod their heads along, even though they know the songs suck. Somehow that made perfect sense in the '90s.

But then, just within the past year, I found out that the line is actually "You know I love it when the news is bad." My whole mental image of that song just blew up.

[u/vociferousgirl → u/Cognac_and_swishers]

Oh man.

I kind of like the image of the band sitting around forcing themselves to listen to, like, knock-off Elliot Smith because it's "edgy"

[u/LudibriousVelocipede → u/Cognac_and_swishers]

That song was written by Garbage making fun of depressing songs that's why it was written so over the top

[u/Idontdanceever]

My dad listened to Simon and Garfunkel when I was a kid. There is a line in Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine that goes ‘are you worried because your girlfriend is a little late?’ I remember thinking as a kid that it was a stupid line, like if she is only a little late, she is probably stuck in traffic or something, no need to worry about it.

[u/alyssasaccount → u/Idontdanceever]

Tori Amos was a little more explicit about it:

So you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts,
What's so amazing about really deep thoughts?
Boy you best pray that I bleed real soon,
How's that thought for you?

[u/EyeHaveNoBanana → u/alyssasaccount]

Tori is badass.

[u/Ras1372 → u/EyeHaveNoBanana]

Tori is awesome, I saw her in September of 1992 (I was 12). We got there late and she had already started, typical of going anywhere with my sister. There was no assigned seating and the lower level was full, we were about to head upstairs, but we went down one of the aisles on the side just standing up against the wall. This lady came over and I thought she was going to tell us we couldn't stand there, but she told us we could go stand down there, right by the stage. So we moved down, and saw the rest of the concert from about 10 feet behind Tori at the piano, it was awesome. It was the closest I ever got to a performing musician till amazingly The Rolling Stones 13 years later. After the show, Tori came out and signed and hugged EVERYBODY that waited for her. That's the only time I've had a touring musician do that (well at least for everybody). She was extremely nice and asked everybody their name. I may not be the biggest fan of her music, but I'm a huge fan of the person.

[u/LivianGrey → u/Ras1372]

She cultivated a pretty impressive fan base of devotees. Even when she didn’t have time for a proper meet and greet backstage she came out and took requests. Actually meeting her was headspin. she’s also never charged for these, it was never a package deal or a contest prize, she’s just that invested in knowing her fans. Also, I used to think she was singing, “gimmie peace, love and a hard cake…” when I was 15.

[u/Zombie-slave → u/EyeHaveNoBanana]

Yes!

Girls you've got to know When it's time to turn the page When your only wet, because of the rain

Is another favourite phrase of mine.

[u/EyeHaveNoBanana → u/Zombie-slave]

You’re just an empty cage, girl If you kill the bird

[u/extremelysaltydoggo → u/EyeHaveNoBanana]

If you need me, me and Neil will be hanging out with the Dream King..

[u/musclememory → u/extremelysaltydoggo]

In case anyone is wondering who Neil is, Neil Gaiman

[u/synthscoffeeguitars → u/Idontdanceever]

This was me with the song Ten Days Late by Third Eye Blind lol. “Funny how she always cried out daddy / I’ve got a big surprise” “she’s ten days late… guess I’ll always be knowing you”

I was like damn, that guy’s gf is running waaaay behind schedule! Ten whole days!

[u/porkynbasswithgeorge → u/Idontdanceever]

Same album, from "Cloudy": "Got some pictures in my pocket and a lot of time to kill." I was too young to understand idiom, so I thought he had plenty of time to go around murdering people.

[u/wdn → u/Idontdanceever]

Simon and Garfunkel have a lot of those.

Making love in the afternoon
to Cecilia up in my bedroom
I got up to wash my face*
When I come back to bed someone's taken my place

*because of oral sex

[u/Unit_79 → u/wdn]

Next time I hear this song, in my mind I'm going to hear a voice over of a very stern announcement stating "BECAUSE OF ORAL SEX."

[u/JeepPilot → u/Unit_79]

In the same voice as the old man yelling "It's just a jump to the left" in The Time Warp.

[u/ShuffKorbik → u/JeepPilot]

And then a step to the riiiiiiii-iiiiii-iiiight!

[u/Clyde_Bruckman → u/wdn]

Omg. I have loved this song forever and never put that together 🤦🏻‍♀️

[u/stenlis]

Let Me In by R.E.M.

I thought it was a poor attempt at metal with Stipe's mumbling and Berry's ridiculous guitar distortion.

Then I learned it was about Stipe's last call with Kurt Cobain when he was trying to get through to him shortly before he took his life.

The mumbling and distortion was about the difficulty to communicate with Cobain.

Edit: turns out it was Michael Mills that played Cobain's guitar on the record and in the concerts. See https://youtu.be/LYpShsDXmTY?si=ttsGnWAGoOU39-ok

[u/throwitaway488 → u/stenlis]

it was also recorded on one of Cobains guitars that was gifted to them after he died.

[u/Violet624 → u/stenlis]

Well I just started crying. I'm from Seattle and just went on a walk and randomly put on an old Playlist of Seattle bands, mostly Alice in Chains but Nirvana and Sound Garden also. It still, still breaks my heart that Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, Chris Cornell and so many others (Andrew Wood, John Baker Saunders. The list goes on) had the young and tragic ends they did. Heros have flown.

[u/LoveLeeLady-exp626]

"Save a horse, Ride a Cowboy."

As it was playing, my little 8 year old self turned to my aunt, who was driving me to Walmart in my Grandads truck and asked, "Would a cowboy really let you ride him?" And with a smirk that I only now understand as an adult, my aunt said, "I'm sure he would if you asked him nice enough."

[u/commiepissbabe → u/LoveLeeLady-exp626]

I thought it went "make a horse ride a cowboy" until I was like 12 🤦 I used to sing it aloud in the car and my mom would crack up

[u/moralesnery]

Barracuda by Heart. When it was released most people believed that it was about a love interest.

Then for years the rumor was that the song was about a dildo

And then it was confirmed that the song was about some assholes from the music industry wich made them angry enough to write a legendary song.

[u/PerceptionShift → u/moralesnery]

Yea it's about their original label, Mushroom Records, who took out a magazine ad implying the Wilson sisters were sister lovers. It totally pissed off the sisters who then had to field even more sexist questions from men in the music industry. So Heart ditched their in-progress second album and signed to Portrait Records, made "Barracuda" and many more hits into the 80s.

[u/Dijkdoorn → u/PerceptionShift]

I love that transition from the 70's to the 80's. Just look at the Barracuda video and Alone.

[u/cometshoney → u/moralesnery]

While Billy Squier wasn't angry about the same type of experience, The Stroke is about the same kind of people.

[u/dWintermut3 → u/cometshoney]

so is Pink Floyd's "have a cigar"

[u/AndyB16 → u/cometshoney]

The Stroke is also one of my wife's most misunderstood songs. She thought the chorus was "strong man struggling".

[u/dixadik → u/moralesnery]

Death on Two Legs by Queen is the same thing but only about the manager they had just gotten rid of.

[u/TheLurkerSpeaks]

Meat Loaf/Jim Steinman's "I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)"

The joke at the time this was popular in the mid 90s was always "lol wut what won't he do?" Impatient people not listening to the song (it is long)

It's right there in the lyrics, during the man/woman duet, near the end:

After a while you'll forget everything - Just a brief interlude, and a mid-summer night's fling - Then you'll see that it's time to move on

I won't do that

I know the territory - I've been around - It'll all turn to dust and we'll all fall down - Sooner or later you'll be screwing around

I won't do that

It's very powerful, romantic, and tragic for anyone who has been in love and been cheated on.

[u/thaddeusd → u/TheLurkerSpeaks]

It's more than just abandoning her.

Dig up the Storytellers episode where Meatloaf breaks it down with a blackboard and pointer.

It's the following things:

1. Never forget how she feels right now...
2. Forgive himself if they don't go all the way tonight...
3. Never do it better than I do it with you...
4. Never stop dreaming of you every night of my life....
5. Abandon her and cheat...

[u/foreverindebted → u/thaddeusd]

Meat gets so pissed off when they bring out the chalk board and whoever prepared it wrote the lyrics out of sequence haha.

Edit: found it https://youtu.be/5s9RcNO49Cg?t=29

[u/DangerSwan33 → u/TheLurkerSpeaks]

This just came up in a similar thread a month or so ago.

What confuses people about it is he's saying he'd "Do anything for love", and it seems like he's saying "I would do anything for YOUR love", so it makes it easy to miss the things he's saying he won't do, because like, duh - why would he do those things?

But the song is actually largely about a character who is desperate to BE loved, or to receive love.

So he's saying that he is so lonely, and feels he is such a monster, that he would do anything in exchange for love except:

Let her down

Cheat on her

Forget her value

etc.

And the point of it is that he promises he would never do any of these things, even when the going gets tough.

So he's saying that even though he's so desperate to be loved that he'd do anything, he's dedicated to making this relationship work.

The song basically plays out like the traditional "in sickness and in health" wedding vows.

[u/princessstrawberry → u/DangerSwan33]

So, he’s never gonna give her up, never gonna let her down, never gonna run around and desert her?

[u/MorbidMortician31]

I didn't get the joke in Britney Spears' "If U Seek Amy" until a couple years ago. I thought she was just looking for some girl named Amy at a party.

[u/sgt_backpack → u/MorbidMortician31]

Wait what's the rub here? This is the first I've even heard of this song

​

*edit*- got it.

[u/Shaved_taint → u/sgt_backpack]

It's spelling out F - U - C - K Me

[u/DortDrueben → u/Shaved_taint]

Damn. Guess I'm just a dumb see you next Tuesday.

[u/troodon2018]

puff the magic dragon is not a hippi song about smoking grass, it is a song of a child who is getting older

[u/ShuffKorbik → u/troodon2018]

"Do you know what that song is about, Bill? It's about a dragon."

[u/cheeseboyhalpert → u/troodon2018]

You a pothead Focker?

[u/wire_we_here50 → u/cheeseboyhalpert]

"I have nipples Greg. Can you milk me?"

[u/pelftruearrow → u/troodon2018]

I remember hearing an interview with either Peter or Paul, I don't recall which one sometime in the late '90s about this song. I remember him going off saying "if I wanted to write a song about drugs, I would have written a song about drugs. This song is about a kid growing up. That's it." My first thought was well, okay The artist is telling me that's what it is, then that's what it is. I kind of liking it to the time a group of college kids told Ray Bradbury that he was wrong about what Fahrenheit 451 was about.

[u/bobbyfiend → u/pelftruearrow]

Some artists can be believed about stuff like this, and some can't. I'm convinced They Might Be Giants lie through their fucking teeth every time they tell fans what a song is "about".

[u/emfrank → u/bobbyfiend]

Townes Van Zandt, too. I have see three or four interviews where people ask him about "Pancho and Lefty" and none of the stories match.

[u/gusdeneg → u/bobbyfiend]

Like John Lennon and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, for example.

[u/Ozzsanity → u/troodon2018]

This song used to make me cry as a kid. I won't risk it and listen to it as an adult.

[u/Malavacious → u/Ozzsanity]

Grand news:  with Peter's blessing artist Eric Puybaret illustrated Puff as a children's book (using the lyrics in lieu of a traditional story) and at the end has an older Jackie Paper introducing a small child to Puff.

We may have to grow old, but we can always keep magic alive if we share it.

[u/Taffy626]

I misunderstood Born in the USA for a long time, but at least I wasn’t a politician blasting it at a campaign rally.

[u/ZweitenMal → u/Taffy626]

Fun fact, that album was one of few the Soviets allowed to be openly sold in the USSR and East Germany because it was so critical of the US.

[u/GimmeSweetTime → u/ZweitenMal]

Which probably back fired as even most Americans took it as an uplifting American anthem.

[u/Nighthawk700 → u/GimmeSweetTime]

Which is insane if you listen to it for half a second beyond the chorus. Not one lyric is positive and it's downright depressing. Actually read them and the born in the USA refrain makes you actively upset

[u/wtfisspacedicks → u/Nighthawk700]

Had a brother, at Khe Sanh

Fightin off, the Viet Kong

They still there, Hes all gone...

Uplifting AF

LoL

[u/jwt155 → u/Taffy626]

This and John Cougar Mellencamps Little Pink Houses.

[u/spoobles → u/jwt155]

Little Pete Townshends for you and me.

[u/anothernarwhal → u/Taffy626]

I think fortunate son by credence Clearwater revival is similarly misunderstood

[u/Imdamnneardead → u/anothernarwhal]

It sure the hell shouldn't be. I understood Fortunate Son when I was in 7th grade whilst listening to it on my Sony transistor radio.

[u/memememe91 → u/Taffy626]

Blasting Fortunate Son at a Dump rally was priceless

[u/plaidkingaerys → u/memememe91]

For real, he’s literally the fortunate son born silver spoon in hand 😂

[u/naughtilidae → u/plaidkingaerys]

Who dodged the draft...

[u/chucksstuntman]

Don't bring me down.... Bruce? Also, revved up like a douche

[u/MicroCat1031 → u/chucksstuntman]

ELO gets the blame on Don't Let Me Down. That's just a made-up sound at the end of that line.

[u/mageta621 → u/MicroCat1031]

Let

Bring*

GROOẞ!

[u/mrs_peep → u/MicroCat1031]

I read that Jeff Lynne gave in and sang it as Bruce live

[u/mageta621 → u/chucksstuntman]

revved up like a douche

Manfred Mann should have enunciated if they didn't want people to hear "douche"

[u/fuck-coyotes → u/chucksstuntman]

Revved up like a deuce. Like a 2 bbl carburetor. Like when the beach boys sand "little deuce coupe"

That's what I always took it to mean

[u/ghostprawn]

I thought “Fuck Bitches. Get money” were two virtues, equally worth pursuing.

[u/ACW1129 → u/ghostprawn]

I like this interpretation better.

[u/Adventurous-Dog420 → u/ghostprawn]

That's how I've always interpreted it. Sticking with it.

[u/JimmysJohn]

Blink 182 What's My Age Again Lyric....

"I walk alone, to get the feeling right"

is ACTUALLY

"I wore cologne, to get the feeling right"

[u/Mindhandle → u/JimmysJohn]

I'm a 30 year old, pop punk loving, saw blink 182 a couple months ago kinda guy and I literally learned this right now

[u/starpiece → u/Mindhandle]

Same…. Known this song for like 20 years of my life and have seen blink twice over the years (not in a long time tho). Wow my world is crashing with this info lol everything I ever knew is a lie

[u/perfectdozen → u/JimmysJohn]

Here I go again, on my own Walking down the only road I've ever known Like a drifter I was born to wear cologne

[u/isolde_78 → u/perfectdozen]

I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known, don’t know where it goes, but it’s home to me and I wore cologne

[u/DeefaHS → u/JimmysJohn]

'The state looks down inside of me'

[u/Snickers9114 → u/JimmysJohn]

I always thought it was "I walk her home, to get the feeling right"!

[u/BeardedAvenger → u/JimmysJohn]

Wore cologne*

Past tense. Easy mistake to make with your original misheard lyric though.

[u/thisishardcore_]

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out by The Smiths.

When I was younger I thought it was just a romantic love song written for a partner, with the mandatory wry Morrissey witticisms thrown in just to give it a bit of "edginess" and to differentiate it from all the other typical love songs. But more or less a run of the mill "I love you, baby" type song.

As I grew older I realised it's about the pain of unrequited love and the rumination over missed chances and the sorrowful thoughts of what could have been, but it also has a wider message, to never give up on hope, such as the narrator is refusing to do with his hope of one day finally being with the object of his love, as sometimes hope is the only thing we have in our otherwise abject lives and that's what keeps us going. It's as equally heartbreaking as it is inspiring.

[u/BxGyrl416 → u/thisishardcore_]

You know what I thought it was about? I thought it was about a teen or young adult who’d come out of the closet and been disowned by his family (the part about not being welcome home anymore) and that the driver of the car was his lover.

[u/HAL9000000 → u/BxGyrl416]

Art can be like an inkblot, and you interpret it the way you do because of some reason that's personal to you.

[u/batlord_typhus]

"I want to rock and roll all night...and part of every day!"

[u/icecreambandit7 → u/batlord_typhus]

I can only rock n roll from like 1-3. I have errands

[u/maruffin → u/icecreambandit7]

My mom wants me home when the street lights come on, so I can rock and roll until about 6:00.

[u/Twitchris → u/batlord_typhus]

That's all well and good for you, but I used to rock and roll all night and party every day. Then it was every other day... now I'm lucky to find half an hour a week in which to get funky.

[u/morerubberstamps → u/Twitchris]

Grand Funk Railroad paved the way for Jefferson Airplane, which cleared the way for Jefferson Starship. The stage was now set for the Alan Parsons Project, which I believe was some sort of hovercraft.

[u/ncocca → u/batlord_typhus]

alright Lois

[u/thebigtexas → u/ncocca]

This was actually a reference to Paul Rudd's character in 'Role Models'.

Lois sang "...and have a wonderful time".

[u/TheG-What → u/thebigtexas]

You know how I can tell you’re a poser, Lois? You’re dressed as Peter Criss. Even Peter Criss doesn’t wanna be Peter Criss!

[u/Kalopsiate]

I was introduced to Rage Against the Machine when I was 10 by my dad who had their entire discography on CD. In the song "Killing in the Name Of" I thought the lyrics were "Some of those that burn horses are the same that burn crosses." and thought it was a song about people burning horses in the name of religion and them being told not to do that. My dad cleared that one up for me REALLY fast.

[u/TomGerity → u/Kalopsiate]

A girl I knew said when she was little, the Bulls on Parade line “rally ‘round your family/with a pocket full of shells” was describing a family vacation to the beach

[u/Pixielo → u/TomGerity]

That's actually pretty adorable.

[u/darkraven2116]

For far too long I thought “I’m bringing sexy back” referred to Justin bringing his sexy back, like the body part, to the party.

[u/brp7568]

When I was a kid I thought the song said "Take me down to the prairie dog city."

The real lyrics aren't nearly as cool.

[u/annajoo1]

VERRRY young when I first heard I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night.

My lil ears heard: "I wanna rocky road all night, and garden every day!"

I thought, ya me too dude!

[u/nulfis]

Ace of Base - "All that she wants is another baby" - I never understood that line or thought much about it until a trip to Europe where it was explained to me that "baby" is being used in the context of "boyfriend". That explains a lot! LOL

[u/agumonkey → u/nulfis]

i too thought she was on a quest for a toddler, and eager to leave to resume it

[u/BeatsnBytes_]

Not misunderstood. But was quite surprised when I learnt that "who let the dogs out by Baha Men" is actually a feminist anthem, as in the dogs in the song are being referenced to men who catcall women. And the song is basically calling out such men.

[u/IamUnamused → u/BeatsnBytes_]

oh the origin of that song goes down quite the rabbit hole https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/whomst-among-us-let-the-dogs-out-again/

[u/Gardenpanda → u/IamUnamused]

I was just gonna link to this! It’s got a really wild origin story.

[u/eugenesbluegenes → u/Gardenpanda]

It's funny how they start out saying "seriously, this will be way more interesting than you're expecting right now" and they were right.

[u/BillBrasky3131 → u/BeatsnBytes_]

“Get back you flea infested mongrel”. Well damn.

[u/SociopathicMindSet → u/BeatsnBytes_]

Wow this is actually news to me! When I was growing up the story was always that the song was about ugly women entering a club or party.

[u/GrooveProof → u/SociopathicMindSet]

Same lol

We used to joke that growing up is actually characterized by what you think “who let the dogs out” is about:

Childhood: literal dogs Teenage years: ugly ass women Adulthood: dirty ass men that hit on women and kill the fun vibe everyone has going

[u/LABS_Games → u/GrooveProof]

"Are we the dogs?"

[u/Scoob8877 → u/BeatsnBytes_]

I always took that one very literally. If you've got kids and dogs, at least once a day you're saying "who let the dogs out?!?!" Nice to have it put to music.

[u/Dragoonie_DK → u/BeatsnBytes_]

My sister is a teacher in outback Australia and helps out in disadvantaged aboriginal communities. She very recently (in the past month) had the privilege of being allowed into a community that outside people aren’t normally allowed to visit, and helped run a weekend evening disco for all the local kids. She sent me a video (that she had permission to record and share with me) of these sweet children, about maybe 8-10 years old with the biggest smiles, all losing their absolute minds to Who Let The Dogs Out, they all knew the words and everything. It’s the best

[u/mermie1029 → u/BeatsnBytes_]

I was about 8 or so when it came out and got into a very heated argument at the time with my dad about the meaning. Because there were dogs in the music video I said it was about dogs, my dad said the song was about men and the dogs represented men. I was so mad that he didnt agree with me since I saw the music video lmao

[u/triloci]

Toto's Africa:

It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you.

That's nothing that 100 men from Mars could ever do.

Oy.

[u/Aggravating-ErrorME → u/triloci]

As young dumb one, I thought the lyric was, "a hundred men or four could never do," and I was like duh. Of course if a hundred men couldn't do it, four sure as hell won't.

[u/BobbyClanMember → u/triloci]

I had a mis-heard lyric from this song, I thought the hook was “I guess it rains down in Africa”

[u/Dada2fish]

As a kid I thought Afternoon Delight was some kind of a dessert. Yummy!

[u/one-hour-photo]

when I was very young I thought Sweet Home Alabama went

"if y'all are gay it does not bother me, does your conscience bother you?"

I thought he was reaching out to gay people saying, "hey, it's ok"

[u/spoobles]

I think the most obvious one was Every Breath You Take, by The Police. I was at a wedding years ago and the Bride and Groom used it as their first dance...I was like "What the ever loving fuck?"

[u/laughguy220 → u/spoobles]

"The stalker song" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

[u/Unit_79 → u/spoobles]

It probably wasn't for them, it was for her stalker who was watching from the bushes. Trying to include him. It's kind of nice when you think about it.

[u/Scunted → u/spoobles]

Some friends of ours had the Meatloaf song “Two out of three ain’t bad” as their wedding song.

I want you, I need you, but I'll never love you.

[u/perpetuallytiredeyes → u/Scunted]

My cousin's wedding song was Better Man by Pearl Jam... "She lies and says she's in love with him, can't find a better man"

[u/rbblemur → u/spoobles]

You just reminded me of my cousin's wedding, where he and his bride made their entrance to the opening notes of "Closer" by NIN. And then once they got out onto the dance floor, the DJ killed it and started their actual song. It was a fun gag.

[u/candid84asoulm8bled → u/spoobles]

This reminded me of a Christian-type retreat I went to in college. One of the leaders played in all seriousness Madonna’s Like A Prayer during a prayer circle. I was trying so hard not to laugh.

[u/kendrickshalamar]

Brimful Of Asha by Cornershop. I hated that song so much growing up because it just sounded like repetitive hot nonsense. Once I learned what it was about, I developed a pretty good appreciation for it.

[u/shawnmalloyrocks]

Hall and Oates - Maneater

When I was a kid I thought they were singing about a literal cannibal.

[u/soobviouslyfake → u/shawnmalloyrocks]

I thought it was about a shark.

Whooa here she comes, watch out boy, she'll chew you up

[u/Aprowl → u/soobviouslyfake]

When I was a kid, I remember this song coming on the radio as my family was driving home from the grocery store one evening. It was getting dark and I thought Hall & Oates were trying to warn me about a man-eating tiger that was chasing our car.

I kept looking out the back window and getting more and more scared. Poor little idiot 😅

[u/Ezira]

It's more misheard than misunderstood, but I definitely thought "Dude Looks Like a Lady" was "Do the Lucky Lady".

[u/Xeebers → u/Ezira]

Do this like a lady!

[u/sregor0280]

my bio moms name is Roxanne. I grew up in the 80s. I always said that song must be about her! and as a kid she hated me for that. never understood why. as an adult knowing what the song was about I still say that song was about her. 100%

[u/bkdroid → u/sregor0280]

My mom's name was Mona. And, as a child, I heard her name in Billy Idol's wholesome tune "Mony Mony". When I said "this is your song!", her reply was "oh honey, no" . I also refuse the real meaning to this day.

[u/balloffire → u/bkdroid]

My wife's Mom ( who lied about absolutely everything) used to brag that the Kinks song "Lola" was about her. She clearly never actually listened to the words.

[u/Elerion_ → u/sregor0280]

as an adult knowing what the song was about I still say that song was about her

So you don’t care if it’s wrong or if it’s right?

[u/sregor0280 → u/Elerion_]

Rooooooxxxane!

[u/dstraswell666]

Genuinely thought Gina was dying of AIDS not working the diner all day. (Living on a Prayer)

[u/littlerabbits72 → u/dstraswell666]

My sister genuinely though she was dying of old age.

Poor Gina, so many things wrong with her!

[u/Atlv0486]

Santa Monica by everclear For years I thought it was a song about a breakup and heading somewhere new to start over. Nope. It's about starting over but not after a break up. It's about the lead singer dealing with his gf's suicide and how he then tried to follow her by filling his pockets with rocks and jumping off the Santa Monica peir

Song got way dark.

[u/mom8pop → u/Atlv0486]

Everything from Everclear is dark. By the time they released Father of Mine, I just wanted to give him a hug.

[u/BlueCatLaughing]

Queen, Fat Bottom Girls. I was a teenager when it came out and I fully believed it was black bottom girls...girls sitting around a bonfire with dirty jeans from the ground.

Black bottom girls make the rockin world go round because they're sitting around a bonfire, singing and happy.

[u/SFMBB]

“Oh yeah, life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone" — Jack and Diane (John Mellencamp)

This didn’t hit until I turned 50 and now I get it.

[u/quarantindirectorino → u/SFMBB]

SUCKINON

CHILLIDOGES

[u/katievspredator]

Kiss From A Rose by Seal

It's not "kiss from a rose on the grave," it's "kiss from a rose on THE GREY"

Finding this out also got the song stuck in my head for weeks

[u/Odddsock]

I thought Spoonman by soundgarden was meant to be some morbid heroin reference, and now I’m pretty sure it’s literally just about a guy who played the spoons a lot

[u/Dirks_Knee]

"Hush hush, Keep it down now, This is scary"

https://youtu.be/uejh-bHa4To?si=8MXtCNkafJVRIVR_

[u/AndyB16 → u/Dirks_Knee]

My wife thought it was "even down town, this is scary". She's had quite a few misunderstood lyrics.

[u/kissmeorkels]

Tiny Dancer: “Count the head lice on the highway.”

[u/ItsyouNOme → u/kissmeorkels]

Thats a lotta headlice

[u/kissmeorkels → u/ItsyouNOme]

Damned straight

[u/LanceFree → u/kissmeorkels]

When Tony Danza dies, that song will be played a bit.

[u/_-hip-pockets-_]

Oddly enough, I just told this story to a buddy last night. About 25 years ago, working in a restaurant, listening to the classic rock station, and the Doobie Brothers classic "Black Water" comes on. I asked my boss who sings that "Dixie leopard" song. He has no idea what I'm talking about, so I started singing the refrain at the end "I wanna hear some funky Dixie leopard and mama come and take me by the hand". He started cracking up, then tells me his story of mishearing Steve Miller's jet airliner as "bingo Jed had a light on".

[u/GamiCross]

Right Said Fred – I'm Too Sexy

Sounded like a guy getting really good deals on things: "$2.60 for my shirt, $2.60 for my hair..."

[u/Lexotron]

I thought "Closing Time" was a song about last call at a bar for a very long time.

[u/Rabid_Dingo → u/Lexotron]

Ooh, what's the story here? I don't know this one, and I'm on the bar side...

[u/Night_Inspector → u/Rabid_Dingo]

Singer is singing about the birth of his child. The bar that’s closing is the womb, it’s time to be born.

[u/ASDFzxcvTaken → u/Night_Inspector]

To be fair, it is written intentionally to have multiple meanings, its good writing.

[u/kauto → u/Lexotron]

I mean, it literally is. Just because there's a metaphor behind the literal lyrics doesn't mean you misunderstood them.

[u/Groovy_Bruce_Lemon]

I always misheard the “chicks for free” line in Money for Nothing as “checks for free” because its like yea you’re getting paid for being a rockstar. “Money for nothing, checks for free” just made more sense to me than “chicks for free”

[u/xXHungryJoeXx → u/Groovy_Bruce_Lemon]

Saw someone misquote it as “chips for free” the other day…easy money and a free lunch!

[u/icecreambandit7 → u/xXHungryJoeXx]

Free lunch

That’s why they have to move all those microwave ovens

[u/DrBDDS → u/Groovy_Bruce_Lemon]

When I was 7 or 8 I thought he was saying “chips” for free. As in 1) free chips to bet at casino (heard an adult say that) or 2) he’s such a rock star he gets all his snack chips for free. I was, and am, dumb.

[u/BobRosstafari789]

Lol there's an office episode where Erin says "No Woman No Cry" in this context.. it was implied that she misunderstood the lyrics, but she was actually correct... idk if it was an oversight in writing or if it was on purpose...

[u/_Baby-Cakes_ → u/BobRosstafari789]

She still misinterpreted the tone. The song is supposed to comforting where as Erin interprets it as more of a command.

[u/Local-Savage]

I interpreted "The Sign" by Ace of Base in a literal way; I was 4.

[u/Reddit_Foxx → u/Local-Savage]

For the longest time, I thought it was "I Saw The Sun."

[u/sraust2 → u/Local-Savage]

It was until I dated a Swedish woman, and she explained to me that "all that she wants is another, baby" actually had a comma, and she wanted one more romp in the sack and not another kid.

[u/aprildawndesign]

When I was a kid I asked my father if Jimi Hendrix was gay, he looked at me confused “why do you ask?”

“Well he says ‘excuse me while I kiss this guy’ ?” My dad started cracking up.

[u/Sad_Interview_232]

For years the foundation song ,,build me up buttercup ..I thought it was build me a buttercup And Norwegian wood by the beatles was about somewhere in a forest but is about the wooden items in the girls flat..at the end of the song he sets fire to it...

[u/tazzietiger66]

"Pull Up to the Bumper" by Grace Jones wasn't about vehicle parking .....

[u/pastiregga]

There is a Greek rock song called Melted Ice Cream which has been a somewhat summer anthem for Greeks since its release in 1995. Lately it has come up that melted ice-cream is actually slang for the heroine and blood mixture that gets stuck on a user's arm after injection. Truth be told if you take into account all the lyrics it makes perfect sense.

Needless to say this has ruined many nice summer memories for a lot of people.

[u/PsychologicalTax42]

When I was in middle school I was in the car with my friend, his mom, and his older sister. “When I Grow Up” by the Pussycat Dolls was a hit at the time. We were all singing and at the first chorus I was jamming out and yelled “I wanna have boobies” instead of “I wanna have groupies.”

I still feel the embarrassment of everyone else stopping and laughing at me.

[u/hppy2be]

Rolling stones Beast of Burden, my kid ears heard, "Never leave your pizza burnin' "

[u/Kayge]

Fast Car...which some redditor only helped me figure out last week.

Always thought it was a story about a desperate couple looking to get out of their situation. Broke with kids, but things are slowly getting better. She's got a job, and "She ain't going nowhere", but one word in the last verse changed it all for me:

You got a fast car

Is it fast enough so YOU can fly away?

YOU still gotta make a decision

Leave tonight, or live and die this way

She's got kids, getting her act together and tired of his shit.

It's not a couple trying to improve their station, she's doing it all, and throwing the bum out.

edit: First time I heard this song I was a tweenager, and just carried on misunderstanding it for years (as is the topic of this thread) To all the people who feel the need to dunk on me because I was honest and that it sooo obvious for them, hooray for you and stuff it.

[u/thaddeus423 → u/Kayge]

That songs hits so hard, man.

There’s no car fast enough, not really.

[u/lowfreq33 → u/Kayge]

Well, sort of. None of that has happened yet, she’s recently met this guy, and she has feelings for him, but he doesn’t have any ambition and she knows it. So she’s imagining the progression of their lives if they run off together, especially in light of how her father’s life went after her mother abandoned the family. So she decides at the end she doesn’t want to doom herself to a miserable existence just because she likes a guy and he has a nice car, because that’s all he’ll ever have.

[u/historical_regret2 → u/lowfreq33]

This is a lot more optimistic than my take. Which is that it charts the narrator’s life.

[u/jadepalmtree → u/historical_regret2]

I lean towards the most depressing interpretation, that it charts the endless cycle of alcoholic/codependent/trauma bonded families. She starts with an alcoholic father whose mother leaves him, and she charts the exact same course that her mother did, with maybe the slight possibility that things will be different because she's opting to stay rather than "run off" like her mother. We, the audience, don't have have any idea how this actually impacts her family though, we are left to wonder if she is successful in breaking the cycle for her own children, since she has already modeled codependency for them.

[u/zoinkability → u/historical_regret2]

Yeah, my take is similar to yours. It's not a realistic picture of someone newly in love's thought process, but a very realistic picture of how someone's life has gone in a different direction than they imagined it would when they were falling in love with their partner, and finally deciding that they would be better off without the guy.

[u/tucakeane]

In Bowling For Soup’s “1985” chorus, I knew who Madonna and Nirvana were…but who was “Stacie”?

[u/Mroagn → u/tucakeane]

She's the one whose mom had it going on!

[u/Beautiful-Papaya9923]

I used to hear "ooh rutabaga" instead of "Smooth Operator" by Sade before I was a teen. .-.

[u/MdnightRmblr]

I hated a song called Forever in Blue Jeans by Neil Diamond. I thought he was singing “Reverend Blue Jeans.” It was confusing, who gets excited and sings about a reverend? You’re singing about a girl and then a minister? Why? Are they getting married? What am I missing?

[u/SmooveTits]

I thought Play That Funky Music White Boy was played by black dudes.

Appropriate our culture; we’re cool with it!

[u/carlydelphia]

I have a grown up 42 year old friend who JUUUST realized what Prince Little Red Corvette is about. girl you are in your 40s. Plus, there is a line about used condoms so I feel like this one was on her.

[u/DjPersh]

My cousin thought TLC’s waterfall was about a guy named Jason Waterfalls, as in…

“Don’t go Jason Waterfalls”.

I also dated a girl who asked me why Bone Thugs loved Monday so much. She thought the song was stupid. I was dumbfounded and had to drop it to her that it they were saying “For the love of money”.

[u/DanWillHor]

I love these and love admitting them when they happen to me. I usually have a good explaination for why I mistook the lyrics but here are a few:

(1) Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb. I have listened to PF for a very long time. I have heard this song hundreds of times and only about 5 years ago realized the lyric is "there is no pain, you are receding". I thought it was "there is no pain you are receiving" for most of my life. Why? You receive pain signals and if numb - emotionally or physically - you...aren't receiving them. You're broken and on a lot of substances. That one tickled me.

(2) Dido - Thank You. This one hurts because I just realized I was mistaken about a month ago. I actually dislike the real lyric so much compared to my mistaken lyric, lol. So I thought "my teas gone cold" was "my tears gone cold". Like, if it's tea it just gives a vibe of feeling bit down. I'm a bit grey today (no pun intended) but no bother. "My tears gone cold" gives a vibe of devastation. You woke up, looked out the window and began sobbing. You've now sat there for so long that your tear soaked shirt and cheeks have become cold. You wonder why you even woke up at all.

Tea? Fucking tea?! You're just a bit down. You're fine. Who cares? lol Tears make it a better song, IMO.

(3) Pearl Jam - Rearviewmirror. Not mine but a favorite of mine. I'm at one of their shows years ago and a guy next to me is jamming out to this wonderful song. At the apex of the song, Eddie repeats "Saw things so much clearer..." The man next to me was belting out "Soy beans, so much cleaner"

I was howling. I still laugh at that but maybe he knew and was a...soybean farmer or something?

[u/starkiller_bass → u/DanWillHor]

I’m not British but i understand they take their tea very seriously. Letting one’s tea go cold may well get you a call from the local suicide prevention center

[u/Ray-They → u/starkiller_bass]

Am British, can confirm this slight upon tea is a sign of extreme mental breakdown 😂

[u/Hi-i-am-weird → u/DanWillHor]

I love dido but I also misheard one of her lyrics. In white flag, I thought she was saying “I’m going down with this shit” instead of “I’m going down with this ship” but I still got the idea. I assumed she was talking about their messy relationship and how it’s bringing her down but she’s not ready to let go

[u/Indigo_Sunset]

Dancing Queen back in the 70s.

I heard it around age 5/6 and the line 'you can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life' was heard as 'you can dance, you can die, having the time of your life'. As I got older it seemed a deep take on the fragility of life, but was just a song that came up on the radio from time to time.

Then one day the lyrics came up. Still think it was better the other way.

[u/AutomaticRevolution2]

I thought Kate Bush's "Running up That Hill" was a song about a couple sympathizing with each others situation. According to her, it's the opposite. It's about a couple fighting over who is having a worse time. " If I only could I'd make a deal with God and get him to swap our places. Be running up that road, be running up that hill with no problem." Aka " You're problems ain't shit!"

[u/KimJongFunk]

I thought it was “I’m going to write you a love song” and it’s really “I’m NOT going to write you a love song.” (Sara Bareilles - Love Song)

Really put a damper on things when I found that out.

[u/GreenDolphin86 → u/KimJongFunk]

To add to that, I assumed this was like a breakup type song. Turns out it’s a response to her record label trying to pressure her into writing a “big single” as opposed to leaning into and trusting her process.

[u/YeshuaSnow]

My wife thought that the line in Beck’s Loser was, “(As) Soon as I walk in the door / I’m a loser, baby / So why don’t you kill me?” The lyric is actually, “Soy un perdedor.” (“I’m a loser” in Spanish.) But here’s the kicker: she has her masters degree in Spanish literature and is obviously fluent in Spanish.

[u/jackasspenguin]

Not sure if misunderstood is the right word but Bob Dylan’s Dont Think Twice It’s Alright has really changed for me over the years.

When I was younger I heard it as a really good breakup song that put the blame on the other person and found catharsis in calling them out. But the more I listen to it the more I hear the narrator as more of the responsible party and possibly even a toxic partner.

[u/cmpthepirate → u/jackasspenguin]

Absolutely, it's bitter as fuck! It's jealousy personified in fact, clearly he viewed the woman as an object to be owned.

Edit: it's amazing song though. I would be surprised if many people hadn't fallen foul of a similar situation.

[u/ceojp → u/jackasspenguin]

Idiot Wind is the same way. The whole song is about how terrible she was, but in the end he realizes he was the same way.

[u/beedubaya]

Gotta lot of Starbucks lovers, they'll tell you I'm insane. 'Cause you know I love the players And you love the game

[u/kutuup1989]

That damned Yvan Eht Noij song was subliminally trying to get us to join the navy all along.

[u/NetDork]

I won't tell you how old I was when I realized that when Chuck Berry complained that, "I couldn't unfasten her safety belt" he was not talking about a mechanical failure of his car.

[u/Stormchaser2]

when I was little, that song "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off" was so confusing to me. I had fun all the time, fully clothed.

[u/loosetingles]

I'm kind of upset the way "Push" was used in the Barbie movie. Rob Thomas said: "I was really writing about me. I was writing about someone who was manipulating me. But then instead of it being a victim song, I switched it around so that it was me manipulating someone, saying, “I want to push you around, and I want to take you for granted.”

[u/neobolts]

Sex Type Thing by Stone Temple Pilots.

As a teenage boy, I was having some really dark and primal sex dreams. I was shocked and uncomfortable with my own subconscious thoughts. But this song came along, saying those ugly dreams out loud. Listening to it, I felt less alone, less of a monster, and that those dreams weren't the real me. As a adult, I found out Scott Weiland wrote the lyrics after a girl he was dating was raped by three classmates. Sex Type Thing wasn't written as an outlet for intrusive sexually aggressive thoughts, but as an anti-rape song.