What are you Saying?: Misheard Lyrics

Misheard lyrics are hilarious. Sometimes you can sing a song for years, for decades, without realizing the correct lyrics. Then you meet a new friend who isn't afraid to set you straight. It happens to the best of us.

Back in the pre-internet days, we didn't have much access to lyric resources so we just muddled through. This was problematic at times because the quality of the recordings wasn't nearly as clear as they are these days. We just went with what it sounded like and sang it that way until someone told us differently.

I think the biggest lyric reveal I had was when I found out Cyndi Lauper was singing, "When the working day is done" girls just wanna have fun. I am embarrassed to say that until a couple of years ago I was singing, "What in the world can be done…." Luckily, I am an introvert and never sang in front of anyone else. Another family member is infamous for mistaking the "Chaka Khan" call out in "I'm Every Woman" by Whitney Houston as "shotgun." Sure, it didn't make a lot of sense but they had no idea who Chaka Khan was, so that would be a hard thing to guess.

In the early 2000s, the song "All Star" by Smashmouth came out with the line, "so what's wrong with taking the backstreet?" My daughter Joy, perhaps on purpose, sang it as, "so what's wrong with Nick and the Backstreets?" Backstreet Boys were on top of the world then so it was a plausible lyric and it's one I still sing to this day, even though I know the true lyrics. A few years ago, I stumbled across a video of English comedian Peter Kay talking about misheard lyrics. I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe. Now I laugh every time I hear the lyrics he talked about in his stand-up. I was in a Travel Plaza not too long ago and heard Shania Twain sing, "I can't believe you kiss your car goodnight!" I started laughing out loud. I garnered a few looks...but it was funny. If you want a dose of stress-relieving laughter, I recommend watching misheard lyrics videos.

For fans of BTS, which has mostly Korean lyrics, misheard lyrics are somewhat common because the brain wants to interpret what we hear into our native language. This makes for some pretty funny misheard lyrics. When I first journeyed into the world of BTS in the "Dynamite" era, I listened to a lot of their older songs. I woke up one day with one stuck in my head; "la la la oh chimichanga, la la la oh chimichanga." It was actually "Ggwak jaba nal deopchigi jeone Nae mami neol nohchigi jeone"meaning, "Hold me tight before I kiss you

Before my heart lets you go." It's from "Boy in Luv", but my daughter still calls it the chimichanga song!

Here are some other BTS lyrics that are often misunderstood:

"Fake Love"

Lyric: I wanna be a good

Misheard as: I wanna be a goat

Lyric: suga isseosseo

Misheard as: Suga is salsa

English translation:: I could

"Danger"

Lyric: Neo jigeum wiheomhae wae nareul shiheomhae? Wae nareul shiheomhae? hetgallige haji ma

Misheard as: No chick can be a man! Why not is she a man? Why not is she a man? Hey, girly get your Ma!

English translation: You're in danger right now, why are you testing me? Why are you testing me? Stop confusing me

"Blood Sweat and Tears"

Lyric: Wonhae manhi manhi manhi manhi

Wonhae manhi manhi manhi manhi manhi manhi

Misheard as: Want money, money, money, money

Want money, money, money, money, money, money

English translation: I want you a lot, a lot, a lot

I want you a lot, a lot, a lot

"SeeSaw"

Lyric: All right banbogdoen sisogeim

Heard as: Alright I dropped the cheesecake

English translation: Repeated seesaw game

There are so many others. If you are a curious ARMY, I recommend learning the phonetics and interpretation of the real Korean words. It doesn't have to be a time-sucking activity. Just pick a song you like and start with the chorus, followed by lines of the verse. Don't expect to pick it up instantly but soon you will hear Korean words that you know in other songs. I was intrigued by V's strong voice in "Boy in Luv" so my first phrase was, "Wae nae mameul heundeuneun geonde" meaning "Why are you shaking my heart?" I found mameul (heart) in a lot of their other songs as well. Though I wish I would have started with "On" because these misheard lyrics are already ingrained in my brain:

Micheal told me in the closet, I got some chicken, I'm so sad

Lyrics: Naui gotongi inneun gose Naega sum swige hasoseo

English translation: where my pain is, let me breathe.

I have a short playlist for the songs from this post on Spotify. Tell me in the comments what some of your funniest misheard lyrics have been.