There have been countless documented cases of misheard song lyrics over the years -- I'm still not convinced the Go-Go's aren't saying "There's a weapon that we must use -- an optic lens, to spy on them" in "Our Lips Are Sealed" -- so it's not all that surprising that Michael caught me singing the wrong line to a Sheena Eaton song recently. (Yes, don't laugh: you know I've been on a kick lately ... and I still think "You should have been with me, instead of alone with nothing" is a WAY BETTER lyric that the repetitious "instead of alone and lonely" -- but perhaps that's the editor in me at work).
No sooner had he corrected me on that one did he stun me with an explanation of a song we've all heard forever, but that I never "noticed" what it was about. Can't remember what led us there, but he suddenly said, "You know, that song about the personal ads?" I immediately said, "You mean the Honey Cone's 'Want Ads'?" -- an all-time fave of mine on my iPod -- and he said, "No, the one where the guy ends up responding to his wife's ad."
This went on for 10 minutes before the clues finally came together and I realized he was talking about "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" by Rupert Holmes -- aka the last No. 1 of the 1970s. I've probably heard that song a thousand times and it never dawned on me once that that's what it was about (who ever paid attention to the verses, anyway?). Suddenly as Mikey sang it to me, all the words told a very clear story, yet all I'd ever heard it as was two people on a date talking about what they had in common -- not some guy reading from a his own lady's personal ad while she slept right there beside him. (The fact that I had known the song as "The Gina Kolata Song" for the past seven years -- a nod to the Times science writer -- didn't help clarify things much, either.)It got me wondering about what other songs and lyrics might have been completely lost on me over the years (obviously man). Would love to hear from you if you've ever had a pop-music epiphany too! Oh, and if you're as lost as I was with "Escape" -- and who knew it was originally just called that? -- then watch the video below, complete with lyrics. It won't make the song any better, but it might make a hell of a lot more sense.
7 comments:
Ken, perhaps you also don't realize that the dudes "lady" in this song checked out of the relationship before he did... he responded to HER personal ad. She obviously had to place the ad before he read it "while she was sleepin' in bed". So, it's actually a statement about the loss of communication with long term couples and they were both at the exact same place, mentally. K!
I loved She-Bop as a little kid. When I tracked down the CD in college I was a little shocked. Now I like it even more.
My grandmother always thought Credence Clearwater Revival was singing "There's a bathroom on the right" instead of "There's a bad moon on the rise." www.kissthisguy.com has lots of other great misheard lyrics.
Escape and Want Ads -- two of my childhood faves! Though I always thought the latter was by the Honey COMBS. Another case of mistaken something or other :-)
I used to think that the patrons who "sat at the bar and put bread in my jar" (in Billy Joel's "Piano Man") were putting crusts of bread in his jar because they were poor and had no money, but wanted to show their appreciation. I had no idea "bread" was slang for "money." I think I was 25 when I finally heard it again and realized what was going on. My version is more touching.
The Rolling Stones smash hi of the early '80s - INSOMNIA - (Enunciate , Mick, enunciate.)
It happened to me with Brandi Carlisle's The Story ("Oh because even when I was flat broke / You made me feel like a million bucks")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8pQLtHTPaI
And Sheila Nicholls "Fallen For You" ("But I'll go now, so you won't know how much I..Thought about you all the time,
Walking round, the Guggenheim.")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31epnYBOMWA&feature=player_embedded#!
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