Right or Wrong, Lyrics Make the Song
In 1979, before I'd discovered the joys of country music, I was into new wave pseudo punk stuff. Like the Knack. And their debut single was the one song I knew by heart. Or thought I did. I spent months singing "My Blue Nova" at the top of my lungs every time it came on my little clock radio. Only problem was, the song was "My Sharona." And my friends who were into Foreigner that same year were convinced they were singing "30-Watt Bulb" instead of "Dirty White Boy."
To this day, I still get the words wrong. A lot. But thanks to CMT.com's official lyric pages, I can at least check to see how the song really goes. (It doesn't always answer all my questions, though. Like when Garth Brooks' "Rodeo" came out, I tried like hell to figure out what he was saying when he sang "It's boots and chaps, it's cowboy hats, it's spurs and latigo." Having never heard of latigo before, that was a tough one to figure out.) When Ashton Shepherd's "Sounds So Good" single came out, her twang was so thick I couldn't understand the line about "Ain't nothing like the sound of a cooler slushin' on the bed of your truck." So I credit CMT.com with helping me master my singalong skills.
But I know other people suffer from the same problem I do, because there are Web sites -- such as www.kissthisguy.com and www.amiright.com -- dedicated to all the songs we get wrong. I have a feeling, though, that there are more misheard lyrics out there in mainstream country music. So if you're not too ashamed, could you please post a comment with any lyrics that confused you?
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Amanda says:
When Brad Paisleys song Alcohol was out for the longest time I thought he was saying Port Au Prince instead of Bordeaux France. I always thought it was weird because I didn’t know of any alcohol that was made in Haiti! Now it all makes sense!!! :)
kayefun says:
The Motels - chorus - It’s like I told you only the lonely (sometimes I heard ‘get blamed’, other times I heard ‘get laid’. The real words –It’s like I told you only the lonely can play.
Rick says:
Amanda, the island of Hispanola (which includes both Haiti and The Dominican Republic), has been farmed to raise sugar cane to make rum for centuries. The blacks who now make up the vast majority of Haiti’s population are descendants of African slaves imported to work in the cane fields and distilleries. So on those grounds I’d say that in Brad Paisley’s song “Alcohol” Port Au Prince is just as valid as Bordeaux, France! (lol)
As for Alison and the Garth Brooks’ song, one need only think of what the bull riders say when its time to open the gate at a rodeo. Whether is “let ‘er go” or “latigo” it still means the same thing……
In Catherine Britt’s debut US single “The Upside of Being Down” I think only ice cream aficionados grasped the lyric “And when I open up some Haagen-Dazs I won’t need to share….”.
J.R. Journey says:
I love this post. For years, when I bought a new CD, the first thing I would do is read the lyrics if they were included in the liner notes. Now that we have thousands upon thousands of lyric sites, it’s so much easier to figure out what our favorite artists are really singing about.
Jennifer Nettles and Reba are the two best examples I think. They just add so much to a lyric when either of those two get a hold of it. Reba’s ‘Whoever’s In New England’ is a case in point. The line ‘When the icy wind blows though you/Remember that its me who feels the cold most of all’ just always stumped me. The best I could figure out was ‘Remember that its me who feels it all, most of all’ … not that far off I know, but it loses all its punch in my translation.
Similarly, Sugarland’s ‘Stay’ (inspired by the Reba hit ‘New England) is full of lyrical nuances that are tricky for a novice ear like mine.
Some others to get me over the years:
‘Make Me Believe’ (Sugarland)
‘Shake The Sugar Tree’ (Pam Tillis) I thought this was ’shave the sugar tree’, I thought she just wanted her man to shave so she could kiss him …
‘Walkaway Joe’ (Trisha Yearwood) Lots of lines in that one got me confused too …
‘Blame It On Your Heart’ (Patty Loveless) This song has so many lyrics, I bet Ms. Loveless herself doesn’t even know them all …
‘No One Else On Earth’ (Wynonna) I can’t deny you/Even when I kept you/Even the cheap alibi (are those even right?)
‘Goin’ Through the Big D’
‘I’ll Think of Something’ (Mark Chestnut) I miss Mark Chestnut.
‘Papa Loved Mama’
‘The Red Strokes’ (Garth Brooks)
‘Only in My Mind’
‘For My Broken Heart’ (Reba)
Troxely says:
Rick….Never been to a rodeo before? a latio is:n. 1. A strap for tightening a saddle girth. HELLO! A true Garrth fan would know this.
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