Today I shall be delving into the world of homophony. No, it’s not what you think, homophones are merely words that sound like others but have different meanings.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I hear a song and, all of a sudden, I have to stop and think…wait just a cotton pickin’ minute, what did they just say? Take for example the classic Jimi Hendrix song, “Purple Haze,” when Jimi belts out, Scuse me while I kiss the sky… I coulda’ swore I heard him say, Scuse me while I kiss this guy. Is it just me, or did you hear it that way too?
I dunno, maybe I have wax in me ears, but here’s another one: Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising”… Don’t go around tonight, well it’s bound to take your life, there’s a bathroom on the right. The actual lyric is, There’s a bad moon on the rise.” OK, this is starting to be fun, so now that you’ve got the hang of it, here’s another one.
This time, it’s the Moody Blues’ “Question.” I’m looking for America Online is actually, I’m looking for a miracle in my life. Next, we have Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes.” Nobody knows what it’s like to be Batman, instead of Nobody knows what it’s like to be the bad man.
How about the Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand?” I get high, I get high instead of I can’t hide, I can’t hide. This is fun, here’s some more: Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now” turns into I can see Claire now Loraine is gone, instead of “I can see clearly now the rain is gone.
Bob Dylan’s “Blowing In The Wind” turns into The ants are my friends, they’re blowing in the wind, instead of The answer my friend is blowing in the wind.
The all-time whopper of misheard lyrics has to be Manfred Mann’s “Blinded By The Light.” The actual lyrics are Revved-up like a deuce and a runner in the night. However, Mann’s slurring of the words comes off as something a little edgy…sorry, I ain’t goin’ there. I’ll tell you when you’re older.
But the most misunderstood song of all time is The Kingsmen’s 1962 hit, “Louie, Louie.” As a cafeteria DJ in high school. I was prohibited from playing it at lunchtime because the principal was sure it had dirty lyrics. Louie, Louie, oh baby, now me gotta go, yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s true, the song was subject to controversy and was banned in some places due to the perception that it had obscene lyrics, even though they were mostly indecipherable. This led to an FBI investigation and scrutiny from school officials and censoring agencies.
“Say good night, Gracie”… “Good night, George.” (not controversial)
Keep it flyin’,
Uncle Mott
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