There are some songs whose lyrics I often mess up and my friends don’t tell me I’ve messed them up, just so they get a good laugh every time I sing it.
But of course, eventually I find out Billy Joel didn’t ask the ‘Yellow Piano Man‘ to sing him a song; and The Black Crowes didn’t sing ‘Hey baby let me light your chemicals cos I’m sure to hananah mess around’, in the song ‘Hard to handle’, but actually ‘Hey little thing let me light your candle ‘Cause mama I’m sure hard to handle, now, gets around’.
It didn’t matter if the title was ‘Hard to Handle’, and not ‘Hananah’, whatever ‘hannanah’ was (some sort of chemical?). I’d still sing the wrong slurrics.
Then there are people who misinterpret lyrics. Now, that’s pretty common, you might think, and not that funny. But I know this guy who loves the theme song from ‘Fame‘. He’d sing it all the time. Then one day, he sings it, and then mutters, ‘What kind of name is ‘Fame’?’
He’d thought the song was about a person named ‘Fame’, and quite heatedly argued that it was because the chorus went ‘Remember my name: Fame! I wanna live forever!’, and why would she ask people to remember her name – fame, because I would also say that what, you know? remember my name – John!’ if I wanted people to remember my name is John…’
I’m not entirely sure if he’s been convinced of the truth yet, but in any case, he’s a great singer.
Then this morning, they played a Cliff Richard song on the radio which I like very much. Only thing is, for years, I never knew the real title of the song, and always thought it was a nice love song dedicated to some woman named ‘Shandeep’.
‘Cos y’know, Cliff sings, all torch-song like, so powerfully: ‘Ooohh Shandeeeeeep, I’m so afraid to show my feelings, I have sailed a million ceilings…’
“Miss Kaur always felt a special, personal affinity for Sir Cliff’s works and would always feel as if he were singing to her”
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