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Misquoted lyrics are a reality of music-loving life, but now, thanks to digital music streaming service Spotify, we know which songs get mangled the most.
Based on a survey of 1,042 people, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band 1976 hit “Blinded By The Light” takes the top spot. Written and originally recorded by Bruce Springsteen in 1973, the song didn’t appear on the music charts until The Earth Band’s version came out. Mann rewrote some of Springsteen’s lyrics, changing “cut loose like a deuce” to “revved up like a deuce,” meaning a 1932 Ford known as a “deuce coup.”
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It seemed a harmless tweak at first, but it didn’t take long before millions of radio listeners were singing, “wrapped up like a douche” while pumping their fists in the air in what was certainly not an ode to feminine hygiene products.
Jimi Hendrix‘s “Purple Haze” comes in second on Spotify’s list. The 1967 classic features a chorus break that finds the guitar god looking above, singing, “’Scuse me, while I kiss the sky.” But in a relentless mishear, many people know the line as “Excuse me while I kiss this guy.”
Despite accusations that the song is about drugs, Hendrix said that he wrote “Purple Haze” as a love song — for a girl, if you take literally the line, “that girl put a spell on me.” Still, Hendrix was aware of this common lyrical blunder and jokingly sang the song with these incorrect lyrics at a live concert.
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No. 3 and No. 4 on the list are unique in that, despite making up the title of the songs, the lyrics still are misquoted. The Clash’s 1982 hit “Rock The Casbah” is commonly mistaken as “Rock the cat box,” while Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer,” though released in 1972 — years before the sitcom Who’s the Boss made it to network television — is heard by some as “Hold me closer, Tony Danza.”
Below is the full run-down of misquoted songs along with Spotify’s playlist:
1. Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, “Blinded By the Light”
Wrong:Blinded by the light, wrapped up like a douche when you’re rollin’ in the night
Right: Blinded by the light, revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night
2. Jimi Hendrix, “Purple Haze”
Wrong: ’Scuse me, while I kiss this guy
Right: ‘Scuse me, while I kiss the sky
3. The Clash, “Rock The Casbah”
Wrong: Rock the cat box
Right: Rock the Casbah
4. Elton John, “Tiny Dancer”
Wrong: Hold me closer Tony Danza
Right: Hold me closer tiny dancer
5. Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Bad Moon Rising”
Wrong: There’s a bathroom on the right
Right: There’s a bad moon on the rise
6. Guns N’ Roses, “Paradise City”
Wrong: Take me down to a very nice city
Right: Take me down to paradise city
7. Van Halen, “Panama”
Wrong: Animal!
Right: Panama!
8. Far East Movement, “Like a G6”
Wrong: Like a cheese stick
Right: Like a G6
9. TLC, “Waterfalls”
Wrong: Don’t go Jason waterfalls
Right: Don’t go chasing waterfalls
10. Macy Gray, “I Try”
Wrong: I blow bubbles when you are not here
Right: My world crumbles when you are not near
Twitter: @THRMusic
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