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THE Police’s hit record So Lonely and Abba’s Dancing Queen are Britain’s most misheard songs, according to a poll.
Music fans also struggle with Taylor Swift’s Blank Space and Queen’s legendary We Will Rock You.
The most common mistake is listeners hearing “Sue Lawley” instead of “So Lonely” in The Police’s 1978 track. A tenth of the 2000 adults surveyed heard “tangerine” instead of “tambourine” in Dancing Queen.
The line “got a long list of ex-lovers” in Swift’s
Blank Space is often mistaken for “all the lonely
Starbucks lovers”. And many people mishear We Will Rock You’s “kicking your can all over the place” as “kicking your cat all over the place”.
In REM’s The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite, “Call me when you try to wake her” is often sung as, “Calling Jamaica”.
And Adele’s track Chasing Pavements is mistaken for Chasing Penguins, while many think the lyrics to TLC’s Waterfalls are, “Don’t go Jason Waterfalls”.
It takes a person an average of six times to listen to a song beforet they feel confident they know the lyrics.
The research, by Earex, found more than half of adults believe words aren’t pronounced clearly in songs but others blamed their deteriorating hearing.
Clare Campbell, of Earex, said: “Many of these songs have been sung by people for years. But it seems we have been singing the wrong lyrics all this time.
“It can be easy to hear one thing and think that’s what is being said.” 1. The Police’s So Lonely Wrong lyric:“Sue Lawley” Correct lyric:“So lonely” 2. Abba’s Dancing Queen
Wrong lyric:“Feel the beat of the tangerine” 3. REM’s The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite Wrong lyric:“Calling Jamaica” Correct lyric:“Call me when you try to wake her” 4. Taylor Swift’s Blank Space Wrong lyric:“All the lonely Starbucks lovers” Correct lyric:“Got a long list of ex-lovers”
5. Queen’s We Will Rock You
Wrong lyric:“Kicking your cat all over the place” Correct lyric:“Kicking your can all over the place” 6. John Travolta and Olivia Newton John’s Summer Nights Wrong lyric:“Tommy Moore” Correct lyric:“Tell me More” 7. Fat Boy Slim’s Praise You
Wrong lyric:“I have to praise you like a shoe” 8. Starships’ We Built This City
Wrong lyric:“We built this city on sausage rolls” Correct lyric:“We built this city on rock and roll”
9. Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody Wrong:“Saving his life from this warm sausage tea” Correct:“Spare him his life from this monstrosity”
10. Tina Turner’s Steamy Windows
Wrong lyric:“Stevie Winters”
Correct lyric:“Steamy Windows”