Thousands of Liverpudlians are mishearing some of the world’s best known song lyrics and replacing them with baffling alternatives, according to new research.
Almost 70 per cent of those polled in the city admitted to singing along to the wrong words of popular tunes, including Abba’s ‘Dancing Queen’ and Dire Strait’s ‘Money for Nothing’.
Indeed, wannabee singers often mishear the lyrics to Taylor Swift’s ‘Blank Space’, believing she is singing "All the lonely Starbucks lovers" - and not "Got a long list of ex-lovers".
Similarly, Selena Gomez’s hit, ‘Good for you’ causes confusion with people singing “I’m farting carrots” instead of the correct “I’m 14 carat”.
While Adele’s 2008 hit ‘Chasing Pavements’ is wrongly sung as ‘’Chasing Penguins’’.
Commissioned by Starkey Hearing Technologies to mark the launch of its new Muse hearing aids, the survey of 2,000 adults looked at the most commonly misheard lyrics.
A spokesman for Starkey said: “We’ve all misheard song lyrics from time to time so it’s really interesting and quite funny to see what the most common ones are.
“The results brought up some real classics but it’s great to see newer hits featuring in the top 40 too.
“People might even argue that some of the misheard lyrics in the results are actually better than the originals.”
A quarter of Liverpool’s adults have argued over misheard lyrics while over half have checked the internet to find out what the actual lyrics are.
Also featuring in the Top 40 is “Call me when you try to wake her” from REM’s 1993 hit ‘Sidewinder Sleeps’ is commonly mixed up with the lyric, ‘’Calling Jamaica’’.
From Johnny Nash’s ‘I can see clearly now’ is “I can see clearly now Lorraine is gone” which when sang correctly is “I can see clearly now the rain has gone”.
While “Poppadum peach” from Madonna’s ‘papa don’t preach’ and “We’re caught in a tout” from Elvis Presley’s ‘Suspicious Minds’ also feature.
Hot Chocolate’s ‘Sexy thing’ is commonly mistaken - with “I believe in miracles” misheard as “I remove umbilicals”
And the chorus from Kings of Leon’s ‘Sex on fire’ has been wrongly heard as “dyslexics on fire”.
Similarly Chaka Kahn’s ‘I’m very woman’ has been misheard as “I’m Terry Wogan”.
Pop-loving Liverpudlians can’t enough of singing – with 75 per cent of adults regularly crooning along to their favourite songs.
Over three quarters of those surveyed in the city sing in the car while 45 per cent like to belt out a number or two while tidying the house.
Three out of ten respondents like to work on their vocals in the shower or bath and half said they enjoy a sing-along when cooking.
Other places people polled like to sing include when shopping, when exercising, when gardening - and when on the loo.
Despite this, over 40 per cent of those Liverpudlians questioned find it annoying when people sing along to songs in front of them.
Nearly half of the city’s respondents admit that they are awful singers – just two per cent described themselves as great singers.
And some 70 per cent of those surveyed have been caught belting out a number when they mistakenly thought no one was looking. 85 per cent admit to feeling embarrassed being caught in the act.
A spokesman for Starkey added: “Although mishearing things can be quite funny, it can also be a common sign of hearing loss. Those who think they might not be hearing as well as they should are encouraged to have it checked.
“Hearing well is vital to our health and wellbeing and today’s technology is so sophisticated and discreet that there’s really no need to mishear your favourite songs.”
LIVERPOOL’S TOP MISHEARD LYRICS - ALLEGEDLY
1. Sue Lawley”. Correct lyric: “So lonely” from The Police’s ‘So Lonely’.
2. “Poppadom Peach”. Correct lyric: “Papa don't preach” from Madonna’s ‘Papa don't preach’.
3. 'Calling Jamaica'. Correct lyric: 'Call me when you try to wake her' from R.E.M.'s 'The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite'.
4. 'Excuse me while I kiss this guy'. Correct lyric: 'Excuse me while I kiss the sky' from Jimi Hendrix's 'Purple Haze'.
5. “Saving his life from this warm sausage tea”. Correct lyric: “Spare him his life from this monstrosity” from Queen’s 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.
6. 'It doesn't make a difference if we're naked or not'. Correct lyric: 'It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not' from Bon Jovi's 'Livin' On A Prayer'.
7. 'Every time you go away, you take a piece of meat with you'. Correct lyric: ‘Every time you go away, you take a piece of me with you.’ Paul Young - Every Time You Go Away.
8. 'All the lonely Starbucks lovers'. Correct lyric: 'Got a long list of ex-lovers' from Taylor Swift's 'Blank Space'.
9. 'Or should I just keep chasing penguins'. Correct lyric: 'Or should I just keep chasing pavements' from Adele's 'Chasing Pavements'.
10. 'I want to hold your ham'. Correct lyric: 'I want to hold your hand' from The Beatles' 'I want to hold your hand'.
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