Commonly Misheard Lyrics Trivia Quiz

Answer: The sky

A lot of people thought Hendrix sang "Excuse me while I kiss this guy." Hendrix was aware of this misunderstanding, and sometimes he would change the lyrics and really sing "this guy" when he sang this song live and he would point at a guy in the audience. However, the correct lyric is "Excuse me while I kiss the sky."

"Purple Haze" is widely regarded as one of the greatest guitar songs ever written. The guitar riff for this song is one of the most recognizable guitar riffs in the world. The song is widely thought to be a song about being on drugs. Hendrix denied this, saying that it's a love song. The lyrics "Whatever it is, that girl put a spell on me," would support that claim. Unfortunately, whether or not this song was about drugs, Hendrix died of a drug overdose at 27. There hasn't been a guitarist like him ever since.

Answer: It's unreal, the suffering

Jeff Lynne sings this part quietly, so it is difficult to decipher this part. A lot of people thought he was singing "It's a real submarine," paying tribute to the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine." ELO haven't exactly tried to hide the fact that they were heavily influenced by the Beatles. However, the correct line is "It's unreal, the suffering," and that's the phrase that makes the most sense. Sometimes Lynne would sing "It's a real submarine" live.

"Showdown" was released in 1973. It was one of ELO's breakthrough hits. John Lennon loved the song and praised the band heavily. That had to make Jeff Lynne and the group feel good. ELO went on to have many top 40 hits in the UK and in the US after this, but "Showdown" remains my favorite song of theirs.

Answer: Tiny dancer

A lot of people thought Elton John sang "Hold me close, Tony Danza." This is partially because American audiences have a little difficulty understand Elton John's British accent, and partially because Elton John is openly gay. However, the song is called "Tiny dancer," so we can assume that he is singing "Hold me closer tiny dancer."

"Tiny Dancer" wasn't a huge hit compared to other Elton John songs. It only charted in the top 20 in Australia and Canada, and didn't even chart in the top 40 anywhere else. However, I personally like this song better than most of Elton John's big U.S. hits.

Answer: Scaramouche

There are lots of lyrics in this song this are easy to misunderstand due to the fact that they are references that aren't universally known. Scaramouche is a comedy character that shows up in ancient Italian theater. He was popularlized by Tiberio Fiorillo in the 17th century.

The Fandango is a lively Spanish dance.

Queen singer Freddie Mercury wrote all of this song, intending for it to be a mock opera. It was meant to be a rock song, but it was also meant to be something that had never been done before. In the mid 70's, rock was becoming more musically complex with the rise of progressive rock bands like Yes, Jethro Tull, and Emerson Lake and Palmer. "Bohemian Rhapsody" fit in quite well with what those bands were doing, which is why it was so successful.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" was Queen's US breakthrough hit on their fourth album which was also their breakthrough album, "A Night at the Opera." This song charter at number one on six different charts in six different countries. It charted at number 9 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. It is widely regarded is one of the greatest rock songs ever written, if not THE greatest.

Answer: Chicks

Many people thought they were saying "Chips." I knew the right word was "chicks" because I was reading the lyrics sheet the first time I listened to this song, but "chips" would make sense. "Chips" would seem to make more sense than "Chicks" actually. If you thought it was "Chips," I don't blame you at all.

"Chimps" would also make sense, because of the line "Bangin' on the bongos like a chimpanzee." Even "Chills" would make sense compared to what you usually see in Misheard lyrics articles.

"Money For Nothing" was written by Dire Straits' singer/songwriter Mark Knopfler. He wrote the song when he went to an appliance store and saw an unfriendly man watching MTV. Some of the lyrics in this song are actual phrases straight from the mouth of this unfriendly man, Knopfler wrote down some of the things the man said and used it for this song. This song is controversial because of some of the language in it, but all Knopfler was doing was repeating words that a rude employee at an appliance store said.

This song went to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album that it was on, "Brothers in Arms", has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the highest-selling albums ever.

Answer: Pavements

Any of the wrong answers would make sense. Actually, for this one, the right answer is the one that makes the least sense. "Chasing Pavements" is not an expression that had been commonly used prior to this song.

Adele wrote this song after her then-boyfriend had cheated on her. She went to the bar, punched him in the face, and was thrown out. This song tells the story of what was going through her mind after she was kicked out of the bar and was walking through the streets. The song basically says she's wondering if she should give up on love.

Adele put this song on her album "19," which was her age at the time the album was released. The song peaked at number 21 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and charted in the top ten on more than ten charts. The album peaked at number four on the U.S. Billboard top 200 albums.

Answer: Long list of ex-lovers

Taylor Swift is famous for having a lot of ex-boyfriends. She is loved by some people and criticized by others for writing a lot of songs about her ex-boyfriends. Personally, even though she is (or was, depending on when you play this quiz) a very attractive woman and has lots of money, I would not want to date a woman who was rejected by so many men, or who has rejected so many men.

"Blank Space" was a number one hit is seven different countries and charted in many more countries. It is on an album called "1989", the year of Swift's birth.

Answer: We're heading for Venus

Some people thought it was "We're working for peanuts." Those people didn't know that this song was inspired by David Bowie's "Space Oddity." When you know that, the line "We're headed for Venus" makes more sense.

Singer Joey Tempest just wrote this song to be a concert opener. He didn't expect it to be a hit. This song charted at number eight on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number one in more than ten countries. The synthesizer riff for this song is one of the most iconic, instantly recognizable pieces of music ever created.

Answer: Entertain us

You can be forgiven if you didn't get this question right. Nirvana lyrics are some of the hardest lyrics to understand, due to both their nonsensical nature and Kurt Cobain's difficult-to-understand voice.

The title came from a time when one of Kurt's female friends said that he smelled like Teen Spirit. Teen Spirit is a deodorant that Cobain's then-girlfriend used. Cobain did not know about the deodorant until after the song was released, and he thought she was saying that he smelled rebellious.

Cobain has admitted the song has no real meaning. This is likely true of all the songs on "Nevermind," and this is likely why the album was called "Nevermind."

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" peaked at number six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and was a top ten hit in more than ten countries.

Answer: Groos

"Groos" is just a word Jeff Lynne made up. It's just filler for the chorus. A lot of people thought the band was singing "Bruce." Lynne is aware of this misunderstanding, and when the band plays this song live, Lynne often sings "Bruce."

"Don't Bring Me Down" is a hit song on ELO's 1979 album "Discovery." This song is different from previous ELO songs in that it has no violins. The "O" in ELO, which stands for "Orchestra," is missing. Some people didn't like this song or album for that reason. The album has been infamously called "Disco? Very!" However, "Don't Bring Me Down" charted at number three on the U.S.S Billboard Hot 100 and charted in the top ten in more than ten countries.