The Light Fantastic Trivia Quiz

Answer: A Whiter Shade of Pale

There are so many misheard lyrics in the song "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum but probably the most famous are "trip the light fantastic" for the actual lyrics "skip the light fandango." There is a funny scene in the 1991 movie "The Commitments" about a soul band in Dublin, Ireland where two of the band members are in church singing along to the song, one of them sings the wrong lyrics and the priest corrects him.

This song has sold more then ten million copies worldwide and in 1977, along with the Queen song "Bohemian Rhapsody" was named the "The Best British Pop Single 1952-1977" at the Brit Awards.

Answer: Don't Bring Me Down

ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) released this song in 1979, off their "Discovery" album. A common misheard lyric in this song is "Bruce" as it sounds like lead singer Jeff Lynne is singing "don't bring me down, Bruce" but according to Lynne he just singing a made up word "grooss" as a gap filler.

It also sounds a lot like the German word for greetings, "Gruß," and when he heard that, he decided to leave it in the song. When the band performs this song live, Lynne will add the word Bruce in for fun.

Answer: Message in a Bottle

The actual line in the song is "A year has passed since I wrote my note" but often people hear the wrong lyrics instead. Given the band's reputation for infighting and even getting into physical altercations before they broke up, it isn't too big a leap to hear the wrong lyrics! "Message in a Bottle" is the lead single on "Regatta de Blanc", a 1979 Police album.

Answer: Purple Haze

"Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix was released in 1967 and contains the real lyrics "excuse me while I kiss the sky." This song was the first exposure to his psychedelic sound by most people, is one of his most famous songs, and was included in the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Hendrix was asked many times in interviews about the meaning of the song and gave different and inconsistent answers so it's really not clear what the song is about. The only piece of memorabilia known is a crumpled piece of paper that is on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that doesn't even contain the lyrics to the song...

Answer: Smells Like Teen Spirit

The actual lyrics in "Smells Like Teen Spirit" are "a mosquito, my libido" but honestly there are so many misheard lyrics in this song. Also misheard are "A Malatto, hell if I know, I'm a skater, follow me oh, yeah!" instead of "A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido, yeah!" or "a mosquito, I'm a Frito" or even "a mosquito ate my cheerios".

The song itself was the lead single from Nirvana's second album "Nevermind" and was hugely influential in that it really introduced mainstream audiences to grunge music and paved the way for many other grunge acts such as Soundgarden, Mudhoney and Alice in Chains.

Answer: Money for Nothing

The song is "Money for Nothing", the band is Dire Straits and the actual lyrics are "money for nothing and the chicks for free". This song from the 1985 album "Brothers in Arms" features Sting, was the first video to be played on MTV Europe and used early computer animation in the video.

Despite winning the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1986 the song isn't without controversy for its homophobic lyrics. Lead singer Knopfler has since changed the offensive word with a less offensive but still homophobic word when the band plays this song live.

Answer: Games Without Frontiers

I've been singing "she's so popular" for years but the actual lyrics are "jeux sans frontieres" which is French for the title of this song. The song is about how childish adults can act and was written before the 1980 Moscow Olympics and the US decision to boycott. English singer/songwriter Kate Bush is singing "jeux sans frontieres" in the background and this isn't the only collaboration between the two.

They recorded "Don't Give Up" together in 1986 as well as "Another Day" for a 1979 Kate Bush television special.

Answer: Dancing Queen

The correct lyrics are "feel the beat from the tambourine" which makes much more sense. The song "Dancing Queen", though not my favourite song by the Swedish band, was their only number one hit in the US and was a massive worldwide hit. It was the lead single from their fourth album "Arrival" and has been covered by A-Teens, a Swedish cover band; covered on the US TV show "Glee"' and included in the popular and successful musical "Mamma Mia" which is based on the music of ABBA.

Answer: Blank Space

The actual lyrics to this Taylor Swift song are "got a long list of ex-lovers", who knew? It was written about the media's portrayal of Swift as someone who writes songs about her failed relationships. The song was well received and debuted at number eighteen on the Billboard Hot 100 before spending seven consecutive weeks at number one. Singer/songwriter Ryan Adams released a Taylor Swift cover album called 1989 and included this song.

It's also been covered by metalcore band I Prevail.

Answer: Mondegreen

Mondegreen is defined as 'mishearing or misinterpreting a phrase and giving it a new meaning'. It occurs most often in song or poetry but can occur in literature, movies and TV. Another example is "Sweet dreams are made of cheese" not "made of these" in The Eurythmics song "Sweet Dreams". The "Lonely Planet" travel book series is actually named after the misheard phrase "lovely planet" from a Joe Cocker song.

The word got its name because of a misheard line from a Scottish ballad called "The Bonnie Earl O'Moray". The mother of American writer Silvia Wright would read this ballad to her and Silvia heard the line "and lady Mondegreen" instead of the actual words, "and laid him on the green." Wright coined the phrase as a result of that experience.

There is psychology behind this as people don't like to listen to something and not understand it. If we can't clearly make it out, we'll make something up so we have something to sing along to!