It amazes me sometimes when people give as an excuse for not singing at karaoke, "Oh, I don't know the words to most songs" or some variation thereupon. Obviously, karaoke gives you the words. BUT, I can see their point insofar as karaoke is so often HILARIOUSLY WRONG in its interpretation of things. So, this is the thread for that. And even if no one else participates I am going to use this thread as my personal blog for disputed lyrics as displayed on karaoke screens.
The all-time greatest, which I've posted to ILM before, was on "Like A Rolling Stone":
You used to be so amused At Napoleon and Riggs, and the language that he used
Beck's "Loser" sports a number of interpretations of the hook, including
So, open the door
and
So dependent on
of which I prefer the latter, as it suggests that the karaoke lyric-transcriber was trying to go for something suitably "slacker"ish.
In a similar attempt to capture the theamtic content of the song, there's:
Two children lost their lives Living in a gangster's paradise
Finally, tonight's; on "Two Princes," a fairly minor discrepancy:
Ooh, your majesty Come on, forget the kingdom, marry me
The actual line is "forget the king and" but thankfully this doesn't really screw up the meaning too badly. Although, in Googling this, I found an even wronger lyrics website: "Forget the king...who, marry me."
More to come?
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 3 September 2007 07:10 (5 years ago) Permalink
I did see "Song for Guy" on one karaoke list once.
Just for getting some dude up on stage and stand there, embarrassed, for 4 mins until the final 30 seconds, I guess.
― Mark G, Monday, 3 September 2007 08:34 (5 years ago) Permalink
I saw "listen to the love weep" for "teenage rebel of the week" in Roxy Music's "Virginia Plain" at the Rainbow Club in the fall of 1998.
― roxymuzak, Monday, 3 September 2007 13:48 (5 years ago) Permalink
Actually, Norwegian singer/songwriter Finn Kalvik has written lyrics to "Song For Guy", released as "Alle Som Blir Igjen" on his 1979 album "Kom Ut Kom Fram" (produced by Benny Andersson). Needless to say, the lyrics are in Norwegian though....
― Geir Hongro, Monday, 3 September 2007 14:03 (5 years ago) Permalink
"Come, Dustin Mark Saruptin Bleach As I want you to be."
I mean, really!
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 13 December 2007 04:52 (5 years ago) Permalink
On the Fugees' "Ready Or Not:"
"I refugee from Guantomolo Bay"
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 10 May 2010 16:52 (3 years ago) Permalink
I feel her breath in my faceHer body close to me Can't look in her eyesShe's out of my LIPS
(Patrick Swayze's "She's like the Wind")Correct word is "league" of course.
― Trip Maker, Monday, 10 May 2010 16:56 (3 years ago) Permalink
― Doctor Casino, Monday, May 10, 2010 4:52 PM (4 months ago) Bookmark
This also features
You can't run awayFrom these styles I got,hey baby, oh babyYou can't hide from the black
― Doctor Casino II, Tuesday, 21 September 2010 03:25 (2 years ago) Permalink
the asian karaoke place i wnt to last new year's listed the popular recording artists wyclef jeans and fat domino
― Picture me ¯\(°_°)/¯ ing (symsymsym), Tuesday, 21 September 2010 08:44 (2 years ago) Permalink
Once I sang Trio's "Da Da Da" and the pre-chorus was simply "some German mumbling."
― coolsundays, Tuesday, 21 September 2010 08:56 (2 years ago) Permalink
My ex postyed this one on his tumblr from a recent karaoke:
I asked him what song the heck it was and he said he thinks it was Blondies "heart of glass" which has me freaking baffled.
― cathedral-sized jellyfish in your mind (Trayce), Tuesday, 21 September 2010 08:57 (2 years ago) Permalink
Unfortunately for Blondie, "A cracked polystyrene man" is a lyric from "Fake Plastic Trees" by Radiohead. But the background is a nice touch!
― Doctor Casino II, Tuesday, 21 September 2010 14:40 (2 years ago) Permalink
my local karaoke host, probably in the rush to type them up, attributed "All By Myself" to Eric Cartman
― turn in yer badge (San Te), Tuesday, 21 September 2010 14:42 (2 years ago) Permalink
On "Pump It Up" by Elvis Costello:
Listen to the propagandaListen to the latest Santa
I like to think this is actually a command: "Listen to the latest, Santa!"...
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 2 January 2012 22:20 (1 year ago) Permalink
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, "The Tears Of A Clown":
"Just like Polly Archer didI try to keep my sadness hid"
Should be "just like Pagliacci did"
― Let A Man Come In And Do The Cop Porn (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Monday, 2 January 2012 22:27 (1 year ago) Permalink
Eh -- even worse is when the singers get the words wrong.
― lumber up, limbaugh down (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 2 January 2012 22:38 (1 year ago) Permalink
I did "What's My Name" by Snoop the other night and pretty much know the words by heart so I didn't look at the screen much, but when I looked down, I saw some funny shit like
"so peep up on manuscriptya see, it is a must we drop thanks to this"
― Neanderthal, Tuesday, 3 January 2012 02:43 (1 year ago) Permalink
My kids think Jimi sings: Scuse me while I kiss this guy
― Dr X O'Skeleton, Tuesday, 3 January 2012 21:23 (1 year ago) Permalink
This is from a lyrics site, not karaoke, but omg:
Rope-a-dope dookies all around the neckWhoo ha... garcon, the check!
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 29 September 2012 01:06 (8 months ago) Permalink