15 replies to this topic

[Limnophilia]

All right, I love REM for the lyrics, but it seems I've been mistaken for along time about just what JMS is saying.

About a year ago, I started looking through http://www.retroweb.com/rem/lyrics/ and I was pretty amazed at some of the silly "mistakes" I was making (assuming for now that the above link is definitive). Sometimes I like my "interpretation" better, usually not.

I'm sure others have the same experience, so how about this game: each person lists one of their mistaken lyrics from a song off one of the LPs. The order should be chronological from Murmur to Around the Sun and then back to Murmur for another round.

I'll start.

Murmur/Shaking Through

I thought it was "Yellow light, acacia dawn" but it seems to be "Yellow like a geisha gown"

Next is something from Reckoning: go!

[Limnophilia]

Uh, hello? Too hard?

Let me seed it a bit with the next one from:

Reckoning/Camera

I thought it was "If I'm to be your camera, then who will be your film?" but instead of film, it seems to be "face".

Go!

[Limnophilia]

Okay, okay, calm down, just one at a time. I don't want this thread to get out of hand...

Fables/Feeling Gravitys Pull

I used to hear "I fell asleep...just about everywhere I go" instead of the clearly correct "I fell asleep read just about every paragraph"

A bit of stretch maybe but if you sing along you'll see what I mean.

OK, Lifes Rich Pageant: go!

[Limnophilia]

Ok, no more posting in Endgame! See ya!

[Limnophilia]

...and with a response, the thread jolts back to life!

I'll continue with a correction. For my last post, I actually hear "I feel the same way just about every where I go." With the "Where I go" super compressed. Apologies for the slight mistake.

OK, next one...Lifes Rich Pageant/I Believe

Ï thought is was "Example is the check to the king" as in "checkmate" but it seems to be "Example is the checker to the key" which I don't actually see any meaning to...

OK, somebody, Thorn Plucker???, give me one from Document!

[Limnophilia]

thorn plucker said:

Give me 24 hours.

I'll see what I can do.

:cool:

No worries....It will probably take me 24 hours to come up with a reply for the ATS Appreciation Thread...been wasting my time on that one this morning.

[Limnophilia]

OK, we're on a roll now.

Green/Get up

I though the opening line was "Sleepy days: my life!" instead of the infinitely better "Sleep delays my life"

OK, Out of Time, go!

[Low Feedback]

Mistaken: I'm everything to show, I'm everything to hide

Correct: I've everything to show, I've everything to hide

[Limnophilia]

Low Feedback said:

Mistaken: I'm everything to show, I'm everything to hide

Correct: I've everything to show, I've everything to hide

Very nice choice from Radio Song. And welcome to the game!

Okay, here's my next one.

Automatic for the People/Man on the Moon:

I hear "Here's a little legend for the never-believers"

instead of

"Here's a little agit for the never-believer"

What's agit??? And how does it fit in the song???

On to Monster...

[Limnophilia]

I have a good one for this:

NAIHF/The Wake-up Bomb

The correct lyrics are "I had a neutron bomb"

but I heard "I had a new trombone"

I actually prefer mine because it pokes fun at the glam-rock wannabe who only got as far as playing trombone in the high school band (nothing against trombones, of course).

Okay, Up!

[Limnophilia]

thorn plucker said:

Pass. The lyrics on UP were crystal clear to me. Sorry. :o

You think that is because it came with a lyric sheet or because the singing became clearer?

Anyway, here's one:

Up/Lotus

I heard "topspun" for "tough spun". I like tennis, I suppose.

Okay, Reveal!

[Limnophilia]

That's probably my favorite line from REM and it's in my sig over at the Radiohead forum.

Interesting too your comment about Up lyrics and music being complimentary. I think you're right.

Okay, to finish off one cycle---never thought it would get this far---here's:

Around the Sun/High Speed Train

"...Berlin, Kyoto or Marseilles
I'd go anywhere for you"

I distinctly heard

"Burning Kyoto, I must say
I'd go anywhere for you"

As in, "Fuck the Kyoto Protocol, I'm going to burn some fossil fuel on this high speed train...anything for you, baby!" Pretty embarassing.

Okay, can we make another round? Back to Murmur! If we get enough of these, it will be interesting to compile them and get somebody who can sing some "mistaken-lyric covers".

[Limnophilia]

I've got a good one for that phrase too but i'll keep it for round 3!

I asked a French speaker about that a few years ago and was told it means "How long?"

I just checked out http://forum.wordref...ad.php?t=244262 which indicated "de" instead of "du". Any French speakers who can enlighten us? Otherwise, it's a great line from Monsieur Stipe. (It made me wonder if he spoke French...I saw a French TV show from the Up tour in which he gave a few merci, merci but that was it.)

Reckoning/Little America

"I can't see myself at thirty, I don't buy a lacquered thirty"

but I heard "lack of thirty" instead of "lacquered thirty"

Easy miss...

Fables: go!

[Limnophilia]

thorn plucker said:

this is a tough one

You're right.

I can think of this one though:

Fables/Feeling Gravity's Pull

For the line "I felt gravity pull onto my eyes"

in which I heard "pour" instead of "pull". Just found that by reading the lyrics...

Lifes Rich Pageant: Go!

[Limnophilia]

thorn plucker said:

now wait a minute...

These Days

this:

I wish to eat each one of you and you, me, you

according to this:

http://www.retroweb.com/rem/lyrics/

really?

:rolleyes:

it's not meet?

:o

i mean... he's a vegetarian isn't he?

Ha! Never listened closely to that one, but the first line with it's "feeding off you" fits the culinary idea.

[gaston]

thorn plucker said:

Aha!

One I'm not embarrassed of because...

Is this French?

Combien, combien, combien du temps...

I don't speak French. :D

I thought is was:

Called me in, called me in, called me in to talk -

Talk About The Passion

*lol* so it's not 'call me into town'? i think that's what i understood there....no way i would have identified it as monsieur singing french! it has to be combien de temps btw.
and what about 'combien reaction'???? now i don't know if you can say 'how much/many reaction' in english, don't think so, but combien reaction certainly is nonsense. but then, maybe that was exactly monsieur's intention....;)