In The Fray - How to Save a Life, they sing:
And I pray to God he hears you
I always heard:
and I paid a guy to kiss you

The song is largely about a person trying to help/give advice to a depressed friend. With this change in lyrics, I feel the desperation of the main character shines through far more brightly.
The friend has such low self esteem that you decide to pay someone to pretend to like them, because you’re out of options for how to cheer them up.

Damn it, Mr.Ingle. Can you not sing “in the garden of eden” without sounding like you have a mouth full of pudding?

Fuck it. We’ll just change the name of the damned song. Who the hell makes a 17 minute long song, anyhow? You’re a damned idiot!

There’s a break-up song on Chvrch’s debuted album called Tether. One line, frequently repeated, goes “I’m feeling capable of… seeing the end.” A fine lyric, very breakup, much hopeful.

Except, I can’t tell when listening that she isn’t saying “I feel incapable of…” I don’t know if it’s intentional but I think the ambiguity really elevates the song from semi-empowering breakup song to powerfully-relatable song about the chaos of seeing a relationship end; simultaneously believing you can get through it while also having no idea how you’ll ever get through it.

It’s just fun wordplay too: feeling capable/feel incapable. Makes me want to use that structure more in my own writing.

🎶Wrapped up like a douche, another owner in the night🎶

🎶Hold me closer, Tony Danza🎶

“Sewing machines of love”

-Tears for Fears

And I’ll sing all night and in the mornin’ light

When your shades are on and your head’s on ice

You’ll know you’ve seen the redneck sodomy

That’s when it’s time to write a cover.

I cannot hear this song without thinking that the background singers are repeatedly saying “cut your balls off” during the refrain

Billy Idol - Mony Mony

Probably a tad obscure, but at the end of Set (Extended Mix) there’s a section where they repeat “converge” but I can’t help but hear ‘you’re a virgin’ XD

Then again I don’t like that better than the original lyric per se, it’s just different

It’s a relatively minor difference, but for decades, I thought the lyric in Smashing Pumpkins’ Muzzle went

🎵 My life has been extraordinary blessed and cursed at once 🎵

and it’s been one of my favorite lines in any song. Except I was wrong. It goes

🎵 My life has been extraordinary blessed and cursed and won 🎵

It’s not a favorite anymore.

🎶Concrete jungle wet dream toma-to!🎶

There used to be a greater power alone on the sea:
You became a light on the dark side of me. Love became a draw that I could not appeal. But did you know that when it snows, My eyes become alive, and the light that you shine can be seen?

Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey…

In lay me down by the dirty heads, the line:

But they were seen by the good eye of the mean billy green

Should have been:

But they were seen by the keen eye of the mean billy green

I always think of Metallica’s Saint Anger:

🎶 Medallion noose, I hang myself

Saint Anger 'round my neck

I feel my world shake

Like an earthquake

Hard to see clear

Is it me? Is it fear?

I’m not even angry with you

I’m not even angry with you

I’m not even angry with you

I’m not even angry with you

🎶

Yet the real lyrics are:

I’m madly in anger with you

I’m madly in anger with you

I’m madly in anger with you

I’m madly in anger with you

… sigh…

Matthew Good Band - Load Me Up

I always heard:

Picture yourself (At) the MGM Grand Murphy’s fighting how come You’re in the stands?

I loved this line as it was calling out the assumption when you picture something big, why are you in the crowd and not the star of the show? It felt motivating and a fun play on the way people imagine themselves in the world.

It’s actually:

Picture yourself The MGM Grand Murphy’s fighting Occam You’re in the stands

Which, just doesn’t do any of the things the misheard lyric does. So disappointing.