Misheard Song Lyrics -> Stories -> REM
Misheard lyrics (also called mondegreens) occur when people misunderstand the lyrics in a song. These are NOT intentional rephrasing of lyrics, which is called parody. For more information about the misheard lyrics available on this site, please read our FAQ.
This page contains a list of the songs that have stories about their misheard lyrics submitted.
Song names are sorted by first letter, excluding A and The. This is sorted by song title only, not by song title and performer. So if two different performers preformed the same song, you'll see misheard lyrics for both on the same page (provided the song title was spelt the same both times, and misheard lyrics have been submitted for both!).
In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 album at Amazon.com
REM's, "Daysleeper"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I must scream, the blinding light
I must scream, I work at night.
I must scream, I work at night.
The Real Lyrics:
I'm the screen, the blinding light
I'm the screen, I work at night.
I'm the screen, I work at night.
The Story: I loved this song when I thought it was about how much it hurts your eyes to come back into the Big Blue Room. Now I just think it's weird. I'm still going to be singing 'I must scream!' - Submitted by: Rissa
REM's, "Driver 8"
The Misheard Lyrics:
The power lines have motors
So the eblings won't get mad.
So the eblings won't get mad.
The Real Lyrics:
The power lines have floaters
So the airplanes won't get snagged.
So the airplanes won't get snagged.
The Story: "What I want to know is: What the heck's an ebling?", my friend, Peter, asked. After listening to the song again, we finally figured out what he was talking about. Everyone cracked up and, from that point on, the big balls that they put on high powerlines have always been known to us as eblings. - Submitted by: Roberta
REM's, "Everybody Hurts"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Everybody burbs.
The Real Lyrics:
Everybody hurts.
The Story: This is now my 10 year old daughter heard the lyrics. I laughed and told her about this website. So here we are. - Submitted by: Rachel
REM's, "Everybody Hurts"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Everybody burps.
The Real Lyrics:
Everybody hurts.
The Story: My ten year old daughter asked me why they were singing about "burps". - Submitted by: Rachel
REM's, "Life And How To Live It"
The Misheard Lyrics:
My c*** is running around in the valley.
The Real Lyrics:
My pockets are out and running about.
The Story: I was in a car with a friend when I first heard this song. When we heard that line, we both looked at each other and just started laughing so hard. I had to pull the car over to the side of the road. I keep hearing the same line misheard by other people too. I guess its not just me. - Submitted by: Steve D. Martinez
REM's, "Losing My Religion"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Oh, life spigger
Spigger than you.
Spigger than you.
The Real Lyrics:
Oh, life is bigger
Bigger than you.
Bigger than you.
The Story: My son asked me. 'Dad, what's a 'spigger'? ' I said 'Ido you mean 'spigot' ?...where did you hear it?' his reply 'an rem song...goes..'Oh, life Spigger Spigger than you' ' - Submitted by: Greg
REM's, "Nightswimming"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Every streetlight reveals a picture in the hearse.
The Real Lyrics:
Every streetlight reveals a picture in reverse.
The Story: Thanks to that misheard line, I thought the song was about someone who drowned while swimming with friends one night. - Submitted by: Lois
REM's, "Orange Crush"
The Misheard Lyrics:
I got my spider, I got my orange crush.
The Real Lyrics:
I got my spine, I got my orange crush.
The Story: I always thought it was 'I got my spider' until an Irish rock star named Glen Hansard wrote the real thing on my friend's crutch when she asked him to autograph it. It was an interesting way to find out the real lyric. - Submitted by: Madeleine
REM's, "Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Call me Chuck the baker.
The Real Lyrics:
Call me when you try to wake her up.
The Story: REM were appearing on an Australian chat show called 'The Panel', and the audience were asked to write down what they thought this lyric was. Michael Stipe then read through some of the responses on air, was particularly amused by this one, and asked if he could keep them all. - Submitted by: Mike
REM's, "The One I Love"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Cayana-she's comin' to her home now.
The Real Lyrics:
Fire-she's comin' down on her own now.
The Story: Every single time I have heard this song, I think he is screaming to a girl named Cayana (pronounced 'ki-an-a'). So my spelling of her name could be interpreted or spelled differently. I can't believe I am the only person who has made this submission. - Submitted by: Scott Korek
REM's, "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Call me when you get the baker.
The Real Lyrics:
Call me when you try to wake her up.
The Story: This was at a high school chat. Plus, one of us is half-Canadian and half-Italian. No one seems to get what the heck this REM verse says. So the half-and-half girl comes up with the summary of this short conversation she had with her big brother about it. And their final version is something like, "Call me when you call the baker". Then, of course, she thinks it can't actually be that dumb, and we all laugh. yet. It does get better and better during our class jam session. First it becomes "Call me when you get the baker". Later, even worse, "When you get to the baker". Probably the only good memory I still have...long abandoned friends and classmates. That chat was really funny, though. - Submitted by: G-liq-t
REM's, "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Calling Jamaica
or
Calling each other a Baker.
or
Calling each other a Baker.
The Real Lyrics:
Call me when you try to wake her up.
The Story: Always debated with my wife whether was it 'Jamaica' or 'Baker', (I sing one, she sings the other) had no idea until now that it was actually 'wake her'!. - Submitted by: Tim
REM's, "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight"
The Misheard Lyrics:
Colin Chaccawaica
The Real Lyrics:
Call me when you try to wake her up
The Story: My siblings and I never used to understand what he was saying during the chorus and we all heard 'Colin Chaccawaica'. Even though we knew it was ridiculous, we just assumed it was the name of a fictitious Native American chief or something along those lines. It was only today when I saw the real lyrics on this site - almost ten years later - did I experience probably the longest bout of laughter known to man. - Submitted by: Devil Jones
There are more REM misheard lyrics available.
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