Then everybody'd be surfin'
Like Californ-I-A
The boys intentionally pronounced the Golden State's name "Californ-EYE-AY" so that it rhymes with the half-verse before it: "If everybody had an ocean across the U.S.A.".
Submitted by: Chowder
No phone, no lights no motor cars, not a single luxury
Like Robinson Crusoe, as primative as can be.
The singers pronounce Crusoe as "ca-roo-soh', but it should be pronounced as spelled. It was, and still is, a common mistake.
Submitted by: Robinson Curso
The others all play with him
"with him" is supposed to rhyme with "rhythm" later in the verse.
Submitted by: Alan the Ottoman
All the same friends, and the same address.
He pronounces "address" as uh-DRAY-ess. Worst pronunciation ever. Back in the 1980's, it was years before I had a clue what the line was!
Submitted by: Michael S.
I'm white hot,
I can't take it anymore,
I'm white hot,
By the Somalian shore
Lead Singer Tom Cochrane pronounces "Somalian" as "SO-ma-lie-in", like rhyming with "throw a lion".
Submitted by: John in Tronna
It's just a broken lullaby
I've listened to this over and over, and still sounds like, "It's just a f---ing alibi!"
Submitted by: Ken
Let's tear down these walls, and make love tonight
"Tear" is pronounced as "teer". I don't know if this is due to a Jamaican accent or something else.
Submitted by: Bad Boy
My woman from Tokyo
She makes me see
My woman from Tokyo
She's so good to me.
The singer for Deep Purple (Ian Gillan, I believe) pronounces Tokyo as "toke-kay-oh" to match the music.
Submitted by: Jim Class
Take a picture here. Take a souvenir.
Cuyahoga. Cuyahoga Falls.
The title, "Cuyahoga" is pronounced as "Coy-ya-ho-ga". Must be that Georgia accent of theirs. In my home state of Ohio there's a town called Cuyahoga Falls and in the Buckeye state we pronounce it as "Ky-ya-ho-ga".
Submitted by: Buckeye Scott
Texas chainsaw massacre
"Massacre" is pronounced "mass-eh-cree".
Submitted by: Abby Rhode
