Courtesy of sootzy.deviantart

Courtesy of sootzy.deviantart

Valentine’s Day is considered a somewhat controversial holiday. Unlike Christmas or Halloween, holidays that generally everybody love, people either look forward to V-day or dread it completely. It’s one of the only days of the year where people need to prove to the world that another person loves them. Don’t love songs on the radio remind us daily of our relationship status, anyway? Whether you have plans to passionately belt sad Sam Smith lyrics to yourself or serenade your lover with a song this Valentine’s Day, make sure you get the lyrics right! These commonly misinterpreted lyrics of five popular songs from five different genres of music are ridiculous, hilarious and might lead you to never look at a song the same way again.

 

  1. Sam Smith— “Leave Your Lover” (Soul)

Actual lyric: “Set my midnight sorrow free”

Misinterpreted lyric: “Suck my milk maid sour free”

Both beautiful and heart-wrenching, “Leave Your Lover” tells the story of someone who is in love with somebody that’s already taken. He pleads his lover to leave the current affair, singing, “Pack up and leave everything, Don’t you see what I can bring? Can’t keep this beating heart at bay.” Smith’s raw and honest voice is filled with agony, leaving the listener heart shattered, until the next line, “Suck my milk maid sour free.” Although he actually sings, “Set my midnight sorrow free”, that’s not what you’ll be thinking of.

  1. Taylor Swift— “Blank Space” (Pop)

Actual lyric: “Got a long list of ex-lovers”

Misinterpreted lyric: “Got a long list of Starbucks lovers”

If you’re not tired of this song playing ten million times a day yet, listen closely to the lyrics. You might have heard your friends singing, “Got a long list of Starbucks lovers, they’ll tell you I’m insane,” but that’s actually not the correct lyric. T-Swizzle is actually saying, “Got a long list of ex-lovers.” As if Starbucks needed more publicity, right?

  1. Missy Elliot— “Work It” (Hip Hop)

Actual lyric: “Ti esrever dna ti pilf nwod gniht ym tup I”

Misinterpreted lyric: “Ti esrever dna ti pilf nwod gniht ym tup I” 

If you’re looking for a fun throwback song to dance to or if you live under a rock and only recently discovered Missy Elliot after her Superbowl half time performance, “Work It” is for you. When you play the song, it’s all fun and games until she sings, “Is it worth it, let me work it / I put my thing down, flip and reverse it /Ti esrever dna ti pilf nwod gniht ym tup I /Ti esrever dna ti pilf nwod gniht ym tup I” If you lost her after she said “reverse it”, you’re not alone. Next time you pause at this part of the song because you’re so confused, don’t! It turns out that the gibberish millions of people failed to decode is actually just … gibberish. Because it’s the previous line backwards.

  1. Daft Punk— Get Lucky (Electronic)

Actual Lyric: “Like the legend of the phoenix”

Misinterpreted lyric: “Like the legend of the penis”

Since 80 percent of the song is the line “We’re up all night to get lucky,” you’d think that it would be impossible to get any of the lyrics wrong. However, the very first line is one of much debate. “Like the legend of the phoenix” can be misinterpreted as, “Like the legend of the penis.” I guess we all know why he was up all night to lucky.

  1. Beyoncé— Crazy in Love (R&B)

Actual lyric: “Got me hopin’ you’d page me right now”

Misinterpreted lyric: “Got me hopin’ you’d pay me right now”

One of Beyoncé’s older but most famous songs brings much misunderstanding to listeners. In the chorus she sings, “Got me hopin’ you’d page me right now,” but what are pagers? Since most of our generation has not seen a pager, it seems more understandable that the lyric was confused for “pay.” But since Beyonce makes just as much money as Jay-Z, she probably won’t be asking for money anytime soon.

 

Happy serenading!

Print