Bob Dylan Mondegreens (104)

                       Compiled by Ben Taylor
                       (Last updated: 28 December 1997)

Jon Carroll, columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, periodically runs a story about "Mondegreens" which are mishearings of the lyrics of popular songs. The name itself comes from Carroll's mishearing of a line in a song from his youth about a valiant man who villains killed "and laid him on the green". He heard this as "Lady Mondegreen". And the rest, as they say, is history.

About a year ago (!), Christian Zeiser wrote to report another source for the term "mondegreen" as detailed on something called "Adam's Mondegreen Page". In a 1954 Atlantic article, Sylvia Wright wrote (sic!) of a folk song she thought contained the lyrics "They had slain the Earl of Moray/And Lady Mondegreen." It took her years to discover that she had been wrong; the lyrics had actually been "They had slain the Earl of Moray/ And laid him on the green."


25 additions since last update (28 May 1996):

Slow Train (3), Precious Angel (2), Visions of Johanna (2), Abandoned Love (1), Abandoned Love (2), Stuck Inside of Mobile (2), Love Minus Zero, Changing of the Guards (5), Meet Me In The Morning, Mr Tambourine Man (6), The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll, Tangled Up In Blue (4), Tangled Up In Blue (5), Tangled Up In Blue (6), Idiot Wind (2), Man of Peace (2), Man of Peace (3), Man of Peace (4), Lenny Bruce, Tombstone Blues (2), Never Say Goodbye, Shelter From The Storm (4), Ballad of a Thin Man, Foot of Pride (5), Highway 61 Revisisted,


Song title
  Lyric:      
  Mishearing: 
  Source: 


10,000 Men (1)

  Lyric:      Ten thousand women all sweepin' my room,
              Spilling my buttermilk, sweeping it up with a broom.    
  Mishearing: Spilling my buttermilk, sweetened with perfume
  Source: Ron Mura (rmura@world.std.com)

10,000 Men (2)

  Lyric:      Ten thousand women all sweepin' my room
  Mishearing: Ten thousand women all sleep in my room
  Source: Michael Shafto

Abandoned Love (live 3 July 1975) (1)

  Lyric:      I can't play the game no more, I can't abide
  Mishearing: I've can't play the game, the moral I can't abide
  Source: 

Abandoned Love (live 3 July 1975) (2)

  Lyric:      I can't play the game no more, I can't abide
              By their stupid rules which kept me sick inside
  Mishearing: By their stupid rules which get me circumscised
  Source: Adam

All Along The Watchtower (1)

  Lyric:      "No reason to get excited," the thief, he kindly spoke,
  Mishearing: "No reason to get excited," the T.V. kindly spoke,
  Source: John R. Weikart

All Along The Watchtower (2)

  Lyric:      Businessmen they drink my wine, ploughmen dig my earth
  Mishearing: Businessmen they drink my wine, ploughmen dig my herb
  Source: Sadie Jane

Angelina

  Lyric:      Beat a path of retreat up them spiral staircases
  Mishearing: Need a panther retreat up them spiral staircases?
  Source: common

Ballad of a Thin Man

  Lyric:      Well, you walk into the room
              Like a camel and then you frown
  Mishearing: ...light a Camel and then you frown
  Source: Hans

Black Diamond Bay

  Lyric:      And the lava flowed down from the mountain high above
  Mishearing: And the lava flowed down from about a mile above
  Source: "The Telegraph"

Blind Willie McTell (1)

  Lyric:      Seen the arrow on the door post
  Mishearing: Seen the arrow on the dump post
  Source: David P. Jacobs

Blind Willie McTell (2)

  Lyric:      I can hear that hoot owl singin'
              As they were takin' down the tents
  Mishearing: I can hear that hoe down singin'
              As they were taken down The Thames
  Source: common

Blind Willie McTell (3)

  Lyric:      Them charcoal gypsy maidens
              Can strut their feathers well
  Mishearing: Instruct their feathers well
  Source: Gordon Smith/Patrick?

Blind Willie McTell (4)

  Lyric:      Well God is in His heaven, and we all want what's His
  Mishearing: Well God is in His heaven, and we all once was His
  Source: Joseph Cliburn

Blowin' In The Wind (1)

  Lyric:      The answer my friend, is blowin' in the wind.
  Mishearing: The ants are my friends, they're blowin' in the wind.
  Source: Jon Carroll's "Mondegreen" article in the San Francisco Chronicle

Blowin' In The Wind (2)

  Lyric:      Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly
              Before they're forever banned?
  Mishearing: Before they're four rubber bands?
  Source: John R. Weikart

Blowin' In The Wind (3)

  Lyric:      Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly
              Before they're forever banned?
  Mishearing: Yes n'how many times must the candy bars flat
              Before they're forever bent
  Source: Rodrigo Couto

Brownsville Girl

  Lyric:      She said, "Even the swap meets around here are getting pretty
              corrupt."
  Mishearing: She said, "Even the swat teams around here..."
  Source: John R. Weikart

Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window? (1)

  Lyric:      Their religion of the little ten women
  Mishearing: Their religion of the lilting women
  Source: "The Telegraph"

Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window? (2)

  Lyric:      Their religion of the little ten women
  Mishearing: Their religion of the little tin women
  Source: common

Changing Of The Guards (1)

  Lyric:      Sending his thoughts to a beloved maid
              Whose ebony face is beyond communication
  Mishearing: Whose heaven he faced...
  Source: common

Changing Of The Guards (2)

  Lyric:      Gentlemen, he said,
              I don't need your organization, I've shined your shoes,
              I've moved your mountains and marked your cards
  Mishearing: I've moved your mountains and parked your cars
  Source: Maximilian Zvttl

Changing Of The Guards (3)

  Lyric:      My last deal gone down
  Mishearing: But I still don't know
  Source: John R. Weikart

Changing Of The Guards (4)

  Lyric:      Gentlemen, he said
  Mishearing: Geraldene, he said
  Source: John H Rickman

Changing Of The Guards (5)

  Lyric:      The palace of mirrors where dog soldiers are reflected
              The endless road and the wailing of chimes
  Mishearing: ...where dark soldiers are reflected ... and the wayladen chimes...
  Source: John Hawn

Chimes Of Freedom (1)

  Lyric:      Far between sundown's finish an' midnight's broken toll
  Mishearing: Far between sundown's finish an' midnight's broken toe
  Source: common

Chimes Of Freedom (2)

  Lyric:      Far between sundown's finish an' midnight's broken toll
  Mishearing: Far between sundown's headache and midnight broken toe
  Source: John R. Weikart (jweikart@utxvms.cc.utexas.edu) ["from the Byrds'
  version which I heard before Dylan's. I thought, 'man, this guy's had a
  rough evening!']

Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight (1)

  Lyric:      Where you blew Jackie P.'s Mind
  Mishearing: Wear your blue jacket please/here's mine
  Source: Paul Gross

Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight (2)

  Lyric:      No more mud-cake creatures lying in your arms
  Mishearing: No more murky creatures lying in your arms
  Source: Paul Gross

Down Along The Cove

  Lyric:      Ev'rybody watchin' us go by
              Knows we're in love, yes, and they understand.
  Mishearing: Ev'rybody watchin' us goodbye
  Source: common

Every Grain Of Sand

  Lyric:      Like every sparrow falling, like every grain of sand
  Mishearing: Like every spear or folly, like every grain of sand
  Source: common

Foot Of Pride (1)

  Lyric:      And the preacher talked about Christ betrayed
  Mishearing: And the preacher talked about Crosby trait
  Source: common

Foot Of Pride (2)

  Lyric:      And your fall by the sword love affair with Errol Flynn
  Mishearing: And your fall by the sorded love affair with Errol Flynn
  Source: unknown

Foot Of Pride (3)

  Lyric:      She'll do wonders and works with your fate
  Mishearing: She'll undress and works with your fate
  Source: common

Foot Of Pride (4)

  Lyric:      Eat your coconut bread,
              Spiced buns in bed
  Mishearing: Did you cook enough bread?
  Source: common

Foot Of Pride (5)

  Lyric:      Well, there ain't no goin' back when the foot of pride comes down
              Ain't no goin' back.
  Mishearing: Well, there ain't no goin' back when your pretty pride comes down
  Source: Matthew Zuckerman

Golden Loom (1)

  Lyric:      Smoky autumn night
  Mishearing: Smokey's got a knife
  Source: Prashant Andrade

Golden Loom (2)

  Lyric:      Across the bay go buy
  Mishearing: Across a bagel buy
  Source: Prashant Andrade

Highway 61 Revisited

  Lyric:      Well Georgia Sam he had a bloody nose
              Welfare Department they wouldn't give him no clothes
  Mishearing: Tail-feathered partners wouldn't give him no clothes
  Source: Richard Hart

I Shall Be Free

  Lyric:      He said "My friend, Bob, what do we need to make the country
                 grow?"
              I said "My friend, John, Brigitte Bardot,
  Mishearing: ...Rigid bar door
  Source: Jim Higdon

Idiot Wind (1)

  Lyric:      Idiot Wind...
  Mishearing: Lady Edwin...
  Source: DOUGSTRAW

Idiot Wind (2)

  Lyric:      Their minds are filled with big ideas, images and distorted facts
  Mishearing: ...even Jesus had distorted facts
  Source: Glenn C.

Is Your Love In Vain?

  Lyric:      Do you need me half as bad as you say
              Or are you just feeling guilt?
  Mishearing: Or are you just feeling ill?
  Source: "The Telegraph"

It's All Right, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)

  Lyric:      I've got nothing, Ma, to live up to
  Mishearing: I've got nothing more to live up to
  Source: common

Joey

  Lyric:      King of the streets, child of clay
  Mishearing: King of the streets, child of pain
  Source: Jeff Haferman

Jokerman

  Lyric:      With a small dog licking your face
  Mishearing: With a small dark look in/on your face
  Source: common

Just Like A Woman (1)

  Lyric:      Nobody feels any pain, tonight as I stand inside the rain
  Mishearing: Nobody feels any pain, to lie in exhaustion inside the rain
  Source: Bill Tanona

Just Like A Woman (2)

  Lyric:      Nobody feels any pain, tonight as I stand inside the rain
  Mishearing: Nobody feels any pain, tonight is last night inside the rain
  Source: Stephen Scobie

Just Like A Woman (3)

   Lyric:      Nobody feels any pain, tonight as I stand inside the rain
   Mishearing: Nobody feels any pain, tonight is just like lost inside the rain
   Source: Eugene Koontz

Just Like A Woman (4)

   Lyric:      Queen Mary, she's my friend
   Mishearing: We ain't married, but she's my friend
   Source: Bob Gill

Lenny Bruce

   Lyric:      Never did get any Golden Globe award, never made it to Synanon
   Mishearing: ...never made it to cinema
   Source: Rod Stark

Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts (1)

  Lyric:      Rosemary combed her hair and took a carriage into town,
  Mishearing: Rosemary combed her hair and took a cabbage into town
  Source: "The Telegraph"

Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts (2)

  Lyric:      The Drillin' in the wall...
  Mishearing: A Dylan in the wall...
  Source: "Oh No! Not Another Bob Dylan Book", by Patrick Humphries and John
  Bauldie.

The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll

  Lyric:      And high office relations in the politics of Maryland
  Mishearing: ...politics of Marilyn
  Source: Pete West

Love Minus Zero/No Limit

  Lyric:      The bridge at midnight trembles
  Mishearing: Every jack midnight trembles
  Source: Duane Richards 

Man Of Peace (1)

  Lyric:      Well, the howling wolf will howl tonight, the king snake will
              crawl
  Mishearing: Well Hollywood will howl tonight, Kent State will crawl
  Source: Michael Rothbaum

Man Of Peace (2)

  Lyric:      Could be the fuhrer, could the be the local priest
  Mishearing: ...could be the look of peace
  Source: Glenn C.

Man Of Peace (3)

  Lyric:      Both hands can be full of grease
  Mishearing: Both hands can be hard to please
  Source: Glenn C.

Man Of Peace (4)

  Lyric:      Sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace
  Mishearing: Sometimes Satan comes through the mantelpiece
  Source: Hans

Meet Me In The Morning

  Lyric:      Well, you know I even outran the hound dogs
              Honey, you know I've earned your love
  Mishearing: Honey, you know I'm Old Yeller
  Source: Stasia

Mr Tambourine Man (1)

  Lyric:      I promise to go under it
  Mishearing: I promise to go wandering
  Source: common

Mr Tambourine Man (2)

  Lyric:      Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands
  Mishearing: Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus signs
  Source: unknown

Mr Tambourine Man (3)

  Lyric:      Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin' ship
  Mishearing: Take me on a ship, upon your magic swirlin' ship
  Source: unknown

Mr Tambourine Man (4)

  Lyric:      With all memory and fate
  Mishearing: With all memory and feet
  Source: Keith Roberts

Mr Tambourine Man (5)

  Lyric:      Yes to dance beneath the diamond sky, with one hand waving free,
              silhoutted by the sea, circled by the circus sands...
  Mishearing: To be wetted by the sea
  Source: Patricia Jungwirth

Mr Tambourine Man (6)

  Lyric:      Vanished from my hand
  Mishearing: Banished from my land
  Source: B John

My Back Pages

  Lyric:      Half-racked prejudice leaped forth
  Mishearing: Half-racked fridgedaires leaped forth
  Source: William Williams

Never Say Goodbye

  Lyric:      You've turned your hair to brown
              Love to see it hangin' down
  Mishearing: You turned your hair to around
              It's a cathedral hanging down
  Source: Thalia Thomas

North Country Blues

  Lyric:      And my schooling was cut
              As I quit in the spring
              To marry John Thomas, a miner
  Mishearing: To marry John Thomas, 'A' minor
  Source: common

Precious Angel (1)

  Lyric:      You're the lamp of my soul, girl, and you touch up the night
  Mishearing: You're the lamp of my soul, girl, and you torture the night
  Source: "The Telegraph"

Precious Angel (2)

  Lyric:      You're the lamp of my soul, girl, and you touch up the night
  Mishearing: ...and you torch up the night
  Source: Robert Adamson

Romance in Durango

  Lyric:      Past the Aztec ruins and the ghosts of our people
  Mishearing: Pasiastic ruins and the ghosts of our people
  Source: John R. Weikart

Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands (1)

  Lyric:      My warehouse eyes, my Arabian drum
  Mishearing: My warehouse ice, my Arabian drum
  Source: Michael Shafto

Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands (2)

  Lyric:      My warehouse eyes, my Arabian drum
  Mishearing: My warehouse hides my Arabian drum
  Source: Jennifer J Curtis

Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power)

  Lyric:      Do you know where she's hidin'?
  Mishearing: Do you know where she is, Haydn?
  Source: Mark Kaunisto

Seven Days

  Lyric:      My beautiful comrade from the north.
  Mishearing: My beautiful comrade's on the lawn!
  Source: John R. Weikart

She's Your Lover Now

  Lyric:      Pain sure brings out the best in people, doesn't it?
  Mishearing: Angel brings out the best in people, doesn't it?
  Source: Mitch Gart

Shelter From The Storm (1)

  Lyric:      And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn
  Mishearing: And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a feudal horn
  Source: "The Telegraph"

Shelter From The Storm (2)

  Lyric:      In a world of steel-eyed death and men who are fighting to be
              warm
  Mishearing: In a world of steel-eyed, deafened men who are fighting to be
              warm
  Source: Ron Mura

Shelter From The Storm (3)

  Lyric:      In a world of steel-eyed death and men who are fighting to be
              warm
  Mishearing: In a world of steel-eyed death and men who are fighting to be
              born
  Source: common

Shelter From The Storm (4)

  Lyric:      And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn
  Mishearing: ...blows a fluegel horn
  Source: Hans

Simple Twist Of Fate

  Lyrics:     He hears the ticking of the clocks
              And walks along with a parrot that talks.
  Mishearing: And walks along with a pair of their tocks.
  Source: Chris Kruell

Slow Train (1)

  Lyric:      But it sure do bother me to see my loved ones turning into
              puppets
  Mishearing: But it sure do bother me to see my loved ones turning into
              puppies
  Source: Tim Lundgren

Slow Train (2)

  Lyric:      I had a woman down in Alabama
              She was a backwoods girl but she sure was realistic
  Mishearing: She was a backwards girl but she sure was realistic
  Source: Ed Trzeciak

Slow Train (2)

  Lyric:      I had a woman down in Alabama
              She was a backwoods girl but she sure was realistic
  Mishearing: She was a backwards girl but she sure was realistic
  Source: Ed Trzeciak

Slow Train (3)

  Lyric:      But it sure do bother me to see my loved ones turning into puppets
  Mishearing: It sure do bother me to see my loved ones turning into puppies
  Source: Draala

Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again (1)

  Lyric:      When I asked him why he dressed
              With twenty pounds of headlines
              Stapled to his chest
  Mishearing: With twenty pounds of headlights
  Source: Michael Shafto

Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again (2)

  Lyric:      Now the (?)preacher looked so baffled
  Mishearing: Now the tea creature looked so baffled
  Source: John Erlinger

Subterranean Homesick Blues (1)

  Lyric:      Wants eleven dollar bills / You only got ten
  Mishearing: Wants eleven dollar bills / You only got tens
  Source: Geoffrey Meyer - he wants 11 dollar bills
  (not a denomination of U.S. currency, hence funny money) but you've only
  got 10 dollar bills (a common denomination, legal tender). Ie. you're
  playing by the rules but they've changed the game.

Subterranean Homesick Blues (2)

  Lyric:      Don't try No Doz
  Mishearing: Don't tie no bows
  Source: John R. Weikart (jweikart@UTXSVS.CC.UTEXAS.EDU)

Tangled Up In Blue (1)

  Lyric:      Split up on a dark sad night
  Mishearing: Split up on the docks that night
  Source: common

Tangled Up In Blue (2)

  Lyric:      Keep on keepin' on, like a bird that flew,
              Tangled up in blue.
  Mishearing: Just keeps on keepin' on like a virilent flu,
  Source: Anthony Kapolka

Tangled Up In Blue (3)

  Lyric:      She lit a burner on the stove and offered me a pipe
  Mishearing: ...and offered me a crepe
  Source: Dvasa ("you know, she was by the stove, a nice thin
  pancake to snack on...")

Tangled Up In Blue (4)

  Lyric:      I heard her say over my shoulder,
              "We'll meet again someday on the avenue,"
              Tangled up in blue
  Mishearing: "I heard her say, "Oh, my, sho' 'nuff
              We'll meet again someday on the avenue"
  Source: Chris

Tangled Up In Blue (5)

  Lyric:      "She was standing there in back of my chair
              Said to me, "Don't I know your name?"
  Mishearing: Said, "Jimmy, don't I know your name?"
  Source: mjmj

Tangled Up In Blue (6)

  Lyric:      Working for a while on a fishing boat right outside Delacroix
  Mishearing: ...on a fishingboat outside with Dan Akroyd
  Source: Hans

Tell Me

  Lyric:      Are you anybody someone prays for or cries
  Mishearing: Are you anybody's someone...
  Source: common

Tombstone Blues (1)

  Lyric:      Ma Raney and Beethoven once unwrapped a bed roll
  Mishearing: My Iranian Beethoven once unwrapped a bedroll
  Source: "The Telegraph"

Tombstone Blues (2)

  Lyric:      The ghost of Belle Starr she hands down her wits
  Mishearing: ...hands down her whips
  Source: Tricia Jungwirth

Trouble

  Lyric:      Drought and starvation, packaging of the soul
  Mishearing: Down in South Asia, packaging of the soul
  Source: "The Telegraph"

Visions Of Johanna (1)

  Lyric:      She's delicate and seems like the mirror
  Mishearing: She's delicate and seems like veneer
  Source: common

Visions Of Johanna (2)

  Lyric:      She's delicate and seems like the mirror
  Mishearing: seems like vermeer
  Source: common

Visions of Johanna (3)

  Lyric:      Ain't it just like the night to play tricks when you're trying
              to be so quiet?
  Mishearing: Images like the night...
  Source: John R. Weikart

Watered-Down Love

  Lyric:      I got to go where at least you've got a chance to reach me
  Mishearing: I got to go where Lisa's got a chance to reach me
  Source: common

Wedding Song

  Lyric:      You're the other half of what I am, you're the missin' piece
  Mishearing: You're the other half of what I am, you're the mess 'n' peas
  Source: "The Telegraph"


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