Mis-heard lyrics after all these years?

[Harry]

We've all heard it a thousand times -- "Mr. Guder" from Carpenters Close To You album, right?

We've all seen the lyrics printed out in the Japanese compilations and live albums (some of which are pretty funny, but that's another story).

As you sing along with the song, you sing:

"..You're everything a robot lives for,
Walk in at nine and roll out the door at five"

...right?

Maybe not.

Recently I was checking something out on the Live At Budokan LaserDisc I have, and was watching the performance of "Mr. Guder", always a crowd pleaser. Their concert arrangement has a longer instrumental section in the middle, but the lyrics part is identical to the recorded album version. As I watched when the lyrics got to the part quoted above, I could clearly see Karen singing one word differently:

"..You're everything a robot lives for,
Clock in at nine and roll out the door at five"

She could clearly be viewed singing "Clock" and not "Walk." And it surely makes sense in the context of the song. I wonder if it was always "Clock" and it's just been mis-heard all these years. Or maybe it's just been me!

Harry
...who clocked in around 10 today, online...

 

[Rudy]

Harry--have the lyrics ever been printed anywhere? (Might be a good trivia question--which was the first Carpenter album to have lyrics printed inside of it?)

I'd think about checking the lyric websites, but I've found errors there also.

Slightly off-topic, but the site http://www.kissthisguy.com is a repository of mis-heard lyrics, many with amusing results. The name, if anyone's not aware, is from the Jimi Hendrix song "Kiss The Sky".

-= N =-
...who remembers Herb Alpert singing, "The sky's in love with you" for all those years...

 

[LPJim]

For years I thought Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale" began with
' you skip a life and dangle' instead of 'you skip a light fandango.'
JB

 

[Rudy]

I don't even think I should repeat what I thought Queen's flaky "Bohemian Rhapsody" was saying about doing the fandango.

-= N =-
..."gotta moosh gotta moosh"....

 

[DAN BOLTON]

Don't forget my favorite Creedence Clearwater Revival song..."There's A Bathroom On The Right"...





Dan

 

[Rudy]

Shoot...the kissthisguy.com website is down!

Oh well,

-= N =-

 

[Jeff]

I have one...In the middle of "I'm Caught Between Goodbye and I Love You" Karen sings'give me a reason'...then, undecipherable backup vocals saying something, but what? Then K sings 'why should I stay here' and again, backup vocals saying something that I cannot clearly identify after 27 years of listening. I really like to know if anyone has determined what those back-ups are singing. The best I can come up w/ is "give me a reason...(why me) why should I stay here...(sorry) I've tried so hard just to keep love alive".

Well, whatd'ya say gang?

Jeff

 

[LPJim]

Maybe it's Tracy Chapman singing "Give Me One Reason" several years before she became famous.
JB

 

[Murray]

I have one...In the middle of "I'm Caught Between Goodbye and I Love You" Karen sings'give me a reason'...then, undecipherable backup vocals saying something, but what? Then K sings 'why should I stay here' and again, backup vocals saying something that I cannot clearly identify after 27 years of listening. I really like to know if anyone has determined what those back-ups are singing. The best I can come up w/ is "give me a reason...(why me) why should I stay here...(sorry) I've tried so hard just to keep love alive".

You aroused my curiosity, so I just had to dig out Horizon and give this song a serious listen. The backup vocals are a little muffled, but this is what I think they are singing:

"Give me a reason...(one way) why should I stay here...(some way) I've tried so hard just to keep love alive"

Does this sound reasonable?

Murray

 

[Karenannefan]

this is one of my favourite C's songs...I always thought the lyrics went:

Give me a reason , why should I stay here (somewhere)
I've tried so hard just to keep love alive.

It is 'Somewhere' isn't it?

Laura

 

[cakeicer]

Or Neil Diamond singing "Reverend in blue jeans?"

 

[Harry]

I have one...In the middle of "I'm Caught Between Goodbye and I Love You" Karen sings'give me a reason'...then, undecipherable backup vocals saying something, but what? Then K sings 'why should I stay here' and again, backup vocals saying something that I cannot clearly identify after 27 years of listening. I really like to know if anyone has determined what those back-ups are singing. The best I can come up w/ is "give me a reason...(why me) why should I stay here...(sorry) I've tried so hard just to keep love alive".

Gee, this thread has probably caused more intentional listening to "(I'm Caught Between) Goodbye And I Love You" than anything in recent years!

I'm really not sure. Even with playing around with deleting Karen's lead vocal, the backing vocals are so buried in the mix that they just don't stand out at all. My two choices are:

"..Give me a reason (lonely)
Why should I stay here? (somewhere)"

Harry
...caught between the lead vocal and the backing vocal, online...

 

[mr J.]

Has anyone ever noticed the backround noise during the Instrumental closing in "Somebodys been lyin" . It occurs twice during the piano/string section ending.Sounds sort of like a switch being turned on/off.Its the only flaw in an otherwise fabulous track(the only great cut on MADE IN AMERICA).












has

 

[CraigGA]

The only flaw in Somebody's Been Lyin' is Richard's piano playing. He ends the run with a loud bang on the final note ripping the song of emotionalism.

Craig

 

[Geographer]

YES, I have heard the "noise" on SBL. I always pictured it as someone hitting their music stand with thier flute or something. Odd for that to have been in the final mix since, as I recall, MIA was delayed for a long time.

 

[andywithaz]

I always thought that "I need to be in Love" had misheard lyrics.

Sounds like
I'm wide awake at 4 am without a friend in sight
I'm hanging on a "hoop" but I'm alright

Should Be
I'm wide awake at 4 am without a friend in sight
I'm hanging on a "hope" but I'm alright

 

[Chris May]

I have heard this many times and sorta came to the conclusion that the sound at the end of "Somebody's Been Lyin" may ACTUALLY be a tape machine glitch. This is not uncommon with 2" 24-track tape machines (more-so in the 70's-80's).

I do remember reading that the Carpenters were having a heck of a time with the synching mechanism during the "Made In America" sessions as this 48-track recording process (the synching of 2 machines) was new to A&M at the time.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Wow, I must have missed this post.

Harry, whenever I was singing along with Mr Guder, I always sang, "Clock" that always seemed the most natural to me, guess I didn't pay attention to the lyrics book.

I am playing the 45 of Caught Between Goodbye & I Love right now and what I hear is what Murray said.

"Give me a reason...(one way) why should I stay here...(some way) I've tried so hard just to keep love alive"

 

[newvillefan]

Here's a good (but already famous) one:

'because the best love songs are written with a broken arm'

Hehe!

Stephen

 

[thestitch]

Here's a goody about the lyrics to "Mr. Guder". I checked several sheet music anthologies of mine and they both list the lyric as:

Walk in at NIGHT
And roll out the door at five

... which, to me, makes no sense whatever!!! One anthology was published by Almo Publications in 1976 and sold for the grand old price of $7.95!! The other was a 2-volume set published by Columbia Pictures for $12.95.

Go figure all this!

Marilyn,
who could never understand the words to the theme song for "All in the Family" either!!

 

[Harry]

The translated lyrics in the Japanese Anthology booklet have these particular lyrics as:

Do everything your Boss asks for
Working at 9 and you'll lock the door at 5



Harry
...leaving work and 'locking the door at 5:32, online...

 

[DAN BOLTON]

Marilyn,
who could never understand the words to the theme song for "All in the Family" either!!

Hey, Stitch...the lyrics you were probably referring to had to be the line "Gee, our old LaSalle ran great...". The La Salle was a slightly smaller and cheaper Caddy built from 1929 through 1941...


Dan, auto historian and AITF buff...

 

[drmmergirl]

Here are some fun ones:

"You picked a fine time to leave me loose wheel"


and I had a friend that thought "Island Girl" from Elton John was "I like dirt."

Remember that song from 'Yes' that no one could decipher?

 

[Geographer]

And don't forget Wings with "Man on the rug."

 

[Tony]

I had one particular friend who wasn't very good with lyrics at all. She thought the words to Yvonne Elliman's song "If I Can't Have You" were: "If I can't have you I DON'T WANT NO BLACK BABY". Yes, it's true.

And I was undoubtedly scarred for life when, as a kid, I thought the Christmas song "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" was "Hark, the Hairy Angels Sing."

Tony