4 Songs From the 90s With Lyrics That Are Often Misheard

The 90s brought us some of the most iconic and most confusing songs of all time. Some of these lyrics might feel obviously wrong, but some of them might surprise you.

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“Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana

In general, the words of this Nirvana hit are a little challenging to make out. Personally, though, I think the line: “A mulatto, an albino / A mosquito, my libido, yeah / Hey, yey”  wins the award for most likely to confuse. Some people confuse “mulatto” and “albino” for “Colorado” and “Alabama”. Others think “libido” actually sings as “beetle.”

To be fair, Kurt Cobain is basically scream-singing the lyrics at this point. I don’t think it would matter what he was trying to say. This part of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is inherently confusing, no matter how you spin it. 

“Linger” by The Cranberries

The Cranberries are an Irish rock band, so naturally, their lyrics are going to be misunderstood by American listeners sometimes. In particular, the line “Were you lying all the time / Was it just a game to you?” can be misleading, as a lot of people think that “you” is actually the word “chew”. I don’t really know what a “game to chew” is supposed to mean. Regardless, though, The Cranberries have a way of making even that sound whimsical and poetic.

“Yellow Ledbetter” by Pearl Jam

When you listen to “Yellow Ledbetter” by Pearl Jam, it’s relatively unclear what’s being sung about from the get-go. It could be the ceiling, it might be a Porsche of glitter, who really knows?

For those that haven’t heard the song, the actual lyrics of verse one are: “I wanna see them on a porch of Ledbetter / Then you said, “I wanna leave it again” /Once I saw her on a beach of weathered sand /And on the sand I wanna leave it again, yeah.”

“Hit Me, Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears

If you know the song “Hit Me, Baby, One More Time”, then you know the lyrics Britney sings in the chorus are “My loneliness is killing me.” To the average listener, though, this lyric could easily be mistaken for “My lonely nurse is killing me.” However, I think we all know this song is about teen romance and not Munchausen syndrome by proxy at this point.

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