Music Origins

Mondegreen Mondays – Let it Rain

randydafoe20 Comments

“Africa” was released by Toto in 1982 and it is a staple of Classic Rock, that’s 42 years of staying power. That said a particular line in the song is often misheard.

“I bless the rains down in Africa” is the correct line. Often heard by many as “I guess it rains down in Africa”, I have also seen many refer to “I miss the rains down in Africa”, and that was me too I’m afraid.

“I Can See Clearly Now” was written and recorded by Johnny Nash and reached #1 in South Africa, Canada and the US. Seems we may be able to ‘see’ but can we ‘hear’ clearly.

“I can see clearly now the rain is gone” had been interpreted by some as “I can see clearly now Lorraine is gone”.

The next line in the song also gets a new meaning “I can see all obstacles in my way” when heard as “I can see all popsicles in my way”.

It was literally raining cash for Dire Straits in 1985. The album Brothers in Arms was hitting #1 across the world and the lead single gave them their first and only #1 on the Hot 100. “Money for Nothing” was a bit more that just the quintessential boys in a rock band semi-autobiographical type song. However, “I’m Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band)” by The Moody Blues and “Taking Car of Business” by BTO pop into my mind as well.

The question is why would they sing “Money for nothing and your chips for free”? Something written into their contracts perhaps, like a rider for no red M&M’s in the dressing room, or maybe they had a thing going with Frito Lay? Turns out all this debate is for not.

The actual line is “Money for nothin’ and your chicks for free”. Well, that is a loaded couple of words in a song that has been controversial since day one, but oddly for another reason. I won’t go down that rabbit hole today; most of you know the story. You may not realize the word or “slur” in question was meant as more of a complement taken in context, however, it got banned by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council in 2011. The song had to be edited to get it back on the airwaves in Canada. Seems their reach does not extend to the unanticipated SiriusXM and various streaming services where the unedited original is typically played, even for our tender ears here in Canada.

For more on music you can check out Lines by Leon.

20 thoughts on “Mondegreen Mondays – Let it Rain”

  1. The only one of the songs you cited with lyrics that I heard wrong was “Africa”, as I thought they were singing “I guess the rain’s down in….”

    It’s always a challenge trying to hear and interpret lyrics in my reviews, especially when the artists or bands don’t provide them on Bandcamp or in their press kits.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. I could never figure that line you called out in “Africa.” Instead of “rains” I always I heard “race” and kept wondering what kind of race he’s singing about, a car race? 🙂

    I also didn’t understand “bless” and always sang “touch”, which obviously didn’t make any sense whatsoever: I touch the race down in Africa! Well, I suppose you could give me two points for creativity! 🙂

    While I can see the Lorraine mondegreen, I never had any trouble to clearly hear the line “I can see clearly now the rain is gone” in that Johnny Nash song. Which means I must have heard it on the radio back in Germany way later than 1972! Coz in ’72 I was only 6 years old and didn’t understand one word of English!

    And, yes, “Money For Nothing”. As an innocent and shy teen, I didn’t know anything about “chicks” – at least not that expression! I always heard “money for nothing and checks for three”, meaning a big payday for no actual work! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. I too recall hearing the uncensored version of “Money for Nothing” when we had a recurring promo of SiriusXM for a couple of years! I guess mondegreens are easier to fix now that the studio can go back and digitally edit the song.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. I thought it WAS “miss the rains”
    I Can See Clearly Now…I thought it was “icicles” as a kid lol.
    Sometimes the FCC or other places of power goes overboard trying to protect us…from what I don’t know.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. I always figured it was ‘I miss the rains’ in ‘Africa’ too. By the way, one that always stumped me…what IS John Lennon singing in ‘#9 Dream’?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment