I use to think smooth operator was smooth bararella.
A childhood belief about misheard lyrics

others believed things like this
- I used to think that in the song "Smooth Operator" they were saying "Schooooooool's not forever!"— Steph
- When I was a kid I was completely convinced that Sade's "Smooth operator" was "Ooh of the red eye".— Brookstar78
- I believed you ran the vacuum to cut the carpet and used the lawn mower to smooth out the grass.— Michelle