My earliest memories begin in the early 1960s, when Peter, Paul and Mary were singing "Puff, the Magic Dragon" on the radio. I understood most of the words and the general idea. Besides, Captain Kangaroo helped a lot with his Magic Drawing Board.
But there was a verse that mentioned "sealing wax". I didn't know what sealing wax was. I sincerely (pardon the pun) thought they were singing about "CEILING wax"! I knew people waxed their floors, but I didn't know anyone who waxed their ceiling!
A childhood belief about misheard lyrics
others believed things like this
- My brother used to believe that ceiling fans were helicopters flipped upsidedown and stuck in the ceiling.— Seven
- My daughter thought Paul McCartney was singing "Hey Dude" instead of "Hey Jude". Anon
- I use to believe all the people singing on the radio were IN the radio.— Yvonne
- I used to think tiny little people were inside my mothers radio singing to me.Anon
- My mates Mum used to think Paul Weller was singing about "Eating Trifles" instead of "Eton Rifles"— Sean
- I used to believe that mall directories were magic because they always knew where you were.— eric