songs

Around 1955, at the age of 10, I figured out how phonograph records worked. You dropped that needle, and the star in Hollywood jumped up to the microphone and started singing. As much as I loved Gene Autry, I used to torment him by jumping around on "Here Comes Santa Claus". Sorry, Gene.

plumbbob

I used to believe the song "Smooth Operator" by Sade was about a surgeon who liked doing operations, and the song "Do you really want to hurt me" by Culture Club was about someone wanting to hit Boy george.

Holly

I saw a toy that looked like a TV but with mechanical shadow puppet things in it and played music from small record-like disks. I wondered if all records could be played on special record players and you could see the music as well as hear it.

Craig

I grew up in Brooklyn, NY near the Ocean, which had a boardwalk. The boardwalk was fine to walk on during the day, but at night, had an undesirable element living under it (that’s the fear my parents had enstilled in me anyhow). Homeless people and people going there to do drugs (much scarier to a child than an adult). Anyhow, when I had heard that 50's or 60's song "under The Boardwalk" on one of my Dad's radio stations, I thought it was absolutely demented. The Boardwalk!??! A romantic destination!?! That’s crazy!! The "Boardwalk" as I knew it was in the mid to late 70's. The one in the song "under The Board Walk" (under the board walk, down by the Sea, on a blanket with my baby is where i'll be- that one) was written in a simpler many years prior (or by someone who lived in an area that had a more attractive Under board Walk Element). It wasn’t until I was 9 or 10 my confusion on the song and why it spoke of such an undesirable place as a romantic destination (to sit on a blanket with your baby) was cleared!

Eric Spector aka Esteban

One sad and disillusioning day, many many years after my childhood, I discovered that "The Alphabet Song", "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Baa Baa Black Sheep" all have exactly the same tune.

rAchel

Each Christmas we listened to 'Carols by Candlelight'. My father always expressed amazement at how great a composer 'Candlelight' was. For years I believed that every Christmas carol was written by the same person - it did eventually dawn on me that candlelight referred to the candles everyone held while singing.

Debbie, Australia

I remember waiting to leave the house for playschool and the sun was streaming in through the window. The radio was on playing some really syrupy easy-listening music (probably BBC radio 2) and my dad had a really good hi-fi. It sounded amazing, and I believed that it was the rays of sunlight that was making the sound of violins...... I can still remember it vividly.

Ian

I thought the orchestra and singers were little tiny people who could fit in the groves of a 78rpm recording. T'was a long, long time ago I admit.

Anon

Possibly something which makes most sense for European people...We have a very popular contest here called "Eurovision Song Contest", that has been a big tradition since 1956...Local juries vote each year...But before I used to think it was the SINGERS of if song that decided they votes from the country!

Steinar (OGAE)

My grandma used to hold me on her lap and sing the "I love you! A bushel and a peck..." song. I was an adult before I knew that it was from the musical GUYS AND DOLLS, and that my grandma didn't write it. My little brother and I were both pretty sad that she didn't make up that song for us--we assumed she had...

Lucy

My aunt's name is Marie and we always called her Aunt Ree. When I heard the Christmas carol with the refrain of Rejoice, Rejoice I thought it was all about me and my aunt.

Joyhart

I used to think that the Abba song "nina pretty ballerina" was written about me. Because that's my name and I was doing ballet at the time (I was about 7) also "dancing Queen" except for the part of "only 17" because I thought that was unbelievably old

nina

When I was little my mom playing the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack all the time. I thought the song "Toucha Toucha Toucha Touch Me" was about playing in the mud with a wolf or soemthing (the " I wanna be dirty" bit) and always wondered why my dad looked so worried when I would make my toys dance along with it.

Erica

I believed that when you played a record, the artist had to wake up and sing the song, so you could hear it.

welshgrrl