hymns

While in church, I would constently hear the words "glory, glory to god in the highest." Thought I would hear it as "glory, glory to god in the high lands." since then I still get the metal image of god in "high land" or what I thought was yodaling on a mountain.

Luna

This is really my elderly friend's recollection.

Her family bred Siamese cats, which were of course good mousers. When the little girl learned to sing, "Gentle Jesus, meek and mild" she thought the 3rd line went, "Pity mice implicitly" instead of the actual "Pity my simplicity"! (You must remember that children's spoken vocabulary was much more sophisticated in those days!)

Sylvia

The writers of the hymns that mentioned the word "breast" were perverts.

MDC

I remember being rather confused at the lyric in the popular Christmas carol that went 'Dawn we now our day of peril, fa la la, la la la, la la la'. I couldn't figure out why we were so happy about a day of peril, but hey. Christmas is weird.

Dr. Nightshade

I used to believe that the old church hymn about bringing in the sheaves was actually talking about some farmer bringing in the sheep. I guess I thought that sheaves was the plural form of sheep.

Anon

In the Catholic mass, there is a part where the priest or soloist sings: "hosanna in the highest, hosanna in the highest, blessed is he...etc. etc."

I used to think they were singing "Lasagna in the highest". We are solidly Irish, but there are a lot of Italians married in, and I fondly remember many St'Joseph's feasts at the parish hall as far back as I can remember. If you don't know what St. Joseph's feast is, then you certainly have not spent much quality time around Italians.

I told my father about the belief many times, and he does not believe me to this day.

TIPScommissar

My husband used to believe that Joy to the World contained the lyrics 'let Earth receive her keys" instead of "let Earth receive her King"

RiRi

My mom used to think that there was a heavy-set man up in Heaven called Round John Virgin - from the Christman Carol "...round yon virgin, mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild...."

Mark D

My cousins are 3 and 4, at they came to visit me and we went to church, there favorite song is called "We lift our hands in the santuaray" well our Praise team sang that song the sunday they came to visit, and I heard my cousins sing it > "We lift our hands in the araie garie,......

Chane

At my old church we sang alot of hyms.. and there was one that said "and now, let the weak say i am strong, let the poor say i am rich because of what the Lord has done"..

But seeing as i couldn't read thien and had to learn the songs by ear, i sang the lyrics as "and now, let teh wheet say i am strong, let the corn say i am rich".. i new that in the old days they ran farms alot but i never got why the farmer's crops talked to them..

Doblica W.

One of my favorite Christmas carols was "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen". There's the line in there that says "and save us all from Satan's powers." I thought it was "and save us all from saltine crackers." I never questioned why saltines were so evil.

Susan C-C.

"God be with you 'til we meet again, with his sheets securely fold you....." That's what I sang until I graduated to senior choir, which marked the demise of my belief in a heaven fitted with carved cedar doors where all slept safe, tucked into fresh, white sheets.

Cynde Roberts

Real words in "Jesus Loves Me": Little Ones to Him Belong..."
Until I was 15 I thought it was: "Little wants to hear me long"

Krista

In the first verse of the Harvest Festival hymn "Come ye thankful people, come" there is a line that reads "All be safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin". For a long time I thought that meant "Everyone be safely gathered indoors, before the winter storms begin". Only recently did I find out that it refers to crops, rather than to people!

Alan, Sheffield

I thought the hymn "Toiling On" had something to do with having a really difficult bowel movement.

Mark, Vermont

We sang a hymn/religious song (I think it was more modern than a hymn judging by the informal lyrics) at school with the line "who made Earth and Mars?" This always annoyed me because the Bible says God made Earth, but has no mention of the other planets. I had also learnt from science books that the planets were formed naturally with no influence from God. So whenever we sang the hymn, I wouldn't say the words "and Mars", because I knew God had nothing to do with making it.

HB

When she was a kid, my mother hated the carol "Good King Wenceslas" because she thought the line "Thou and I shall see him dine" was really "Thou and I shall see him dying".

EJH

A few years ago I went carroling with a church group. We were singing "Hark, the Haroled Angels Sing." One line of either the second or third verse goes, "Hail the incarnate deity." When I first heard it, I thought they were saying guillatine instead of deity.
The same day, I found out out I'd been singing "What Child Is This" wrong for years. I always thought the chorus went, "Haste, haste to bring him love." I felt like a goofball when I realized that the correct word was laud instead of love. Really, that's not a word youhear every day.

keyboardplayer

When I was little, I liked this hymn at church that had the line, "turning his ears always to me", but I thought it was "Turning Ah Zeee", and preceeded to ask my pastor to play to play "Turning Ah Zee, puhlease". I think I've always been a little confused...

Jezarino

My son used to Sing "Grey Sheets the Lord" instead of "Praise ye the Lord"

cyndi