Finding out you’ve been bellowing out the wrong lyrics to a favourite pop song can be mortifying.
However, you’re not on your own – with nine in ten adults admitting they often mishear the words.
And it seems there are certain hits which leave us the most muddled.
Number one is the chorus for The Police’s So Lonely, which is often confused for ‘Sue Lawley’, the TV and radio presenter.
This is followed by Abba’s Dancing Queen, where ‘Feel the beat from the tambourine’ is mixed up for ‘Feel the beat of the tangerine’.
Dancing Queen by ABBA (pictured) is the second most misheard lyric as people think the lyric is feel the beat of the tangerine. This comes after So Lonely by the Police (file photo)
Adele’s Chasing Pavements is changed to ‘Chasing Penguins’. The line ‘Here we are now, entertain us’ in Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit is sung as ‘Here we are now, in containers’.
And Madonna’s Papa Don’t Preach becomes ‘Poppadom Peach’.
Some realise their blunder only when they see the lyrics on a karaoke screen, the study of 2,000 adults found.
The research was commissioned by Earex and found more than half of adults believe words aren’t pronounced clearly in songs, while four in 10 put their mistake down to tunes being too fast.
But an eighth admitted it’s likely to be due to their deteriorating hearing.
Clare Campbell from Earex said: ‘Many of these songs have been sung by people for years, but it seems we have been singing the wrong lyrics all this time.
‘With lyrics no longer printed in magazines or on the back of the cassette case or CD cover, it can be easy to hear one thing and think that’s what is being said.
‘But while it might be entertaining when someone gets it wrong, it’s worrying to know that this could be affected by deteriorating hearing.
‘Poor hearing can result in people feeling left out of social events and an example is not being able to hear music correctly which could make some people embarrassed.
Research commissioned by Earex found more than half of adults believe words aren’t pronounced clearly in songs, while four in 10 put their mistake down to tunes being too fast
‘The results show that mishearing songs affects Brits of all ages, but despite this many younger adults feel they are too young to get their hearing checked.
‘People should be getting their ears checked similar to how they do their sight and their teeth, don’t wait until it’s too late.’
It also emerged that it takes an average of six times to listen to the same song before Brits feel confident they know the lyrics, and 56 per cent have searched online for the correct words.
While a third have had it pointed out to them that they were singing the wrong lyrics, a sixth only found out they had been mishearing them when they saw them on a screen at karaoke.
Almost three in 10 worry about mishearing lyrics as they get older and a fifth fear the damage listening to loud music could have on their ears.
Worryingly, only a fifth get their ears checked once or twice a year, while four in 10 never do.
Research also found Adele’s ‘Chasing Pavements’ is mistaken for ‘Chasing Penguins’ and’Tell Me More’ sung by John Travolta and Olivia Newton John in Grease is heard as ‘Tommy More’
Dr Roger Henderson, Family GP and spokesperson for Earex said: ‘Often the first signs people notice in hearing loss is mishearing what people say or having to turn music or the television up louder.
‘In most cases this is a gradual thing that tends to creep up on people, however, in certain circumstances, it can come on quite suddenly.
‘It isn’t necessarily something to worry about as it could be an ear infection or quite simply a build-up of earwax.
‘Earwax is important for ear health as it helps to protect the lining of the ears.
‘However, too much wax can sometimes build up, causing mild hearing loss, known as conductive deafness, as sounds can’t pass freely through the ear canal because of a blockage.
‘Regularly checking our ear health or applying drops weekly will help to keep our ears in the best condition to prevent longer term damage to our hearing.’