Misheard lines

[Danny Stephenson]

Does anyone have any quotes from Red Dwarf that they’ve misheard and took it as read, only to find that years later you’ve got it all wrong?

Now i’ve wrote this topic starter I can’t think of an example. Bollocks

Anyways…

Discuss.

Topic

[Unrumble]

Ditto… I always thought it was meant to be “Only one man” and the line had come out wrong and no-one had noticed until it was too late. So it’s good that there is a sensible answer!

And other words that end in ‘ible’.

[Flap Jack]

I can’t quite believe this hasn’t been brought up in this thread before, but as it’s on our minds – the lyrics to Tongue Tied.

Whenever I watch the episode, I always hear the last line of the first verse as “They’re all in, tell me something”, which obviously makes no sense but it’s what my ears tell me.

I’d say this is not a settled matter either – according to the subtitles on the DVD the line is “It all really tells me something”, but just listen with that line in mind, and it’s clear that’s not what he’s saying. There’s no hard T or R sound.

The fandom wiki posits “Now darling tell me something” which feels closer to what I hear (and links logically into the next line), but I still can’t really hear the D.

Elsewhere in the song:

• Possibly more personal to me – hearing “It came out kind of wrong, girl” as “It came out kind of wronger” because of the way the “girl” is elongated and the end slightly overlaps with the refrain.
• “Because you make me tongue tied” according to the DVD subtitles is “That’s ’cause you make me tongue tied” on the wiki, and my ear agrees.
• The nonsense lyrics are sometimes transcribed oddly. E.g. “It sounded like, “Noo-noony-nee-noo”” on the DVD, but there’s surely a B sound in there.

I do not envy the task of perfecting these captions on The Smega-Drive.

[Dave]

I hear it as “darlin’, tell you something” although it took me a few viewings before I worked it out.

I also used to hear “wrong girl” as “wronger” because the two G sounds run together so much.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Another one for wronger here. Only realised it was wrong girl when it was posted in the smegadrive thread

[RunawayTrain]

I can’t quite believe this hasn’t been brought up in this thread before, but as it’s on our minds – the lyrics to Tongue Tied.

Whenever I watch the episode, …

The nonsense lyrics are sometimes transcribed oddly. E.g. “It sounded like, “Noo-noony-nee-noo”” on the DVD, but there’s surely a B sound in there.

I do not envy the task of perfecting these captions on The Smega-Drive.

I tend to sing that bit as ‘nee-noong-a-nee-noo’.

I’ve listened to the full song way more than I’ve watched the episode and my hearing has always been pretty naff for deciphering lyrics, but I’ve not had any huge problems with this song. It would be interesting to compare the subtitles between the full video (on the series II extras) and the episode, to see if the full video subs are any better. I don’t recall whether they were helpful or if lip-reading filled in some of the gaps; it’s been a while since initially trying to work out lyrics.

[Jenuall]

I always heard it as “Nee noobedy doo” and put me down as another one for the “Wronger” column as well

[Dave]

Yeah, “nee noobidy doo” for me too.

(I hope you’ve all appreciated that insightful and intelligent comment.)

[Flap Jack]

“nunubididoo” is how the wiki transcribed it, and that seems right to me too.

I wonder if the single version is clearer at these parts and the subtitles are informed by that. I haven’t checked because I don’t really enjoy the single version. Of course, the lyrics could have changed between versions.

[si]

If I remember rightly, I’m fairly sure that the actual lyrics were in the sleeve of the single (I could nip upstairs and check, but fuck it). I’m sure I remember actually reading the ‘proper’ lyrics somewhere else as well, though – they weren’t in the Smegazine (again, upstairs, ripe for checking), were they? Or somewhere on TOS?

[si]

Oh, found a photo of the Tongue Tied lyric sheet from my old Blog.
https://bromley001.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/20151104_202310-1.jpg?w=1254

[Flap Jack]

Interesting…

Good idea to check TOS. They do have a page for the lyrics, and it disagrees with the DVD subtitles at the contentious points (“Now darling” and “That’s cos”).

https://www.reddwarf.co.uk/guide/index.cfm?seriesID=2&sectionID=lyrics

Although I can’t accept this page as totally correct when it gives one line as “It sounded like Nuh Nub Ih Duh”. That’s a syllable short!

[Flap Jack]

Oh, found a photo of the Tongue Tied lyric sheet from my old Blog.

Ahh, nice find! (Didn’t see your second post before replying.)

So this confirms the line is intended to be “Now darling”. It still doesn’t quite scan for me when listening to the original and it may be deliberately different between the versions, but at least we know this is objectively a correct lyric to use.

Another thing I notice is it says “It’s cause you make me tongue tied” rather than “That’s cause you make me tongue tied”, so that’s more of a difference going on there.

[Ridley]

GIRL SPOKEN: What did you say?

Complete waste of $£30

[si]

GIRL SPOKEN: What did you say?

Might be worth noting that the TV and single versions may differ slightly. The odd word here and there maybe.

[loadoftottnumb]

A minor one but I’ve literally just realised Lister says ‘some huge damn fish out there’ not some huge DAMP fish. I thought he was just being quirky. 

[Jason aka Smeg4Brains]

I’ve literally only just, whilst scrolling through the Smegadrive, found out that Cat doesn’t call Kochanski “Officer Butt-Babe”.

[Unrumble]

I’ve literally only just, whilst scrolling through the Smegadrive, found out that Cat doesn’t call Kochanski “Officer Butt-Babe”.

[RunawayTrain]

He then describes Rimmer as Officer Non-Bud – what did you think he was calling him?  Members* of the Chris Barrie’s Rear Fanclub would be scandalised!

*I am not one of them

[Dave]

Members* of the Chris Barrie’s Rear Fanclub would be scandalised!

Butt that’s no reason to feel down!

[Moonlight]

I was watching through RD with a friend who hasn’t seen it before and it suddenly clicked for the first time that he was saying “clogs”. I’d misheard it as a kid, never questioned it and hadn’t watched this episode enough in recent years to correct the matter.

This is what I always thought he said:

[Warbodog]

Misinterpreted rather than misheard, at 13 I thought Rimmer’s “green beret” remark in Future Echoes was likely a double intendre reference to a gay porno my friend had seen featured on Eurotrash called The Green Berets. The joke being that Rimmer was referring to macho commandos generally, not knowing that he was also referencing an obscure porn film that probably hadn’t been released yet and calling himself gay.

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

How old was your friend at the time?

[Flap Jack]

They were so shocked by the obvious reference to gay porn, they nearly dropped their skateboard.

[Warbodog]

He was my Uncle Frank really, but he said we were friends.

[Moonlight]

In my opinion, everyone in that porno has reached the age where they really should be wearing clothes.

[Technopeasant]

Not Red Dwarf, but man does that change the meaning of that scene….

[Ian Symes]

Did Kier Starmer make that gif?

[Dave]

[Ben Saunders]

They wish.

[Technopeasant]

[Technopeasant]

[Warbodog]

Until I saw this at about 13, I thought the hairstyle was local vernacular meaning it was popular with townies from nearby Crewe, but it seemed unlikely that it would be quite so well established.

[Dave]

[Unrumble]

[Ian Symes]

[Nick R]

[Dave]

[Nick R]

[Unrumble]

[Author]

Replies