10 Christmas Songs People Have Been Singing Wrong For Decades
Every December, carolers belt out holiday classics with confidence and cheer.
But what if you’ve been singing the wrong words your entire life?
Misheard lyrics are more common than you think, turning beloved Christmas songs into hilarious—and sometimes confusing—versions that spread like wildfire.
Get ready to discover which festive tunes you’ve probably been mangling all these years!
1. Deck the Halls – ‘Don We Now Our Gay Apparel’
Ever wondered what ‘gay apparel’ actually means?
Back in the day, ‘gay’ simply meant cheerful or festive, not what it means today.
Many people mumble through this line or replace it with something that sounds vaguely similar.
Some folks think it’s ‘dawn we now’ or even ‘don we know.’
The word ‘don’ means to put on or wear, so you’re literally dressing up in your happiest holiday outfit.
Next time you sing it, remember you’re celebrating fancy festive fashion from centuries past!
2. Jingle Bells – ‘Bells on Bobtail Ring’
Most people sing ‘bells on bob’s tail ring’ without knowing what a bobtail actually is.
A bobtail is a horse with a docked or shortened tail, common in the 1800s.
The bells weren’t on some guy named Bob’s tail—they were sleigh bells attached to the horse’s harness!
Plenty of carolers mishear this as ‘bells on cocktail ring’ or ‘bells are Bob’s, they’ll ring.’
The confusion makes sense since bobtail horses aren’t exactly part of modern vocabulary.
Now you can picture the right image: a festive horse pulling a sleigh through snowy streets.
3. Winter Wonderland – ‘Later On, We’ll Conspire’
Conspire sounds like something villains do in a spy movie, right?
But in this song, it just means making plans together by the fire.
Tons of people sing ‘later on, we’ll perspire’ instead, which is hilarious and totally wrong.
Others hear it as ‘later on, we’ll expire,’ which sounds way more dramatic than a cozy winter evening!
The actual lyric is all about dreaming up romantic plans while staying warm indoors.
So rest easy—no sweating or dying required, just sweet wintertime scheming with someone special.
4. The 12 Days of Christmas – ‘Five Golden Rings’
This carol is a memory nightmare from start to finish.
People constantly mess up the order of gifts, mixing up swans, geese, and lords a-leaping.
But the biggest slip-up?
Singing ‘five gold rings’ instead of ‘five golden rings.’
Some historians even think the ‘rings’ might refer to ring-necked pheasants, not jewelry!
Whether you’re team gold or golden, remembering all twelve verses correctly is practically impossible.
Just do your best and hope nobody notices when you skip from day seven to day ten.
5. Silent Night – ‘Round Yon Virgin’
‘Round yon virgin’ sounds like gibberish to modern ears, doesn’t it?
Many people sing ’round young virgin’ or even ’round John Virgin,’ turning Mary into a mysterious man named John.
‘Yon’ is an old-fashioned word meaning ‘over there,’ so the lyric describes the scene around Mary and baby Jesus.
It’s poetic language from a different era, which explains why so many get tripped up.
Some carolers just hum through this part to avoid the confusion altogether.
6. Auld Lang Syne – The Entire Song
Okay, technically this is a New Year’s song, but it shows up at Christmas parties too.
Hardly anyone knows the actual words beyond ‘should auld acquaintance be forgot.’
Most people just mumble random sounds that vaguely rhyme while swaying with their arms linked.
‘Auld lang syne’ is Scottish for ‘old long since’ or ‘days gone by.’
The rest of the verses?
Total mystery to 99% of singers.
You’re not alone if you fake your way through this one every single year—it’s basically a holiday tradition at this point.
7. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – ‘All of the Other Reindeer’
Kids everywhere sing ‘Olive, the other reindeer’ because that’s exactly what it sounds like.
Poor Olive became an accidental character in Christmas lore thanks to this misheard lyric.
Some even picture a reindeer named Olive hanging out with Rudolph and the gang.
There’s actually a children’s book about Olive the dog who thinks she’s a reindeer!
The real words are ‘all of the other reindeer,’ but Olive is way more fun.
This misheard version is so popular it’s practically become an alternate Christmas universe.
8. Fairytale of New York – ‘Boys of the NYPD Choir’
This bittersweet duet has one of the most misheard lines in Christmas music history.
The correct lyric is ‘boys of the NYPD choir were singing Galway Bay.’
But tons of listeners hear ‘were singing go away’ instead, which changes the whole vibe.
Galway Bay is an Irish location, fitting the song’s Irish-American theme perfectly.
Mishearing it as ‘go away’ makes the choir sound pretty rude!
The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl created a masterpiece, so get those lyrics right and sing it with feeling this holiday season.
9. Ding Dong Merrily on High – ‘Merrily’ vs. ‘Melody’
This cheerful carol trips people up with its very first line.
Many singers belt out ‘ding dong melody on high’ instead of ‘ding dong merrily on high.’
Melody makes sense since it’s a song, right?
But merrily is the correct word, describing the joyful ringing of church bells.
The Latin ‘Gloria’ section that follows confuses people even more with its long, drawn-out syllables.
Half the congregation is usually just making vowel sounds and hoping for the best during that part!
10. Frosty the Snowman – ‘Thumpety Thump Thump’
Frosty’s footsteps have caused lyrical chaos for generations of kids and adults alike.
Is it ‘thumpety thump thump’ or ‘bumpety bump bump’?
Different recordings use different versions, adding to the confusion.
Some people sing ‘humpety hump hump,’ which sounds oddly suggestive for a children’s song.
The original 1950 recording says ‘thumpety,’ describing the sound of a snowman walking.
But honestly, any bouncy nonsense word works fine when you’re singing about a magical snowman who comes to life!
