So…how many times have you been riding in your car, singing along to your favorite classic song, only to have someone tell you,

“Those aren’t the right words.”

What? How could that be? It’s been your favorite song since high school. You’ve played this song so many times that you’ve worn out the album, two or three cassettes and are now working on burning the protective layer off a CD. You know every note, guitar solo and cymbal crash by heart. You’re sure that you know all the words and your friend is dead wrong. Or is he?

Recently, I found myself flipping through the vast, empty wasteland that is cable TV, when somewhere around Channel 687, I came upon a new game show. Basically, they would play a short piece of a song and then ask the contestant to continue singing as much of it as they could remember. If they stumbled or uttered an incorrect lyric, they were out. It sounded pretty simple so I decided to play along just for fun. The first song was the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic Down On The Corner. I’m proud to say that I made it farther than the pretty college coed, but not by much. She defended herself by pointing out that she wasn’t even born when that song hit the airwaves. I was only a kid in 1969, but I should have done better. Next up was the slightly newer Material Girl, a 1984 hit for Madonna. During the early eighties, I was doing my best to forget the disco era and anything that smelled like dance music, so I missed this one completely. Besides, any song that begins “Some boys kiss me, some boys hug me, I think they’re O.K.” isn’t going to be in my top 40, all time favorite songs. The coed did better with this one. In the end, I’d have to admit that the show was fun to watch. Unfortunately, given the 2,387 channels currently available via cable TV, I’ll probably never find it, or the pretty coed again. But it did start me to think,

Did I really know the right lyrics to my favorite songs?

Thus began my quest. Album after album, cassette after cassette and on to the CD’s I searched. Playing the first line of some truly great songs and then trying to sing the rest of the song. Amazingly, I found that on most of the songs I was scoring about 50%. Although I did pretty well on the chorus of most songs, once they hit the verses I was usually lost. Did this mean that I was as clueless as the pretty coed? Had the illegal drugs and alcohol of my youth finally taken its toll on my memory? Was I destined to rock away my golden years singing Louie, Louie, the only song that I could remember, over and over again?

Once I calmed down, I realized that it probably wasn’t that bad. I decided that most people don’t learn all of the words to their favorite songs, just enough to sing along happily while they drive to work or school. When I mentioned this to a few friends, they denied my findings and confidently boasted that they knew all the right words to every song ever written. Oh yeah? Let’s see.

Below I have pulled together the first lines from twelve classic tracks. Each song made it into the Top 40 when it was released and is considered a classic. Take a look at the list and see how many you can complete. It’s not as easy as it seems, so don’t feel bad if you have trouble. When you’re done, email me to let me know how you did or to tell me if you have some suggestions for the list. Good Luck.

1. “Oh let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dream.” Kashmir, Led Zeppelin
2. “You say yes, I say no. You say stop and I say go go go, oh no.” Hello, Goodbye, The Beatles
3. “I was born in a crossfire hurricane.” Jumping Jack Flash, The Rolling Stones
4. “Two feets they come a creepin, like a black cat do.” Saturday Night Special, Lynyrd Skynyrd
5. “It’s getting near dawn, when lights close their tired eyes.” Sunshine of Your Love, Cream
6. “You get a shiver in the dark, it’s been raining in the park but meantime.” Sultans of Swing, Dire Straits
7. “Ooh my little pretty one, pretty one. When you gonna give me some time?” My Sharona, The Knack
8. “Is this the real life, is this just fantasy, caught in a landslide.” Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen
9. “Backstroke lover always hidin’ ‘neath the covers, till I talked to your daddy, he say.” Walk This Way, Aerosmith
10. “Daddy’s flown across the ocean leaving just a memory.” Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2, Pink Floyd
11. “We’ll be fighting in the streets, with our children at our feet.” Won’t Get Fooled Again, The Who
12. “You know that it would be untrue, you know that I would be a liar.” Light My Fire, The Doors