Metallica's "Enter Sandman" Found to Have America's Most Commonly Misheard Lyric

"Eggs and light / End all night"

Photo: Adam Wills

BY Alex HudsonPublished Sep 1, 2022

Alright, sing it with me: "Eggs and light / End all night / Take my hand / We're off to never-never land." No, those weren't the correct lyrics for Metallica's "Enter Sandman," but apparently they are a common misinterpretation, since that song was found to have the most commonly misheard lyric among Americans in a new study.

In a study of 1,016 Americans ranging from Gen X to Gen Z, WordFinder discovered that a whopping 70 percent of participants misheard the lyrics to "Enter Sandman," with the most common misinterpretation being the aforementioned "eggs and light."

Close behind was "The Motto" by Drake, which listeners misheard 69 percent of the time (with the most common misinterpretation being "That's the model" instead of "That's the motto"). Ariana Grande's "7 Rings" was misheard 68 percent of the time ("Been through some bad shit / I should be a sad bitch" was interpreted as "Been through some batshit / I should be a savage").

Additionally, 68 percent of respondents misheard "Work It" by Missy Elliott, but honestly it's not that weird that people couldn't understand the line "Ti esrever dna ti pilf nwod gnaht ym tup i."

The survey was conducted by playing the participant a song clip, then getting them to choose the correct lyric from four options. Gen Z listeners were particularly likely to mishear "Enter Sandman," while older Gen X listeners most commonly misheard "The Motto."

All of the songs mentioned in the findings are from the '70s or later — which perhaps explains why Jimi Hendrix's famous "Excuse me while I kiss this guy" from "Purple Haze" isn't anywhere to be found.

Check out the survey findings over at WordFinder.

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