At A Loss For Words

I remember as a child singing in Sunday School “Gladly, the Cross-Eyed Bear.” Of course, that was a childish misunderstanding of what the words actually said, but later on I continued to mis-hear the words to songs. I was glad to hear that I was not the only one. My friend, Jane Cason, told me that every time we sang “Safe Am I” in church, her husband, Fred, sang the words incorrectly to the second verse which began “Sheltered O’er” and continued “By His love forever more.” However, according to Jane, Fred didn’t hear “Sheltered O’er” but always sang “Shut the Door,” which I guess makes pretty good theological sense as well as that also will keep you safe. One of the old cowboy and western songs that I loved was the old Gene Autry ballad, “Back in the Saddle Again.” As I sang it again to myself, I realized that there was one line that made no sense. What in the world does “where the longhorn cattle feed on the lowly gents to me.” That just couldn’t be the real lyrics, but what in the world was it then? When I checked, I learned for the first time in a “million” years that the line actually goes “where the longhorn cattle feed on the lowly gypsum weed.” Well, now I know, and you know. Do you have songs that you have mis-sung for ages? I’ll bet you do.