Society | Mar 12

Japanese TV show's misheard lyrics segment puts a hilarious twist on Western songs

From “We built this city on sausage rolls” to “All the lonely Starbucks lovers”, we’ve all been guilty of mishearing a song lyric every now and then.

More often than not, though, the lyrics we come up with usually end up being ten times funnier than the original, and that’s true in Japan too, especially when it’s Japanese people listening to English songs.

These types of misheard lyrics can be so side-splittingly funny that there’s actually a segment dedicated to them in Japan called “Soramimi Hour” (“Misheard Hour“). Appearing as part of the late-night TV variety program Tamori Club, hosted by legendary sunglass-wearing comedian Tamori, Soramimi Hour consists of short skits which are based on misheard lyrics submitted to the show by audience members.

Covering everything from classic hits to slightly more obscure tracks, the skits are hilariously well made, and it’s surprising to hear just how much English can sound like Japanese when sung to music.


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