Wrong Lyrics — “Wrecked up like a Doosh”

Have you ever loved a song, but had no idea what the hell was being sung?  Well, that happens to me all the time.  

For me, the song discussed in this post encapsulates several music discoveries for me.  Some of these discoveries occurred in late 1976 or 1977 — when Manfred Mann’s Earth Band released their hit “Blinded By The Light.”  Other discoveries happened much later — when I became able to reflect on my own life journey.  I will cover one of these discoveries now.

To set up the “wrong lyrics” discovery, allow me to share my childhood recollections about this song.

Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I got my full dose of Top-40 radio while carpooling to/from school and running car errands with my mom & brother.  It seemed like “Blinded By The Light” was on the radio all the time.  I absolutely loved that song, especially the repetitive falsetto during the song’s ending.  My brother and I had the 45 r.p.m. single as well, and we wore it out.  I probably used a hairbrush as a microphone on this song many times.

Have you ever loved a song, but had no idea what the hell was being sung?  Well, that happens to me all the time.  For me, melody is usually the selling point.  Other than memorable choruses, I first must be hooked by the melody before I ever give lyrics a chance.  It usually takes me about twenty listens to a song before I really start paying attention to the lyrics.

“Blinded By The Light” is a perfect example of this.  I had absolutely no idea what this song was about nor what most of the lyrics were.  I thought the line, “Revved up like a deuce” was “Wrecked up like a doosh.”  That doesn’t even make any sense!  You know what’s even funnier?  “Revved up like a deuce” doesn’t make much sense either — especially for an eight year old kid from Houston.

One day, I must’ve heard this song somewhere or at least thought about it, and I thought to myself, “What are the real lyrics to that portion of the song?”  Well, that question led me on a quick web research project.  Not only did I discover the true lyrics for that line, but I also discovered that Bruce Springsteen wrote the song in the early 1970s and it was the first cut on his first album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.

More on Springsteen, cover songs, and wrong lyrics…

Until then, enjoy Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s cover version of “Blinded By The Light”:

Plus the original by Bruce Springsteen: