Misheard lyrics revealed: 'Sweet dreams are made of cheese' (+playlist)

Elton John's Tiny Dancer contains the worst misquoted lyrics, according to a New Zealand poll. Photo / AP

Elton John's classic track Tiny Dancer is the song most Kiwis are likely to butcher when singing along in the shower, new research shows.

Kiwis voted Tiny Dancer No. 1 in a new poll about misquoted lyrics, with the song's line "Hold me closer, tiny dancer," heard as, "Hold me closer, Tony Danza."

Danza is an American actor well-known for his role in '80s sitcom Who's the Boss?.

The survey, commissioned by online streaming service Spotify, asked participants which song they most commonly heard people singing incorrectly.

Many well-known songs sung by famous faces made the top 10, including Jimi Hendrix, Abba, Jay-Z, Eurythmics, Bon Jovi and Avril Lavigne.

Some of the odder lyric changes included Alicia Keys' chorus in Jay-Z's huge hit Empire State of Mind, which came in at No. 4 on the list. In it, the line, "In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of," is sung as, "In New York, concrete jungle wet dream tomato".

Some singers had breakfast on their mind, with Avril Lavigne's line "Honestly, you promised me I'm never gonna find you fake it" in her hit Complicated misheard as, "Honestly, you promised me I'm never gonna find your bacon".

Food was also key to the changes made to the Eurythmics' classic Sweet Dreams, in which the line "Sweet dreams are made of this" was changed to, "Sweet dreams are made of cheese".

And Bon Jovi probably isn't too happy about changes made to his hit Living on a Prayer, which came in at No. 6.

In it, the line "It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not," is changed to, "It doesn't make a difference if we're naked or not".

But perhaps the most bizarre lyric was Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, which came 10th equal.

The line, "Spare him his life from this monstrosity" was missung as, "Spare him his life or his pork sausages".

New Zealand's top misquoted song lyrics:

1. "Hold me closer, Tony Danza" ("Hold me closer, tiny dancer - Elton John, Tiny Dancer) - 19 per cent.

2. "See that girl, watch her scream, kicking the dancing queen" ("See that girl, watch that scene, digging the dancing queen - ABBA, Dancing Queen) - 13 per cent.

3. "Sweet dreams are made of cheese ("Sweet dreams are made of this" - Eurythmics, Sweet Dreams) - 12 per cent.

4. "In New York, concrete jungle wet dream tomato" ("In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of" - Jay Z, Empire State of Mind) - 11 per cent.

5. "Honestly, you promised me I'm never gonna find your bacon" ("Honestly, you promised me I'm never gonna find you fake it" - Avril Lavigne, Complicated) - 11 per cent.

6. "It doesn't make a difference if we're naked or not" ("It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not" - Bon Jovi, Living on a Prayer) - 8 per cent.

7. "Excuse me while I kiss this guy" ("Excuse me while I kiss the sky" - Jimi Hendrix, Purple Haze) - 7 per cent.

8. "Come on Barbie, Let's go Potty" ("Come on Barbie, Let's go party" - Aqua, Barbie Girl) - 7 per cent.

9. "I'm a hip shaking llama, I love you" ("My hip shaking mama, I love you" - Flume, Holdin' On) - 6 per cent.

10. "Should I give up, or should I just keep chasing penguins?" ("Should I give up, or should I just keep chasing pavements?" Adele, Chasing Pavements) - 3 per cent.

11. "Spare him his life or his pork sausages" ("Spare him his life from this monstrosity" - Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody) - 3 per cent

Listen to New Zealand's most -mis-quoted lyrics using the Spotify player below:

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- nzherald.co.nz