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It all started when Gavin Edwards stood tall in his second-grade chorus and belted out ''Life's a butter dream'' for the last line of ''Row, Row, Row.'' ''That episode planted a seed,'' says the still-mortified Edwards, ''and ever since, I've been collecting examples of misheard lyrics.''
Edwards, an editor at Details, has compiled the funniest examples in his new book, 'Scuse Me, While I Kiss This Guy (Fireside, $8.95). Along with the usual mangling of Creedence Clearwater Revival (''There's a bathroom on the right'' versus ''There's a bad moon on the rise''), the author cites a surprising number of food references, as in this sampling from the almost 300 garbled song lines gathered. -- Albert Kim
-- Wrong Lyric: ''Take your pants down and make it happen'' -- Right Lyric: ''Take your passion and make it happen'' -- From: Irene Cara's ''Flashdance...What a Feeling''
-- Wrong Lyric: ''I got shoes, they're made of plywood'' -- Right Lyric: ''I got chills, they're multiplying'' -- From: John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John's ''You're the One That I Want''
-- Wrong Lyric: ''The girl with colitis goes by'' -- Right Lyric: ''The girl with kaleidoscope eyes'' -- From: The Beatles' ''Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds''
-- Wrong Lyric: ''Doughnuts make my brown eyes blue'' -- Right Lyric: ''Don't it make my brown eyes blue'' -- From: Crystal Gayle's ''Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue''
-- Wrong Lyric: ''The ants are my friends/They're blowin' in the wind'' -- Right Lyric: ''The answer my friend/Is blowin' in the wind'' -- From: Bob Dylan's ''Blowin' in the Wind''
-- Wrong Lyric: ''Baking carrot biscuits'' -- Right Lyric: ''Takin' care of business'' -- From: Bachman-Turner Overdrive's ''Takin' Care of Business''
-- Wrong Lyric: ''Clown control to Mao Tse-Tung'' -- Right Lyric: ''Ground control to Major Tom'' -- From: David Bowie's ''Space Oddity''
-- Wrong Lyric: ''Jacques the monkey'' -- Right Lyric: ''Shock the monkey'' -- From: Peter Gabriel's ''Shock the Monkey''
-- Wrong Lyric: ''I am a rock, I am an onion'' -- Right Lyric: ''I am a rock, I am an island'' -- From: Simon & Garfunkel's ''I Am a Rock''
-- Wrong Lyric: ''Last night I dreamt of some bagels'' -- Right Lyric: ''Last night I dreamt of San Pedro'' -- From: Madonna's ''La Isla Bonita''
