You've Been Singing The Eurythmics' Biggest Hit Wrong This Whole Time

There's no shortage of popular songs whose lyrics have been misheard and belted out incorrectly — maybe loudly in our cars — for decades. One of those songs is the Eurythmics' hit, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)." That last word may come as a shock to many of you, but it's not and never was "these," despite what you may have heard on the recording. But don't worry, you're not alone, as the song has confused many fans and continues to do so today.

"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" has a fascinating history, as recounted by band members Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart in The Guardian. Their original band, the Tourists, had just broken up, and Lennox and Stewart had just ended their romantic relationship but continued to make music together. Lennox was in a state of despair because of the shocking life changes she'd just gone through. However, when Stewart was playing with a new synthesizer, Lennox immediately started to craft some lyrics, saying, "from that first line, it's not a happy song. It's dark ... basically me saying: 'Look at the state of us. How can it get worse?' I was feeling very vulnerable. The song was an expression of how I felt: hopeless and nihilistic." While "Sweet Dreams" may have not had the most upbeat origin, it would go on to become their biggest hit and result in a landmark music video for the budding MTV generation.

While "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" has since gone on to become a classic song of the 1980s, its most memorable lyric would also go on to become its most misheard, despite it actually being in the title. As stated in Billboard, this all reached its apex in the March 15, 2022 episode of "Wheel of Fortune," wherein contestant Chris Bryant was just about to solve a "song lyrics" puzzle related to the Eurythmics' 1983 smash hit until he blew it in a manner that, to be fair, lots of contestants would have.

Billboard reveals that what happened wasn't that he failed to solve the puzzle –- it was that he mispronounced the name of the song by calling it "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These)." His defeat, however, was made all the more humiliating as the correct name of the song was written on the board for him to read. Perhaps it was the old shower karaoke instinct kicking in at a most inopportune moment. Still, Bryant left the game show with over $26,000 in prizes, so don't feel too bad for him.

Upon listening to "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," it's easy to hear Annie Lennox's pronunciation of "this" as "these," which may be the result of her Scottish accent clashing with American ears. Also, as pointed out in Yahoo, two lines later in the song Lennox sings "I travel the world and the seven seas," so it makes sense to rhyme "these" with "seas." But alas, that is not the case.

Yahoo states that, in the wake of Bryant's loss on "Wheel of Fortune," social media blew up with users declaring that they could've sworn that Lennox sings "these" instead of "this." While the song continues to receive plenty of radio play today and has maintained its pop culture relevance, it seems that it will also be doomed to an eternity of misunderstanding. Even Lennox herself has chimed in on the confusion the song has caused, telling The Guardian that "apparently, it's the most misheard lyric in British pop. People think I'm singing: 'Sweet dreams are made of cheese.'" Mice would probably agree with that interpretation.