Misunderstood Lyrics - Cover Of The Rolling Stone by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show

Providing a service for those who think they know the lyrics to this 1973 classic by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show, but actually have no clue. Misheard lyrics (also called mondegreens) occur when people misunderstand the lyrics to a song.



"I don't believe it. Ha Ha. Don't touch me....Hey Ray. Hey Sugar. Tell 'em who we are..."

Well, we're big rock singers
We got golden fingers
And we're loved everywhere we go (that sounds like us)
We sing about beauty and we sing about truth
At ten-thousand dollars a show (right)
We take all kinds of pills that give us all kind of thrills
But the thrill we've never known
Is the thrill that'll gitcha when you get your picture
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone

(Rollin stone) want to see my picture on the cover
(Stone)Wanna buy five copies for my mother (yes)
(Stone)Wanna see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone (that's a very very good idea)

I got a freaky ole lady name a cocaine Katy
Who embroideries on my jeans
I got my poor ole grey haired daddy
Drivin' my limousine
Now it's all designed to blow our minds
But our minds won't really be blown
Like the blow that'll gitcha when you get your picture
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone

(Rollin Stone) want to see our pictures on the cover
(Stone) want to buy five copies for our mothers (yeah)
(Stone) want to see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(talking) Hey, I know how
Rock and roll

Ah, that's beautiful
We got a lot of little teenage blue eyed groupies
Who do anything we say
We got a genuine Indian Guru
Who's teaching us a better way
We got all the friends that money can buy
So we never have to be alone
And we keep getting richer but we can't get our picture
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone

(Rollin stone)Gonna see my picture on the cover
(Stone) Gonna buy five copies for my mother (wa wa)
(Stone) Gonna see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
On the cover of the Rollin'
Stone) Gonna see my picture on the cover
(talking) I don't know why we ain't on the cover, baby
(Stone) Gonna buy five copies for my mother
(talking) We're beautiful subjects
(Stone) Want to see my smilin' face
(talking) I ain't kiddin', we would make a beautiful cover
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
(talking) Fresh shot, right up front, man
I can see it now, we'll be up in the front
Smilin, man
Ah, beautiful.

Writer(s): SHEL SILVERSTEIN
Publisher: T.R.O. INC.

FACTS, RUMORS & FUN STUFF 

• The Cover of 'Rolling Stone' is a song written by Shel Silverstein and first recorded by American rock group Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show. Released in 1972, it was the band's third single and peaked at number six on the U.S. pop chart.
• Silverstein was a best-selling author of children's poems who was also a contributor to Playboy magazine and writer of many Country hits, including A Boy Named Sue. His books include Where The Sidewalk Ends, Giraffe and The Giving Tree. Silverstein also wrote Dr. Hook's first hit, Sylvia's Mother.
• The song satirizes success in the music business; the song's narrator laments that his band has not been featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine despite having the superficial attributes of a successful rock star, including drug usage, "teenage groupies, who'll do anything we say" and a frenetic guitar solo.
• The group had a funny side and a serious side, but it was the funny side that came out on stage and framed their image. The pirate theme added to the novelty of the group: originally known as the Chocolate Papers, they took the name Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show after the character in Peter Pan, which also played up the eye patch worn by their singer Ray Sawyer, who many people assumed was "Dr. Hook." Sawyer wore the eye patch as a result of a car accident.
• The BBC refused to play this because it violated their rule stating that songs could not mention trademarked products by brand name (the Kinks had to change "Coca-Cola" to "Cherry Cola" in their song Lola to get around the rule). CBS Records responded by setting up a phone line that would play the song to anyone willing to dial in, which helped build the buzz. The BBC was only able to play the song after some of their DJs edited themselves shouting the words "Radio Times" over "Rolling Stone" (Radio Times was a show on the BBC). Rumor was that Dr. Hook recorded the "Radio Times" version, but they never had to.
• The group made the cover of Rolling Stone magazine on March 29, 1973, 3 months after this song was released. The text next to their picture read: "What's Their Names Make The Cover." The song was great publicity for Rolling Stone magazine, which was only five years old at the time of the pressing. For the story, reporter Jim Cahill followed the band on tour, portraying them (warmly and accurately) as a ragtag band of misfits who were making it up as they went along. Early stage shows for the band were a bawdy affair, with a lot of improvisation and revelry.
• Phish played the song for the first and, to date, only time live in concert on February 14, 2003 after learning earlier that day they would appear on the cover of the March 6, 2003 issue of the magazine.
• Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show became such prolific interpreters of Shel's material for some reasons which would completely include their sense of humor. They were just a bar band from New Jersey, as much as Columbia Records tried to make them some crazy Cajun band that came out of the swamps. I mean, Ray Sawyer was from the South, maybe one or two of the other guys. But they were just a bar band, and were blessed with two great singers, both Ray and Dennis had fantastic voices.
• The song was featured in the 2000 movie Almost Famous, about a 15-year-old reporter writing an article for Rolling Stone magazine. The band he is writing about (fictitious band Stillwater) sings this when they find out they made the cover, having been told at a post-performance dinner during the final stop of their tour in New York City. The director, Cameron Crowe, was once a reporter for Rolling Stone.

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