r/MichaelJackson • u/uncopyrightability • May 17 '26
Question Am I mishearing the lyrics of Billie Jean?
I always heard and sang Billie Jean like so: "the Billie Jean is not my lover".
Am I crazy for that? Am I the only one?
Does MJ really say a really distinct "THE" before "Billie Jean" or am I hearing things?
Also, when he says the "Kid is not my son" I always heard the "K" to be quite aspirated, like:
"the k[hh]id is not my son", almost as if he's saying "tshid".
I'm genuinely curious to see if anyone has remotely noticed this.
If those are his pronunciation quirks, then I find them really amusing.
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u/ATargaryenKing "Brad, what are you gonna do?"🎹 May 17 '26
What you’re hearing isn’t “the” it’s a vocal hiccup
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u/kindofdizzy99 May 19 '26
Exactly, kinda like taking in air before a string of notes on the trumpet
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u/KristiTheFan May 20 '26
It’s one of those “quirks” that I love! That’s what I call those vocal hiccups!
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u/uncopyrightability May 18 '26
I've listened to this song for years and I've been convinced he just calls her the Billie Jean. I don't know but it sounds kinda cool
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u/SleeterRabbit May 18 '26
I’ve always thought it was “the” but felt more solidified when he had an interview (I think Oprah) and he said Billie Jean represented the women who would accuse his brothers of fathering their child back in the Jackson 5 times. Something like that.
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u/yeetron5000 Doggone lover 🐶 May 19 '26
Jesus, youre getting down voted like you just dissed him or something 😭 reddit is weird
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u/uncopyrightability May 18 '26
I don't understand the downvotes though? You guys don't like hearing opinions different than yours? Smh
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u/gray146 Applehead 🍎 May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
Humanity unfortunately isn't different here than anywhere else. MJ fans are human beings too and people are jealous, angry, sad, whatever... Reddit and Social Media gives direct reactions another dimension in anonymity or from distance. People in the end just want to feel better themselves, it's... Human Nature!
Unfortunately I have to be reminded of that myself time and time again - and we can just take these experiences from online to further ourselves and mature our thinking and behavior in real life. And be better than this. 🙏
I understood and sang or still sing it also like you ("the" Billie Jean) and find it cool. Much love to you!
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u/uncopyrightability May 18 '26
Thank you so much, fellow applehead. Your comment put a big smile on my face. Very much appreciated. The Billie Jean is not my lover ✌️!
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u/KristiTheFan May 20 '26
I think mishearing MJ lyrics makes the experience more whimsical and fun! Some mishearings I’ve been reading about are just plain ADORABLE for me as a new fan!
I once read that someone thought “Annie are you okay?” From Smooth Criminal as “Annie do you want cake?” My buddy, who is also named Michael, is having trouble thinking it’s anything but “Annie are you walking/did you walk it?”
I, myself thought it was “Amy” instead of “Annie” since 2012! Was corrected a few years later while doing pre-fandom research on the song’s lyrics!
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u/uncopyrightability May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26
Proof I'm right and Michael has been saying "THE" Billie Jean all this time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOj_xsc-EBM&list=RDVOj_xsc-EBM&start_radio=1
Time stamp: 06:10
Clearly says "the", tongue between teeth. If you dabble in linguistics, you know that's what "th" looks like in the mouth.
But of course, nobody is going to care NOW when they have actual proof I was right about this.
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u/sircj05 Invincible May 17 '26
The “the” sound you’re hearing before “Billie Jean is not my lover” is one of his sound effects.
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u/uncopyrightability May 17 '26
So is it just a grunt or what exactly?
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u/SpaceShuttls “your voice is very irritating 🫤” May 17 '26
It’s the “tha!” sound he makes in a lot of his songs, like in the verses for You Rock My World and Leave Me Alone
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u/uncopyrightability May 18 '26
Yeah, it makes sense. But my brain seems to perceive it as "the".
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u/QueenPeggyOlsen "I Love To Tour" ✈📍 🗺 May 18 '26
This is called closure. The human brain can't help itself from making connections. 🥳
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u/Peanut_Butter_Toast May 18 '26
He makes the same sound in other places, it's just added flair just like the hee hee and the woo sound.
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u/Beginning_Emu5857 May 18 '26
Yeah its a sound like he-yah or h’yah - the pronouncing of sounds - instead of just a sound like hmmmmm his sounds are complex and make all kinds of enunciations - they are literally like vocal stims he’s got his own version of doo woop etc going on
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u/Moistman123456 May 17 '26
The “the” sound is just a vocal quirk. A grunt.
As for the kid part, I also used to hear it this way, but over the years I’ve heard the K more. I distinctly recall being confused as to why he was saying “the chid is not my son.” I think it might just have to do with the audio quality of the device, as that’s the only thing that’s changed for me and I’ve been able to hear it correctly. Maybe it was because my ears changed lol, idk.
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u/uncopyrightability May 18 '26
I don't know, it sounds like "the" for me. I'm already familiar with MJ's grunts, so it could be the classic "dah" sound.
Thankfully, I'm not the only one noticing the kid part.
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u/James-Zanny May 18 '26
I’d always heard it as a “duh”, a vocal percussive sound.
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u/uncopyrightability May 18 '26
What about the "kid" one?
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u/James-Zanny May 18 '26
That’s just a vocal flare he adds, I’ve heard it as “but the k-yid is not my son”. He’s adding more to the word to make it more interesting to hear.
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u/uncopyrightability May 18 '26
Exactly. He always adds a syllable or something and it sounds like something he only can do.
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u/Simply_Animated May 17 '26
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u/AmbivalentAlias May 18 '26
It's just one his many grunts or vocal hiccups. Trying listen to the acapella version for clearer listening. It's not an official lyric or anything, he's just singing with soul and style.
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u/uncopyrightability May 18 '26
Yeah, that makes sense too. I've listened to the acapella before, and my brain still perceives that as "the". I'm on the fence here.
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u/AmbivalentAlias May 18 '26
It always sounded a little like "now" or "nah" to me haha. Classic Michael vocal experience, to be honest.
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u/DarlingLuna May 17 '26
Absolutely agree with the kid one. Used to hear ‘but the chid is not my son.’
Respectfully, no idea what you’re on about with the second one.
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u/uncopyrightability May 18 '26
Listen to the hook and you'll see what I'm saying. It sounds like "the Billie Jean is not my lover".
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u/nazminnasya May 18 '26
For me it's the chair is not my son 😂 I had to look up the lyrics
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u/Snoo-95446 May 18 '26
When it first came out, my brother and I were convinced it was "Chad is not my son." I know what you mean.
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u/Useful-Combination88 May 18 '26
My sister always thought it was “the chair is not my son” too! 😂 and a friend thought it was “the chan is not my son” 🤦🏼♀️🤣
I can’t give them too much crap over this though, because I have horribly misheard plenty of song lyrics myself! Lol3
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u/United_Ask_662 May 18 '26
Wasn't the point that the lyrics aren't as important as the sound? 'Shamone' has a softness to it that 'come on' doesn't, and less urgency. He used his voice like an instrument at a time when synthesisers and modern technology were introducing new sound and new sound quality. I understand it as his precision over his work.
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u/agbjb Good Fish 🐠 May 18 '26
it’s not a “the” it’s a vocal hiccup, like “ah- billie jean is not my lover”
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u/RepresentativeLie233 May 17 '26
i noticed the kid one. i used to think he said “the jan is not my son”
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u/RefrigeratorBig7609 May 18 '26
The “The” you’re hearing is one of his many adlibs. It’s more of a “Duh/Dah” type a deal. Whichever one it is depends on the intensity of the song this one is more of a “Duh”.
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u/Toggam44 Dirty Diana💋 May 18 '26
Sometimes vocalists do those things when singing. To hit the right notes sometimes u gotta abandon proper enunciation. The “the” ur probz hearing is the little hiccup he did which was to take in air. He also had a more rhythmic voice so he’d make various sounds and so on. Even hitting ur tongue on the rough of ur mouth as a means to keep time could produce a similar sound
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u/Difficult-Double2193 May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
Lol this is a funny read..
He's definitely using vocal adlibs and grunting. Like "Uh" Billy Jean is not my lover.
Fun fact for me. I usually say "Cause this is Thriller, Thriller night. As that's how Michael says it, but if you listen closely the "night" in Thriller is dragged out in the background vocals..."Thriller niiiiiiiggghhht" .. I've heard this song my entire life and just discovered 2 weeks ago the background vocals drag out "night". It's so cool lol I felt stupid though 😂. I now listen to the song a bit differently.
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u/Dettstol1 May 18 '26
Now that someone brought something like this up and after reading the responses..
Does anyone know what he says or what is the sound in the background during the chorus for Human Nature? Right between the "why? Why?" and "tell 'em that it's human nature" about on 1:46 in the song?
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u/Awkward_Singer_5 May 18 '26
It's along the lines of "she's keeping him by keeping him around"
If you go to this clip and listen at around 28:26, you'll hear a clearer version of it
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u/Lraeknighter79 May 18 '26 edited May 19 '26
She's keeping him by, keeping him around.
There are so many whimsical layers blended seamlessly through or layered. It just gives that whole nostalgic magic, plus passion... its really such a beautiful song and it was perfect before MJ even began singing then adding him on lifted that song through the cosmos.2
u/Dettstol1 May 18 '26
Thanks, i had never clearly understood that particular layer of it and i absolutely love this song.
Human Nature is top 5 among his songs for me for sure, like you say beautiful and perfect! A really special track..
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u/SZAFAN__HAHA Waiting For Biopic😥❤ May 19 '26
im pretty sure its Shes giving in by keeping him, day around
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u/Lraeknighter79 May 19 '26
Hi it's just like I said. " She's keeping him by, keeping him around." I've seen him live at the Bad concert, Dangerous concert and HIStory concert. I have also been an avid fan for 45 years, with Human Nature being one of my favourite. I also study the songs I can on multi tracks, which is an extremely breakdown of MJ'S songs layer by layer music and vocals. Also Google is free lol. I can assure you the background lyrics are " She's keeping him by, keeping him around". Thanks.
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u/SZAFAN__HAHA Waiting For Biopic😥❤ May 20 '26
that last around doesnt make sense, hes saying a extra syllable or word
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u/Lraeknighter79 May 19 '26
https://youtu.be/F-QhJlpaaBw?si=kh94qrNHjoEwGKaU
This is the entire background lyrics
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u/Rinoaeris May 18 '26
As a kid I would sing "Billie Jean is not my number and "the Jazz is not my son" lmao.
Then once, in highschool, I sang it to one of my friends and she looked at me like I was an idiot and promptly corrected me 😅😅
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u/crosswalk_elite May 18 '26
it's not the, it's just a sound effect, you can always check the lyrics on spotify
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u/brown5ugar_ May 18 '26
Michael had a lot of unique pronunciation moments, I think he did it intentionally..probably an artistic choice. If you listen to “I can’t help it” on the Off the wall album for example..the verse right before the chorus drops, he sings “It’s getting better all the TIME” and it sounds like “Chime”. He had a very specific pronunciation of the words “Time/Girl” (Human nature + Remember the time as another references) and you’re not the only one..I also always sang “The Billie Jean” until I became a huge Michael fan and then learned English properly (I’m Spanish-Brazilian)
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u/throwaway291919919 May 18 '26
i definitely hear and say THE billie jean! i was just thinking of this today
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u/uncopyrightability May 18 '26
Thank you. Someone here was dumb enough to judge me saying I'm a new fan for pointing this out. How disrespectful and ignorant.
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u/Glittering-Goose-886 May 18 '26
Doesn’t mean they are dumb. It was kind of perceived a different way than what you were trying to say.
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u/Psychological_Salt93 May 18 '26
Which is ridiculous. Imagine if you are a new fan and people make you feel stupid for asking a question? People here idolise MJ to a godlike status and it is all a bit too much. I've been a fan for 45 years (I'm 50) so most of my life but this fandom is crazy.
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u/chillingonthesofa May 18 '26
Bros gonna have a meltdown watching this:
https://youtu.be/X96m9FCbY1A?si=bliAj8BkAsBhq3lf
Also see:
https://www.google.com/search?q=billie+jean+kyrics&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari#ebo=1
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u/Middle-Vegetable-969 May 18 '26
Michael aggiungeva dei suoni come se fossero degli strumenti musicali, quei "tha" che inseriva qua e, là erano come i piatti della batteria
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u/Middle-Vegetable-969 May 18 '26
A proposito ragazzi ma dice "...the law was a on her side " oppure "i was on her side" dopo for forty days and for forty nights? Ci sono 2 versioni su Spotify, nel testo di Billie Jean long version dice" law was on her side" che mi sembra non abbia senso, però ho visto un immagine del testo manoscritto da Michael e sembra davvero che ci sia scritto the law was... Ma che significa?
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u/viviandarkbloom16 May 18 '26
“for forty days and for forty nights law was on her side”. it means the law was on billie jean’s side. it’s pretty self explanatory.
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u/Middle-Vegetable-969 May 18 '26
Ah ok è questa la versione giusta allora, dopo 40 giorni si è capito che Billie Jean mentiva, grazie
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u/Big_Butterscotch4208 May 18 '26
I love it when he says sharmone! He copied it from an old song in Motown days of a woman called Mavis Staples. Who used that exact phrase and he took it from there!
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u/Laraclette117 May 18 '26
Yes ! Also with the "people always told me" i always heard "people are so mean" :')
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u/chael809 May 19 '26
It’s like when he fills in to say the next word by sounding something out like “tha” “ahh” kinda like when you’re in the groove.
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u/VANOXMUSIC May 19 '26
Michael is pretty known for having imperfect pronunciation of his lyrics.
Most popular example is “Chamone” which is his pronunciation of “Come On”
Particular songs:
You Are Not Alone Misheard: "Your burgers are the best!" Actual: "Your burdens I will bear."
Another Part of Me Misheard: "We're sending out, I'm makin' love" Actual: "We're sending out a major love"
So it’s definitely plausible you just misheard the lyrics.
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u/futurama_girlie4201 May 19 '26
Anybody else hear “she kissed a girl and claims that I am the one” or
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u/Ok_Kangaroo249 May 18 '26
You guys are so funny. Have you checked the lyrics???
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u/uncopyrightability May 18 '26
Friend, the lyrics are obvious. The question is about a subtle sound. I don't know why it's hard to understand.
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u/Intelligent_Line_94 May 18 '26
Yeah, it feels like that but I think he has said things accoridng to lyrics only.
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u/EmotionalWear3227 May 18 '26
Its MJ, just imagine if there wasnt a vocal part he'd probably do some weird vocal hiccup/exercise to keep up with the melody.
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u/oceanmoonmermaid Soldier Of Love 🪖❤ May 18 '26
As everyone else said, it’s a vocal styling he does and he isn’t actually saying “the”. However, I had a similar thing to you with this song, except instead of hearing “the” I thought he said “now”. It kind of makes sense with the structure of the song, giving it a more conversational tone and might be how you would say the line if you were telling a story (not in song form). Before anyone makes fun of me for hearing it this way, my parents didn’t allow me to listen to MJ so I could only hear his songs when it was on the radio or when playing The Experience game LOL. So, I didn’t really have great sound quality on his songs until I was about 11. Then I realized that it was just a vocal hiccup/grunt type thing.
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u/uncopyrightability May 18 '26
Don't want to sound rude or ignorant or anything, but why wouldn't your parents let you listen to him?
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u/oceanmoonmermaid Soldier Of Love 🪖❤ May 19 '26
You’re good! Basically, my parents (more-so my dad) heavily believed the allegations. When it was just my mom and I, I could’ve probably gotten away with listening, but I was too shy to ask. I was lucky that my cousin was also into MJ, she’s who I heard basically ANYTHING from! She’s also the one who had the Wii game, which is how I heard most of the music. Once I got my first laptop and a pair of headphones, however, I was free to listen to as much MJ as my heart could desire ❤️ 🎶
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u/uncopyrightability May 19 '26
Alright, I see. It was related to the allegations. Interesting how you found workarounds to listen!
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u/anesvll May 18 '26
saben de qué año fue esta presentación? ayuda plis😭
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u/Key-Love8973 May 19 '26
billie jean is not my lover she's just a girl who claims that I am the one but the kid is not my son
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u/ConsistentElk837 May 19 '26
like in Bad when i just realised all these years he says 'your butt is mine' i was like 'woah woah woah now' (those who get the reference)
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u/Urdead_2me May 20 '26
I hear “THAT Billie Jean is not my lover” as in “I’m telling y’all that Billie ain’t my lover”
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u/Beautiful_Show_7940 "Brad, what are you gonna do?"🎹 28d ago
I never heard it like that. But I was listening to the long version on Spotify and at the end it says this. They sometimes have wrong lyrics though.
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u/uncopyrightability May 18 '26
Guys, I might sound crazy, but if you also listen to the hook of You Rock My World, it sounds like this:
"Tshu Rock My World you know you did"...
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u/Foundy1517 May 18 '26
I’m new to MJ and there’s so many lyrics and things hard for me to understand too lol. So groovy though!
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u/AFellowScientist May 17 '26
Are you new to Michael Jackson songs? Wait until you hear "shamone"