For years I heard the lyrics of the Rolling Stones song “Black Dog” incorrectly. I thought it was:

I don't know, but I've been told
A beetle-age woman ain't got no soul

The main problem here, of course, is that I have no idea what’s meant by “beetle-age.” I mean, is it the lifespan of a typical beetle? Or is it the whole epic since the appearance of the order Coleoptera? Or, for that matter (given the date of the song) is it something about the “Age of the Beatles”?

I was puzzled for years.

I recently added the song to my workout playlist, so I’ve been listening to it more lately, and I’ve realized that I had misunderstood the lyric. It’s actually:

I don't know, but I've been told
A beetle-egg woman ain't got no soul

This makes a lot more sense.

Just sharing this for all the other people out there puzzled by song lyrics. We should have a support group or something.