This Moana Song Lyric Sounds Filthy & You'll Never Be Able To Unhear It

Here's a tip for parents who have to watch "Moana" ad nauseam with their kids: there's a dirty word in there that may give you a laugh the next time you watch the movie. Technically, it's something that only sounds dirty if you're thinking of the profanity in question. In the song "I Am Moana," sung by the titular character (voiced by Auliʻi Cravalho), there's a lyric that goes, "It's like the tide always falling and rising." But you may just hear something else, as noticed by @deanjohnsonuk on X (formerly known as Twitter).

He writes, "I can't be the only one who hears 'it's like the tide always f**king rising' in a heavy Scottish accent, right?" The observation gained further attention after Jason Pargin shared a video on TikTok that featured the tweet and video, and, honestly, it's really hard to hear the proper lyrics once this thought has been put in your mind.

This isn't the first time "Moana" has been unintentionally connected to unsavory subject matter. The title of the film was changed to "Oceania" in Italy to avoid an accidental association with a famous adult film star. While it's obvious the lyric isn't intended to be heard as a dirty word, it'll be amusing for parents who keep this in mind for any "Moana" rewatches in the future, giggling to themselves while their children are none the wiser.

So, why do people hear "f***ing" instead of "falling and?" Misheard lyrics aren't a new phenomenon. There's an entire meme dedicated to people hearing Justin Timberlake sing "I'm gonna be May" in lieu of "It's gonna be me." Sometimes, due to the way people pronounce certain words or how the human mind fills in gaps when we're not quite sure what someone's saying, we get these amusing lyric interpretations. 

In fact, "Moana" isn't even the first Disney movie to have people (mis)hearing naughty words. TikToker @trucker_burnsey uploaded a video containing several misheard lyrics, including one from "Poor Unfortunate Souls" in "The Little Mermaid." When Ursula (Pat Carroll) sings, "They come flocking to my cauldron," one can almost hear, "They come f*** into my cauldron." The non-existent swear word really comes through if you're not really paying attention while listening to the song. 

The "Moana" mishap can be attributed to Moana singing "falling" rather quickly and punctuating the "and" to the point where it almost sounds like ... well, you know. It's one of those things that happen from time to time, and with the live-action "Moana" movie currently being worked on by Disney, maybe more attention will be paid to make sure the actor who plays Moana this time around really enunciates "falling."

Interested in more "Moana?" Check out Disney's first trailer for "Moana 2," which teases a new adventure and Maui's (Dwayne Johnson) return.