Have you ever done or thought something for years and years believing it to be correct only to discover it wasn’t?

You think you know where this is heading, don’t you?

No, I’m not going to expose my wife, children or friends this time. This time, it’s all on me. As a matter of fact, this is a double whammy.

I think I might have mentioned one of them previously, but because it adds to the story I’ll use it again.

We all sing along to songs on the radio or sometimes when taking a shower. And — go ahead and admit it — sometimes we don’t quite get the words right and just kinda hum through the lyrics once we get past the words we do know.

But then there are those songs we do know the words to. Or think we do.

For years, I thought I knew the words to this one song made popular by Peter, Paul and Mary.

I always sang along.

“Michael rode upon the shore...” envisioning Michael riding a horse along the beach.

I’m not sure when I found out the actual words are “Michael row the boat ashore,” but it wasn’t too awful long ago. That wasn’t really embarrassing because no one had ever heard me sing the song with the incorrect lyrics. In fact, no one has ever really heard me sing anything. I was somewhat mystified as to how I could have gotten it wrong for so many years. I did not lose any sleep over it and had forgotten about my lyrical ineptitude until a couple of weeks ago.

I was sitting in church reading the bulletin before the service began and came across the words to something we have sung in my church ever since I can remember.

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

I couldn’t believe what I had just read. This was much more serious than thinking Michael was riding rather than rowing.

For as long as I have sung those words, I had sung them wrong. Not all of them. Just one line. The second line: “Praise Him, all creatures here below.”

I thought it went like this: “Praise Him, all creatures hear me low.”

My interpretation of my line is that we proclaim to all creatures that God provides all. You know, as in the lowing of cows. I know, I know, that’s a stretch, but that’s what I thought for 50 years or so.

Now maybe the lyrics have been printed in our bulletin before and I didn’t see them. All I know is it was quite a shock to my system when I did see them.

My wife thought it was hilarious when I told her. She didn’t believe me at first, but it did not take long before she began rubbing it in. Not to the point of being overkill, but she did let me know how dense I can be on occasion.

As I mentioned, I’m not really one to belt out a tune unless maybe in the car by myself or in the shower — also by myself!

But in church I ALWAYS SANG “Praise God...’ loud enough for others to hear. Now I wonder if any of those within earshot noticed I was singing the wrong words. Up until they moved to West Columbia a few years ago, I sat directly behind my parents in church. They never corrected me, so it’s entirely possible no one else noticed either. The words do sound very similar. Sing them and see, I mean hear.

This experience has been a bit unnerving. I mean if I had this wrong all of these years, what else am I missing?

Cody Sossamon (cody@gaffneyledger.com) is publisher of The Gaffney Ledger.