Action Network Data Study

Baseball has its own soundtrack. But how many of us actually know what we’re singing?

From Take Me Out to the Ball Game during the seventh-inning stretch to Sweet Caroline at Fenway Park, some songs are almost as much a part of baseball as peanuts and Cracker Jack.

At Action Network we spend a lot of time thinking about baseball, so we set out to settle a question every fan faces after confidently singing the wrong words from the stands. Which baseball anthem is actually the hardest to get right?

We analyzed 10 songs closely tied to baseball and scored each one on six measures:

Then we tracked lyric searches across all 50 states to find the one baseball song each state Googles far more than everyone else.

The result? Plenty of songs Americans have belted out for generations turn out to be almost impossible to get right, and we have the misheard receipts to prove it.

Key Findings

Baseball’s Hardest Songs to Get Right, Ranked

How to read the ranking: The Difficulty Index combines six measures into one score. A higher score means the song ranked as harder to sing or understand compared with the other songs analyzed. The raw figures used to build the ranking are shown alongside the final score.

Headline data is shown first.
RankSongDifficulty IndexMisheard submissionsLyrics AI got wrongWords/minRare words Total wordsUnique wordsUnique-word shareRare-word shareReading easeLength (min)KissThisGuyAmIRightAI accuracy
1The Star-Spangled Banner56.814330.4%60.771631616853.16%9.52%93.635.20103369.6%
2Thank God I'm a Country Boy54.722954.6%136.12645615634.21%3.85%96.783.3552445.4%
3Enter Sandman54.275760.2%46.0802559637.65%0.00%94.005.5357039.8%
4Take Me Out to the Ball Game44.65684.1%86.3322009045.00%2.22%102.572.321515.9%
5God Bless America43.531955.0%26.561855564.71%1.82%92.503.2011845.0%
6Centerfield39.993835.8%64.91325110642.23%2.83%100.363.8753364.2%
7Tessie38.26156.5%86.02236712935.15%1.55%90.144.271043.5%
8Sweet Caroline36.452615.5%42.2751437351.05%6.85%94.543.3862084.5%
9I'm Shipping Up to Boston26.69365.9%34.290882225.00%0.00%95.562.572134.1%
10Deep in the Heart of Texas21.92015.4%57.0761565635.90%10.71%103.492.730084.6%

The main columns show the result and easiest-to-understand raw figures. Technical columns can be expanded for the full underlying data.

Sing it loud. Sing it wrong.

The Baseball Lyrics Fans Keep Getting Wrong

Sometimes a fan misses one word. More often they invent a brand new line and sing it with total confidence. Here are the real mishearings people have owned up to, matched against what was actually sung.

Audio note: Tap Listen on any song to play it inline. Only one track plays at a time.

1

The Star-Spangled Banner

56.8 difficulty score  ·  43 misheard submissions  ·  AI got 30.4% of the lyrics wrong

1814Francis Scott KeyNational anthem

The national anthem ranks #1 and packs in more uncommon words than any other song analyzed. It is the song most fans only pretend to know, so it produced the biggest pile of confident mistakes.

Documented mishearings
  • “José, can you see?”→ “O say, can you see”
  • “by the donzerly light”→ “by the dawn’s early light”
  • “the home of the Braves”→ “the home of the brave”
2

Thank God I'm a Country Boy

54.7 difficulty score  ·  29 misheard submissions  ·  AI got 54.6% of the lyrics wrong

1974John DenverCountry

The #2 song is also the fastest in the study at roughly 136 words per minute. That gives fans almost no time to work out what John Denver just said.

Documented mishearings
  • “Guitar’s sweet”→ “Kids are asleep”
  • “a funny-money riddle”→ “a funny, funny riddle”
  • “how to widdle”→ “how to whittle”
3

Enter Sandman

54.3 difficulty score  ·  57 misheard submissions  ·  AI got 60.2% of the lyrics wrong

1991MetallicaHeavy metal

No song produced more documented misheard lyrics, with 57 submissions. A whispered lullaby about nightmares turns out to be genuinely hard to catch.

Documented mishearings
  • “Eggs and light”→ “Exit light”
  • “Awesome never, never lasts”→ “We’re off to never-never land”
  • “Señor Pears, it’s a wand”→ “Say your prayers, little one”
4

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

44.6 difficulty score  ·  6 misheard submissions  ·  AI got 84.1% of the lyrics wrong

1908Norworth & Von TilzerTin Pan Alley

AI got 84.1% of the lyrics wrong, the worst result of any song analyzed. If the machine cannot manage it, the rest of us never stood a chance.

Documented mishearings
  • “Crackerjacks”→ “Cracker Jack”
  • “one, two, three stripes, you’re out”→ “one, two, three strikes, you’re out”
  • “peanuts and Apple Jax”→ “peanuts and Cracker Jack”
5

God Bless America

43.5 difficulty score  ·  19 misheard submissions  ·  AI got 55.0% of the lyrics wrong

1918Irving BerlinPatriotic

Nearly two-thirds of its words are unique, the highest share in the study. That is a polite way of saying there is a lot here to get wrong.

Documented mishearings
  • “God bless a merry cow”→ “God bless America”
  • “Stand behind her and grind her”→ “Stand beside her and guide her”
  • “the light from the bite of a bug”→ “the light from above”
6

Centerfield

40.0 difficulty score  ·  38 misheard submissions  ·  AI got 35.8% of the lyrics wrong

1985John FogertyRock

Centerfield recorded 38 documented misheard-lyric submissions, the third-highest total. Most of them cheerfully mangle the same four words.

Documented mishearings
  • “Put me in a coma”→ “Put me in, Coach”
  • “Rummy and Coke, I’m ready to play”→ “Put me in, Coach, I’m ready to play”
  • “Look at me, I can be the way I feel”→ “Look at me, I can be centerfield”
7

Tessie

38.3 difficulty score  ·  1 misheard submissions  ·  AI got 56.5% of the lyrics wrong

2004Dropkick MurphysCeltic punk

Tessie moves at 86 words per minute but drew just one documented misheard submission, the fewest in the study. Most people never learned the words well enough to get them wrong.

Documented tricky lyric
  • “Nuff said, McGreevy”→ “Nuf Ced McGreevy”
8

Sweet Caroline

36.4 difficulty score  ·  26 misheard submissions  ·  AI got 15.5% of the lyrics wrong

1969Neil DiamondPop

Sweet Caroline still logged 26 documented misheard submissions despite ranking eighth overall. Even a song fans scream in unison hides a few traps.

Documented mishearings
  • “Croutons never seemed so good”→ “Good times never seemed so good”
  • “I’m Kevin Kline”→ “I’ve been inclined”
  • “Curtain runs off my shoulders”→ “Hurtin’ runs off my shoulders”
9

I'm Shipping Up to Boston

26.7 difficulty score  ·  3 misheard submissions  ·  AI got 65.9% of the lyrics wrong

2005Dropkick MurphysCeltic punk

The song ranks ninth overall, with three documented misheard submissions across a very short, repetitive lyric. There simply are not many words to fumble.

Playful mishearings
  • “I’m shipping off to Boston”→ “I’m shipping up to Boston”
  • “I’m a sailor, Peg”→ “I’m a sailor peg”
10

Deep in the Heart of Texas

21.9 difficulty score  ·  0 misheard submissions  ·  AI got 15.4% of the lyrics wrong

1941Hershey & SwanderWestern

The easiest song in the ranking drew no documented misheard submissions in the two databases analyzed. It is mostly clapping, and even fans struggle to clap wrong.

Playful mishearings
  • “The stars at night are big and white”→ “The stars at night are big and bright”
  • “The sage in bloom is like a fume”→ “The sage in bloom is like perfume”

The Baseball Song Each State Can’t Stop Googling

Each state is matched with the baseball song whose lyrics it searches for at the highest rate compared with the country overall. This measures a state’s strongest search signature, not its favorite song.

Sweet Caroline God Bless America Take Me Out to the Ball Game Enter Sandman The Star-Spangled Banner Deep in the Heart of Texas I’m Shipping Up to Boston
Hover or tap a state See its strongest baseball lyric-search signature.

What the map shows

View the full state search data
StateWinning songVs. national ratePopulationEnter SandmanGod Bless AmericaTake Me OutDeep in the Heart of TexasShipping Up to BostonSweet CarolineStar-Spangled Banner
AlabamaGod Bless America1.86×5,197,72033500004281
AlaskaSweet Caroline1.51×743,7560100008081
ArizonaEnter Sandman1.17×7,691,740403042005271.4
ArkansasSweet Caroline1.08×3,107,24026557005777.8
CaliforniaTake Me Out to the Ball Game1.44×39,663,800262557004774.2
ColoradoSweet Caroline1.08×6,013,650332542005762.6
ConnecticutThe Star-Spangled Banner1.08×3,707,1204040570405778.2
DelawareSweet Caroline1.34×1,067,410050007179.4
FloridaGod Bless America1.12×23,839,600333028005765
GeorgiaThe Star-Spangled Banner1.08×11,297,300262542004777.8
StateWinning songVs. national ratePopulationEnter SandmanGod Bless AmericaTake Me OutDeep in the Heart of TexasShipping Up to BostonSweet CarolineStar-Spangled Banner
HawaiiSweet Caroline1.79×1,450,900050009584.2
IdahoGod Bless America1.68×2,032,12046450004761.4
IllinoisTake Me Out to the Ball Game1.79×12,778,1003320710204769
IndianaTake Me Out to the Ball Game1.44×6,968,420402557005273
IowaTake Me Out to the Ball Game2.52×3,264,56053351000010070.6
KansasThe Star-Spangled Banner1.12×2,989,71020250005781
KentuckyEnter Sandman1.56×4,626,1505325420405281.4
LouisianaEnter Sandman1.17×4,607,41040250004773
MaineSweet Caroline1.25×1,410,380050006671
MarylandEnter Sandman1.17×6,309,380403042004776.6
StateWinning songVs. national ratePopulationEnter SandmanGod Bless AmericaTake Me OutDeep in the Heart of TexasShipping Up to BostonSweet CarolineStar-Spangled Banner
MassachusettsI'm Shipping Up to Boston20.29×7,205,77033252801008565.4
MichiganTake Me Out to the Ball Game1.06×10,197,600332542005266.2
MinnesotaSweet Caroline1.08×5,833,2503325420205770.6
MississippiThe Star-Spangled Banner1.24×2,942,92026100005289.4
MissouriTake Me Out to the Ball Game1.44×6,282,890463557005775
MontanaThe Star-Spangled Banner1.17×1,143,160050005784.4
NebraskaEnter Sandman1.35×2,023,0704650003875.8
NevadaThe Star-Spangled Banner1.15×3,320,57040542004283
New HampshireEnter Sandman2.94×1,415,860100450006170.6
New JerseyGod Bless America1.30×9,622,060263542004779.4
StateWinning songVs. national ratePopulationEnter SandmanGod Bless AmericaTake Me OutDeep in the Heart of TexasShipping Up to BostonSweet CarolineStar-Spangled Banner
New MexicoSweet Caroline1.25×2,139,3503350006668.2
New YorkGod Bless America1.12×19,997,100263042004263.4
North CarolinaGod Bless America1.12×11,210,900333042005778.6
North DakotaSweet Caroline1.70×804,089050009059.4
OhioGod Bless America1.12×11,942,600333028005270.6
OklahomaDeep in the Heart of Texas7.49×4,126,9004630428005280.6
OregonSweet Caroline1.25×4,291,09040542006665.8
PennsylvaniaEnter Sandman1.56×13,139,8005335280205773
Rhode IslandNo signature song0.98×1,121,190000005262.4
South CarolinaGod Bless America1.12×5,569,830333028005774.2
StateWinning songVs. national ratePopulationEnter SandmanGod Bless AmericaTake Me OutDeep in the Heart of TexasShipping Up to BostonSweet CarolineStar-Spangled Banner
South DakotaGod Bless America3.73×931,0330100000078.6
TennesseeTake Me Out to the Ball Game1.79×7,307,2005335712006179
TexasDeep in the Heart of Texas9.36×31,853,80033252810004771.4
UtahSweet Caroline1.61×3,564,000334071008582.2
VermontThe Star-Spangled Banner1.00×648,27805000072.6
VirginiaEnter Sandman1.76×8,887,700602542004777
WashingtonTake Me Out to the Ball Game1.44×8,059,040332057005766.2
West VirginiaThe Star-Spangled Banner1.05×1,769,4600100004275.8
WisconsinTake Me Out to the Ball Game1.44×5,991,540403557007166.2
WyomingNo signature song0.97×590,16900000069.8

“Baseball's soundtrack was built for 40,000 people to sing together, not for any one of them to be right.”

“These songs get passed down by ear, so the mistakes get passed down too. A whole section can be singing the wrong word in perfect unison.”

“You can love a song for 20 years and still have no idea what it actually says.”

Action Network Data Analyst
The takeaway

Baseball’s most familiar songs are also its easiest to get wrong. The national anthem tops the ranking, Enter Sandman drew the most misheard submissions, and even Take Me Out to the Ball Game stumped the AI. The lesson for the stands is simple. Sing louder, not more accurately, because everyone around you is guessing too.

Methodology

Song ranking: We ranked 10 baseball-associated songs using six measures: documented misheard-lyric submissions (25%), how many words an AI transcription tool got wrong (25%), uncommon words (15%), words per minute (15%), readability (10%) and vocabulary variety (10%).

State analysis: We compared Google Trends interest for eligible “[song] lyrics” searches with national search volume and state population. Each state was assigned the song it searched at the highest rate compared with the country overall.

Sources

Full dataset: View the complete study dataset

Google Trends · Google Keyword Planner · U.S. Census Bureau · Genius · KissThisGuy.com · AmIRight.com