"And the father of the mule is gettin' so excited"

The story:

I first misheard this lyric when the song was just
out, and I was around six years old.

I had zero idea what the song was talking about.

But, once I misheard the "thought of loving you"
line, it stayed with me for years. Even now, when
I sing the song (I'm a performing musician), I can
somehow hear the child me "singing" along with the
adult me when that line comes up.