Classic Songs That Get Simple Geographical and Historical Facts Wrong

Lori Dorn
September 3, 2026

Music essayist Noah Lefevre of Polyphonic listed several classic songs that get simple geographical and historical facts wrong.

Songs That Lie to You

Songs Lefevre cites for geographical inaccuracies include Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir”, Toto’s “Africa”, Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, and Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel”. For historical inaccuracies, he cites Bob Dylan’s “Hurricane”, Paper Lace’s “The Night Chicago Died”, and Neil Young’s “Cortez the Killer”.

Several commenters challenged Lefevre’s premise.

Dude, the Beatles claimed that they all lived in a yellow submarine, and like, they totally didn’t. …John Lennon was also famously not a walrus …Frankly, I have always highly doubted that Egyptians walked like that.

Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.