What’s Your Favorite Mondegreen?
July 7th, 2008, 12:18 PM EDT
“Mondegreen” is one of the new words in Webster’s (along with pescatarian, edamame, and norovirus). It has to do with words mistaken for other words. The words “laid him on the green” come from an old Scottish ballad, but many would hear it as “Lady Mondegreen”. Then there’s “‘Scuse me while I kiss this guy” instead of “kiss the sky” from Jimmi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze”, and Creedence Clearwater’s “There’s a bad moon on the rise”, often misheard as “There’s a bathroom on the right.”
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=5BmEGm-mraE]
that’s a cool new word. “mondegreen” i like it!
July 7th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
My personal favorite is from “Beast of Burden” by the Rolling Stones: “I’ll never leave your pizza burning.” The actual line, “I’ll never be your beast of burden,” just isn’t as interesting.
July 7th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
The unfortunate thing about a lot of rock lyrics is that knowing the actual lyrics often does nothing to improve the song, and sometimes makes it worse.
July 7th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Alen, I hear this CCR tune is going to be obamas campaign song? BTW when are you going to have col. Hunt back on the xm show?
July 7th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Hymns have, at times, been susceptible to mondegreens. “Lead on, O King Eternal” has become, “Lead on, o kinky turtle!” “Gladly the Cross I’d Bear” has become “Gladly, the cross-eyed bear” (a friend for Smokey?), and “Gospel of Christ” has been misheard as “Gobs full of rice.”
On the seclular side, “Taking care of business” has, of course, become “Baking Carrot Biscuits.” Weird Al may have it easy…
July 7th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Oh, and one of the most embarrasing mondegreens must have come when a lady I knew–who was a little older than my grandmother–was a little girl. In front of a congregation, she turned “The Old Ships of Zion” into–I’m cleaning this up slightly–”the old(spit’s)a-dyin!”
July 7th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Benny in the gents (Benny and the Jets)
July 7th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Alan and everyone else…have you ever heard of the podcast “Grammar Girl”? It’s an excellent podcast and is a great apolitical respite!
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/spoonerisms-mondegreens-eggcorns-and-malapropisms.aspx
The above link goes to the specific podcast & transcript that goes over stuff like this. The green “play” button is at the top of the page.
July 7th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
My favorite?
Is the entire oeuvre of the Red Hot Chili Peppers an acceptable entry?
July 7th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Here’s a surefire winning bar bet. Offer someone just one opportunity to answer this question:
“A farmer has twenty-six sheep, and one dies. How many does he have left?”
There are two answers, and you can insure that the answer given by the “victim” is incorrect.
The logical answer is “25″: 26 sheep, minus one.
But the answer could also be 19: 20 SICK SHEEP, minus one.
July 8th, 2008 at 8:40 am
interesting site, Flap.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
michae, that’s a cool joke or riddle or whatever it is.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
How about the first line of “Miss You” by my favourite band, The Rolling Stones. I have heard people sing “I’ve been haulin’ ass so long” when it is actually “I’ve been holding on so long”. I also like “Last night I dreamt of San Pedro” (Madonna, “La Isla Bonita”), frequently heard as “Last night I dreamt of some bagels”.
July 8th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Stairway to Heaven:
There’s a wino down the road
Should have stolen oreos
July 10th, 2008 at 7:53 am