Do You Have a Favorite Mondegreen?

[raebates]

Okay, I admit it. I'm showing off a new word I learned today. Mondegreen means "the mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase, typically a standardized phrase, such as a line in a poem or a lyric in a song."

Probably the most famous mondegreen is Jimi Hendrix' "Excuse me while I kiss the sky." It's often heard as "Excuse me while I kiss this guy." :sing::sing:

Here are a few of my favorites:

The song: Blowing in the Wind
Instead of: The answer, my friends, is blowing in the wind.
Some people hear: The ants are my friends. They're blowing in the wind.


The song: Bohemian Rhapsody
Instead of: Scaramouche, scaramouche, will you do the fandango?
Some people hear: Scare a moose, scare a moose, will you do my fan Van Gogh?

The Song: Blinded by the Light
Instead of: Cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night
Some people hear: Wrapped up like a douche, another loner in the night



Although, my absolute favorite is one my son and I still laugh about.
The Song: Story of a Girl
Instead of: But while she looks so sad in photographs,
My son was singing at the top of his lungs: But while she looked so sad and mowed the grass, :sing:

Now he'll sing it that way just to make me laugh. He even adds jazzy lawn-mowing choreography.



So, do you have a favorite? Come on now, fess up.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

No, but my favorite putting green was the 12th at Brown Deer, site of the US Bank Championship Tournament.The term "mondegreen" was coined by Sylvia Wright in a 1954 Atlantic Monthly article. (It might have been in Harper's, it depends who's report you read.) She says misheard the lyrics to a Scottish folksong for years. The lyrics really go,Ye Highlands and ye Lawlands,
Oh! Where ha'e ye been:
They ha'e slain the Earl of Murray,
And they laid him on the Green.But what she heard was,Ye Highlands and ye Lawlands,
Oh! Where ha'e ye been:
They ha'e slain the Earl of Murray,
And Lady Mondegreen.My favorite is the hymn, Gladly, The Cross-Eyed Bear.

 

[Ann F]

My son thought Garth was singing, "I'm shavin'" instead of "I'm shameless".

My best friend's son sang "She's an eight, she's a nine, she's a ten-eyed toad!" instead of ...she's a ten, I know!

:sing:

 

[pampermejolene]

lol about "ten eyed toad"I know there are some out there but I can't for the life of me think of any!

 

[gingertannery]

My cousin used to sing "elemental p"..... for l..m..n..o..p.. in the alphabet song

 

[pjpamchef]

When my DD was little she was singing along to "I can see clearly now", and instead of obsticles in my way, she sang: popcicles in my way. So that's the way we sing it now and always laugh!

 

[kcjodih]

My cousin used to sing "elemental p"..... for l..m..n..o..p.. in the alphabet song

so did I, so did I!

 

[Chefgirl2]

"Who built the ark?" "No one built it"...should be "Noah built it." My sister eons ago insisted she was right to the nuns. She would not give in that they might be right. Now she is a very successful lawyer...

 

[raebates]

Wow, Elaine, your sister obviously found her calling early. There used to be a commercial for an Indianapolis radio station that played music
"from the 70s to today" that had people singing the wrong lyrics at the top of their lungs. It was really funny.

 

[mrssyvo]

When my niece, Malone, recited the 23rd Psalms, She would always say,
"Deliver us from eagles" Her sister, just a year older, would say,exasperated "Sis, it's deliver us from E-VIL!!!!!"

 

[AnnieBee]

I love this thread!

My own personal one:

The song that goes, "I don't want to work, I just want to bang on a drum all day". Can't think who sings it...

Anyway, I always heard it as, "I just want to bang on a double A" (as in the battery).

I just KNEW it could not possibly be right, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out what the real lyrics were... Until I met my DH and he told me! I was so glad to finally have the answer!

 

[pamperedlinda]

I had one from a Ricky Martin song that I totally messed up - can't remember it right now, but my gay buddy thought it was hilarious when he corrected me. I'll have to google some RM songs and see if I can remember what it was.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I had a bunch of these when I was little - too numerous to mention!

It's funny - because my son seems to be following in my footsteps.

We were listening to a Worship CD in the car a few weeks ago...

My son asked me "Mom, what's a Goalie?" I went into a whole explanation of the game of Hockey, and the goalie's role in the game.....he kept asking me questions, and I was trying to figure out what prompted this sudden interest in Hockey.
Then, he was silent for a couple of minutes (rare for him) and suddenly piped up with: "But, Mom, that just doesn't make sense at all....why would we be bringing Jesus Goalies?"

At that point, I understood - the line that was repeated several times in on of the songs was "Jesus, we bring You Glory".

 

[pamperedlinda]

There's a spanish song that was played on the radio a lot when I was growing up 'Guajira Guantanamera' - I always thought they were singing 'he had a one ton tomato'

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I love this thread!

My own personal one:

The song that goes, "I don't want to work, I just want to bang on a drum all day". Can't think who sings it...

Anyway, I always heard it as, "I just want to bang on a double A" (as in the battery).

I just KNEW it could not possibly be right, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out what the real lyrics were... Until I met my DH and he told me! I was so glad to finally have the answer!

ARTIST: Todd Rundgren
TITLE: Bang the Drum All Day

I don't want to work
I want to bang on these drums all day
I don't want to play
I just want to bang on these drums all day


(They play this at Lambeau Field every time the Packers score a touchdown. Other teams play it now, too, but the Packers were the first.)

 

[AnnieBee]

Aha! Thanks KG.

 

[c00p]

My daughter, when she was only like 2, 2 1/2, she would sing the song "Peter and Paul went to pray, they met a lame man on the way"....and the part where it says "they were walking and leaping and praising God" SHE would sing "they were walking and sleeping and crazy God"!!!!!! I just loved it!!!! I still tell people about that (gee, like just now....)

 

[heat123]

These are funny! My Ex BIL had a whole book of these mondegreens. It was hilarious! I forgot what the title was called? And I am totally one of those who Does NOT hear the right words! heehee

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Here's someone who used a common Bealtles' mondegreen to start a successful business!Lucy In Disguise With Diamonds

 

[LeslieSGI]

One of my personal all time favorites -- Creedence Clearwater Revival's Bad Moon Rising...

"Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise."
​

Which we always thought was "There's a bathroom on the right."
​

 

[WLMcCoy]

Taking Care of Business..
Baking Carrot Biscuits (my brother when he was 4)

&&&

Artist: David Lee Murphy
Lyrics: There's might be a little dust on the Bottle..
I used to think it was dust on the bottom
& my mother thought it was dust on the Bible

 

[mrssyvo]

I just remembered another one-

That line in the Johhny Cash song "I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die"

My sister used to sing "I shot a man in his WEAN-O !!!

 

[Deb's A Cookin']

My little sister use to sing,

"Slow comin' horses"
Other wise known as "Smoke on the water"
A song by Deep Purple.

I think I have really dated myself with this one!!

These are really funny!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I used to date myself.No one else would go out with me.

 

[Jennie4PC]

There is a song we sing in Primary for church and part of it goes "All Gods children come to adore". And my DD sings "All Gods childeren come to the door"

 

[Ann F]

I just remembered another one-

That line in the Johhny Cash song "I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die"

My sister used to sing "I shot a man in his WEAN-O !!!

That one made me laugh out loud! AND it brought to mind my preschool daughter in Bible class. They were singing "Jesus loves me, this I know". An obscure verse goes "Jesus loves little indian boy, bow and arrow for his toy; big Philipino, little Chinese, boys and girls across the seas". Well, the youth minister never led this verse again after my little daughter belted out, "... Big Phillip's penis, little Chinese..."

Yes, she had a baby brother at the time...

 

[pampermejolene]

When the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon used to be on, I would sing along with the theme song and say "Teenage mmmm mmmmm Ninja Turtles". My brother would tell me, it's turtle ninjas! Not a campbell's soup commercial!

 

[TammyStar]

okay I have 2 recent ones and I'm 43!
Mine
And its bad, bad leroy brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than Old king Cole

The Correct lyrics
And its bad, bad leroy brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old king kong

Which I never understood cuz I thought Old King Cole was a merry old soul!

And Dan Fogelbergs "Longer"

Ill bring fires in the winters
Youll send showers in the springs
Well fly through the falls and summers

I thought it was We'll fly through the BOSTON SUMNERS

Just found out the real lyrics last year while researching songs for a friend.

Tammy

 

[Ish]

When my Bro in Law was a toddler... he used to call Kentucky Fried Chicken... Fruckit-a-chicken...
we still laugh about it today... ;o)

 

[pcsharon1]

Kenney Chesney song "Young"

Correct lyrics:

"We were wanna be rebels who didn't have a clue
With our Rock n' roll T-shirts, and our typically bad attitudes
Had no excuses for the things that we'd done
We were brave, we were crazy, we were mostly
Young "

For months my DH thought the last line was
"We were brave, we were crazy, we were muscles and guns"

He is in the army

 

[pcsharon1]

And........ when we were little my cousin and I used to sing "Hey, Mickey" by B-witched, at the top of our lungs except instead of

"It's guys like you Mickey" we sang "It's ga ga goo Mickey!"

 

[raebates]

That one made me laugh out loud! AND it brought to mind my preschool daughter in Bible class. They were singing "Jesus loves me, this I know". An obscure verse goes "Jesus loves little indian boy, bow and arrow for his toy; big Philipino, little Chinese, boys and girls across the seas". Well, the youth minister never led this verse again after my little daughter belted out, "... Big Phillip's penis, little Chinese..."

Yes, she had a baby brother at the time...

That is absolutely hysterical. It's always those of us who have misunderstood the lyrics who sing the loudest. :sing: