What's your favourite Mondegreen?

[Senor Molinero]

As you know, a Mondegreen is a misheard song lyric.

Mine is Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze.

"Scuse me while I kiss this guy."

[MAPNUT]

"The girl with colitis goes by" in "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".

I don't personally know anybody who thought that was in the song, I just heard it listed as a mondegreen.

[Kelfazin]

"Dirty knees of the thunder chief"

I guess what AC/DC actually said was "dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap" heh.

[SeanF]

Toto's "Africa." Until about a year ago, I thought they said "Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like an empress above the Serengeti" rather than "...rises like Olympus..." and I thought they said "I guess the rain's down in Africa" rather than "I bless the rains..."

I think I like my version better. :)

[Moose]

I guess what AC/DC actually said was "dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap" heh.

Is that what they're singing? I didn't hear "Dirty Knees", I (eventually) resolved it on my own as "dirty deeds", but at no point did I ever resolve the other half of that mondegreen as anything other than "Thunder Chiefs."

That'll be nice to know for the radio request shows. This song comes up every month or so.

"...rises like Olympus..."

Oh. Heh. The mondegreen you cite, I resolved verbatim. Except that I was hearing it "lempress". I knew something wasn't right, but I couldn't figure out what. The only other candidate I had was "leopardess", but I knew that wasn't right either.

I think my favorite is Blinded By The Light, just because of the sheer number of mondegreens. Sometimes quantity has a quality of its own. I also get a kick out of Smells Like Teen Spirit, because it's such an over-fertile ground for mondegreens that there really aren't any famous ones.

[Trebuchet]

There's always that old classic, "Round John virgin".

[Kelfazin]

Is that what they're singing? I didn't hear "Dirty Knees", I (eventually) resolved it on my own as "dirty deeds", but at no point did I ever resolve the other half of that mondegreen as anything other than "Thunder Chiefs."

My uncle used to think it was "dirty knees in designer jeans" :lol:

[grant hutchison]

For a while, I thought Chaka Khan sang a song entitled "Climb every woman" (http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/chaka+khan/im+every+woman_20028809.html).
It seemed a little odd, but I was a twenty-year-old guy, so it also made a certain kind of sense ...

Grant Hutchison

[Gillianren]

As you know, a Mondegreen is a misheard song lyric.

Actually, a Mondegreen doesn't have to be a song lyric. It is any instance in which words are heard to be different words than they are. The word itself actually comes from a misheard poem--"They hae slain the Earl a' Murray/and the Lady Mondegreen." In his column on the same, in the book On Language, William Safire cites someone as having heard the Pledge of Allegiance as starting, "I led the pigeons to the flag." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen)

All that being said, I'm partial to "the dawnzer lee light" ("The dawn's early light") because it appears in a Ramona Quimby book by Beverly Cleary.

[Lianachan]

Oooh, oooh, me ears are alight.

[Larry Jacks]

"Blinded by the light,
revved up like a douche,
another runner in the night"

At least, that's what it sounded like to me.

[Moose]

revved up like a douche,

Deuce. It refers the Deuce Coupe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuce_coupe).

[Larry Jacks]

Deuce. It refers the Deuce Coupe.

I know that's what the lyrics say but that's not what I heard. I'm far from the only one.

[KaiYeves]

"I guess the rain's down in Africa" rather than "I bless the rains..."
Isn't it "I miss the rains..."?
In second grade, this is how I sung America The Beautiful:
"Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, forever is domain..."

[Graybeard6]

"Don't go out tonight
'Cause he's bound to take yore light.
There is a bathroom on the right."

[MAPNUT]

That song always amused me with its jaunty, even happy-go-lucky arrangement and its horrifying message:

I hear hurricanes a-blowing
Dum-dee-dee-da-dum-de-deedle-deedle :-)
I know the end is coming soon
Dum-dee-dee-da-dum-de-deedle-deedle :-)
I hear rivers overflowing
Dum-dee-dee-da-dum-de-deedle-deedle :-)
I hear the voice of rage and ruin!
Dum-dee-dee-da-dum-de-deedle-deedle :-)
Well don't go round tonight,
It's bound to take yore life, (that's the way I heard it)
There's a bathroom on the right! (I like it better that way.)

Hey, John Fogerty was a global warming alarmist 30 years ahead of its time!

[KaiYeves]

I'm not sure how the lyrics to this song (celebratingsagan.blogspot.com/2007/02/pale-blue-dot.html)go.
Is it
"Well, I came upon an old man,
weighed down by his fears
gazing out to the ocean realm
Counting out his years
I asked him many questions
He caught me in his gaze
He said "Age has brought me wisdom, boy
But hate has brought me tears."
?
And after that, I haven't a clue what the rest is, but the video is well done.

[Lord Jubjub]

"The girl with colitis goes by" in "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".

I don't personally know anybody who thought that was in the song, I just heard it listed as a mondegreen.

ummm. . .I've heard of that mondegreen before but I thought the song was "Hotel California"

[Nick Theodorakis]

ummm. . .I've heard of that mondegreen before but I thought the song was "Hotel California"

That was "colitas," not"colitis" in Hotel California.

I used to mishear Peter Gabriel (or else his backup singers) singing the refrain of Games Without Frontiers as "she's so f***ing late."

Nick

[Glutomoto]

Billie Jean Is Not My Lover
She's Just A Girl Who Claims That I Am The One
But The Chair Is Not My Son
She Says I Am The One, But The Chair Is Not My Son


A total riot when Steve Martin sang this on SNL. :lol:

[Maksutov]

As sung in the second grade:And crown thy good
With Robin Hood
From sea to shining sea.BTW, this topic was touched upon a few times in the past:

One. (http://www.bautforum.com/fun-n-games/44859-misunderstood-lyrics.html#post793345)

Two. (http://www.bautforum.com/off-topic-babbling/17679-misheard-classic-rock-song-lyrics.html#post393363)

Three. (http://www.bautforum.com/off-topic-babbling/15461-misheard-lyrics.html#post331138)

[Kaptain K]

"Hang on Lucy
don't let go
if you hang on tightly
you'll lose your toes."

[Palomar]

Actually, a Mondegreen doesn't have to be a song lyric. It is any instance in which words are heard to be different words than they are.

As a child, I thought the wedding vow to be repeated was "awfully wedded wife/husband"...

It's lawfully, of course. :p

After all the marriages I've seen, I think I heard it right the first time. ;)

[Delvo]

I wondered for years how the singers of "Rock the Casbah" could get away with singing "F___ you ___hole" and putting it on the radio when nobody else could.

There was also a country song, by Dwight Yokum I think (associated with a video that showed the singer riding on open boxcar on a freight train, shot from outside so you could see the scenery going by), which had a DJ asking everyone on and off the air what a certain line could possibly be other than what it so clearly sounded like, which was "I've got pickles in my head". None of the callers on the show had an answer that worked, but my father's threory was that it was supposed to be "I've got echoes in my head".

[KaiYeves]

I wondered what kind of TV "Diresqua" was in Soak Up the Sun. It's actually:
"I'm stuck here watching TV
I don't have digital
I don't have diddly squat."

[Tinaa]

Big ole jet with a light on.

Steve Miller Band - Jet Airliner

[Noclevername]

Does it count as a Mondegreen if you can't figure out the words at all, or just if it sounds like something else?

[Noclevername]

"Lucy in Disguise With Diamonds", as I heard it when I was a kid.

[SeanF]

I used to mishear Peter Gabriel (or else his backup singers) singing the refrain of Games Without Frontiers as "she's so f***ing late."

I wondered for years how the singers of "Rock the Casbah" could get away with singing "F___ you ___hole" and putting it on the radio when nobody else could.
Next time you hear Joan Jett's "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)," listen real close in the outro. She uses the F word three times.

And that's not a mondegreen. :)

[Gillianren]

Does it count as a Mondegreen if you can't figure out the words at all, or just if it sounds like something else?

Just if it sounds like something else.

[Maksutov]

"Lucy in Disguise With Diamonds", as I heard it when I was a kid.I wonder if that was "Lucy in Disguise (with Glasses) (http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=4658)" by John Fred and His Playboy Band?

[KaiYeves]

"Lucy in Disguise With Diamonds", as I heard it when I was a kid.
I guess that means Lucy was a spy!

[Noclevername]

From You Oughta Know: "Oh the cross-eyed bear that you gave to me!" Fairly common one.

[Delvo]

It's not funny if you don't explain what the ACTUAL words were supposed to be, folks...

[KaiYeves]

I thought Cat Stevens was singing "these strings" or "be strange" instead of "peace train".
I was already doing the second one.

[Noclevername]

I wonder if that was "Lucy in Disguise (with Glasses) (http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=4658)" by John Fred and His Playboy Band?

I actually heard the Beatles song first, and (at whatever tender and naive age I was) thought the other song was a ripoff! :doh:

[Senor Molinero]

Now we know the name of God too.

Our father who art in Heaven, Harold be thy name.




And Elton John's "Hold me close, Tony Danza."

[Noclevername]

And Elton John's "Hold me close, Tony Danza."

He may have thought about it, but he never said it.

[Tucson_Tim]

FYI: Found this for the definition of Mondegreen on Dictionary.com.


[Origin: 1954; coined by Sylvia Wright, U.S. writer, from the line laid him on the green, interpreted as Lady Mondegreen, in a Scottish ballad]

[Noclevername]

Hey, this is a family forum! None of your sailor talk, now!

[Tucson_Tim]

Hey, this is a family forum! None of your sailor talk, now!

I don't know any sailor talk. I was in the Air Force. :)

[Maksutov]

I don't know any sailor talk. I was in the Air Force. :)That's right! He doesn't need sailor talk. Flyboy will do. Remember the "wild blue yonder" scene from The Right Stuff.

[Tucson_Tim]

That's right! He doesn't need sailor talk. Flyboy will do. Remember the "wild blue yonder" scene from The Right Stuff.

The scene in the rest room! Funny stuff!

[Tucson_Tim]

This is way OT:

I never flew in an Air Force plane for my entire four years. And I can't identify any but the most common military planes. People ask me sometimes if I was a pilot. I always respond, "No, the closest an enlisted man gets to a jet is to wash the tires."

[Noclevername]

The scene in the rest room! Funny stuff!

For a moment I thought you were talking about the bathroom scene in Full Metal Jacket. Which was not as funny.

[Tucson_Tim]

For a moment I thought you were talking about the bathroom scene in Full Metal Jacket. Which was not as funny.

Far from funny - that scene.

[Gillianren]

FYI: Found this for the definition of Mondegreen on Dictionary.com.

Yeah, someone mentioned the Lady Mondegreen earlier. Can't think who.

[Tucson_Tim]

Yeah, someone mentioned the Lady Mondegreen earlier. Can't think who.

Yeah. I saw what you posted and I was just adding to it. You posted the "What" and my post added the "When and "Who". I don't think this was against forum rules or that it was rude in any way.

[absael]

Remember what the doorknob said
Feed your head

This one is perhaps understandable, given the abstruseness of the lyrics. The correct word, "dormouse," would be obvious only to those familiar with the Lewis Carroll story.

[mfumbesi]

Growing up Michael Jackson and the Jackson Five were quite big in my area.
Naturally his lyrics came into some serious miss-hearing. Combined with the fact that for most of us English was not our first language, meant most word were jumbled up and given a phonetically similar sounding word (in our home languages), which had nothing to do with what the song was about.
One example is Beat it which came out as Be there.

[Maksutov]

Growing up Michael Jackson and the Jackson Five were quite big in my area.
Naturally his lyrics came into some serious miss-hearing. Combined with the fact that for most of us English was not our first language, meant most word were jumbled up and given a phonetically similar sounding word (in our home languages), which had nothing to do with what the song was about.
One example is Beat it which came out as Be there.You need to see/hear the Weird Al (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%22Weird_Al%22_Yankovic) videos Eat It and Fat.

[mfumbesi]

Classics, I've seen those two videos.

Others are:
1. Make that move..right now baby which came out as Mehl'embuzi...right now baby loosely translated it means goat's eyes...right now baby
2...Keep on with push.......Don't stop till you get enough... this came out as Keba kadibhotsotso.....tshelet'ifedile... again loosely translating this you get Here they come with bell bottom trousers....the money is finished..

[mickal555]

Pave paradise to put up a ****ing lie.

[KaiYeves]

Pave paradise to put up a ****ing lie.
"It'd be paradise to put up a parking lot."
For years I thought he was being sarcastic to add to the overall message of environmental apathy in the song.

[Tucson_Tim]

You old-timers may remember this one:

"Killed in a bar when he was only three."

[Noclevername]

There was some Whoopi Goldberg movie where she as trying to figure out the lyrics to Jumpin Jack Flash for some contrived plotholey reason. The scene where she was trying to puzzle out the lyrics by herself was pretty funny. "In english, Mick, in english!" I think the film was called The Woman Who needed Some Song Lyrics. ;)

[KaiYeves]

The Riddle- great song.
I heard"
"The world's smaller than small
In the scheme of things-
Well, we're nothing at all
Still every mother's child seems to know this all."
Real:
"Still, every mother's child sings a lovely song."

[Maksutov]

You old-timers may remember this one:

"Killed in a bar when he was only three."Yep!Born on a mountain top in Tennessee
The greenest state in the land of the free
Raised in the woods so's he knew ev'ry tree
Kilt in a bar when he was only three
Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontierHere's another favorite:

Back in college a dorm friend had a girlfriend named Sally. When he listened to the Stones' current hit he was convinced he was hearingI can't get no
Sally-action.

[Tucson_Tim]

Yep!Here's another favorite:

Back in college a dorm friend had a girlfriend named Sally. When he listened to the Stones' current hit he was convinced he was hearing

You might know this one then . . .

Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels: "Every time you kiss me, feels like a <foul f-word>"

[KaiYeves]

"Ain't no pile o' ack, girl."

[Maksutov]

You old-timers may remember this one:

"Killed in a bar when he was only three."BTW, I still have the original 45 RPM recording. Here's what the sleeve looks like.

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/4950/theballadofdavycrockettdv9.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=theballadofdavycrockettdv9.jpg)

[Tucson_Tim]

BTW, I still have the original 45 RPM recording. Here's what the sleeve looks like.


Sell it on eBay and retire!

[Noclevername]

So who is this Monty Green, and why is he in so many songs? :)

[eburacum45]

If you listen carefully, K T Tunstall's 'Suddenly I See' becomes 'Sodden Leigh-on -Sea'.
If you have ever been there in the rain you will understand.

[Glutomoto]

It's not funny if you don't explain what the ACTUAL words were supposed to be, folks...

Actually with my example you have to listen to the original M. Jackson song, because I do not believe he is singing anything close to the published lyric. I guess it bugged him so much at recording time that all he could do was strangle out some sylables there and left it at that. I have tried many times to decide what word he is saying and the still can't decide. The version that Steve Martin did on SNL seems more right than what the published lyric says it is.

[KaiYeves]

"Come on, come one, come on, cameleon."
Substitue "karma" for "come on" and you have the real words.

[Tucson_Tim]

So who is this Monty Green, and why is he in so many songs? :)

:clap:

[Kaptain K]

"It'd be paradise to put up a parking lot."
For years I thought he was being sarcastic to add to the overall message of environmental apathy in the song.
He? How dare you call Joni Mitchell a "he"?

ETA: Oh, that's right, you young whipper snappers think that sorry excuse of a remake (Counting Crows?) is the original! :( :wall: :evil: :confused:

[KaiYeves]

He? How dare you call Joni Mitchell a "he"?
A boy was singing the version I heard.

What I heard in Piano Man:
"But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it well
When I wore a young woman's clothes."
The real words:
"But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it well
When I wore a younger man's clothes."

[triplebird]

As I posted on the Love Songs thread, I once overheard..."tiny dancer, in my pants" instead of "tiny dancer, in my hands." Kinda changes the meaning of the song...


My favorite misheard lyric (though this song is rarely heard outside of Utah or Mormon areas) is the first line to "Come, Come Ye Saints":

"Come, come ye saints, no toilet paper fear..."

The real line is:

"Come, come ye saints, no toil nor labor fear..."


BTW, KaiYeves, the line in Piano Man, is "...I knew it complete when I wore a younger man's clothes..." :)

[MAPNUT]

"Come on, come one, come on, cameleon."
Substitue "karma" for "come on" and you have the real words.

How do they get it wrong when it's the title of the song?

[Parrothead]

Squeeze's "Another Nail In My Heart". I heard " And here in the barn, the animals pound another nail in my heart." not "And here in the bar the piano man's found another nail for my heart."

[Noclevername]

At this point I'll quote the old joke about "Jose*, can you see."

* I have no idea how to put an accent over a letter. My keyboard is the no-frills model, I guess.

[One Skunk Todd]

Born on a mountain top in Tennessee
The greenest state in the land of the free
Raised in the woods so's he knew ev'ry tree
Kilt in a bar when he was only three
Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier
Here's another favorite:

I always thought Weird Al should make a parody of this about Spacely Sprocket of the Jetsons.

Spacely, Spacely Sprocket, king of the wide toothed gear!

[Paracelsus]

Classics, I've seen those two videos.

Others are:
1. Make that move..right now baby which came out as Mehl'embuzi...right now baby loosely translated it means goat's eyes...right now baby
2...Keep on with push.......Don't stop till you get enough... this came out as Keba kadibhotsotso.....tshelet'ifedile... again loosely translating this you get Here they come with bell bottom trousers....the money is finished..

:lol:

The second one was once mis-heard as "Take it off at the Post Office".

"R-O-C-K in the USA"-->"I'm a sickie in the USA"

The lyrics to "Building A Mystery" have always been a bit of a mystery to me and, it turns out, to a lot of other people too: http://www.kissthisguy.com/lyric.php?id=64465

This one line always stumped me: You strut your rasta wear and your suicide poem.


A lot of people mis-heard it as follows:
You scratch your a** away in your suicide pose.
You strap your a** to a suicide machine. etc.

[KaiYeves]

I was really surprised to hear these words in High School Musical:
"Wish on a star in heaven that we can't reach."
It's really
"There's not a star in heaven that we can't reach."

[triplebird]

Another personal favorite is from Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody:

"The algebra is the devil put aside for me..."

Since algebra is a subject I've always had trouble with in school, that fit perfectly. :D


(The real words are: "Beelzebub has the devil put aside for me...")

[Glutomoto]

The Go-Go's
"Our Lips are sealed'

I Thought I heard,
"Alex the Seal"

==================
Salt n Pepa
"Push it real good"

Since this is a family oriented board you will to PM me to find out what a friend of mine thought they were singing. She even asked for it that way when she went to a record store to buy it.

[KaiYeves]

In Your Eyes
"In your eyes-
the resolution
of all the fruitless searches."

What I heard:
"In your eyes-
(gibberish)
a thousand churches."
By the way, it is a very good song.

[Delvo]

Salt n Pepa
"Push it real good"The actual words are bad enough... but so many songs are so sexually explicit these days that Mondegreens which sound LESS so than the real lyrics are now just as likely as Mondegreens which sound MORE so than the real lyrics.

...and that reminds me of a spoken-word Mondegreen, instead of one from a song. I know a guy whose wife had had a really good experience shopping for furniture at a particular store with a Japanese name and went around recommending that furniture store to others for a while... or at least trying to, and getting its name wrong. She eventually had to be reminded that the store's name was pronounced "za-ta-ki", not "bu-ka-ke".

Hint: If you don't know what the latter word means, look it up at an only-text website like dictionary.com first, to avoid seeing pictures by accident. And don't try this at work.

[Noclevername]

It's a type of noodles--- officially.

[sts60]

Can't leave out ZZ Top's "She Wanna Wear a Neck Brace".

[Senor Molinero]

Let's not forget Deep Purple's "Slow motion Walter, the fire engine guy."

[novaderrik]

there is a video on Youtube that some Slayer fans made for one of their songs called "Angel of death"- the chorus of which goes "Angel of Death. welcome to the kingdom of the dead"- which they turned into the words "Hey Johnny Depp. welcome to the kingdom of the Dell"- with various pictures of Johnny Depp and Dell computers- and a whole slew of other things that you could mistake the lyrics for if you aren't really listening, as well- thrown in for good measure.. even if you aren't a fan and think metal is the musical choice of Satan, it is something you can laugh at. it's kind of like watching an episode of Metalocalypse on Adult Swim..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNk-sUSRWYQ

[novaderrik]

Can't leave out ZZ Top's "She Wanna Wear a Neck Brace".
the song is called "Pearl Necklace"- and the subject matter isn't really fitting for this site..

[SeanF]

the song is called "Pearl Necklace"- and the subject matter isn't really fitting for this site..
It really don't cost that much.

[MAPNUT]

A not-yet-famous rock group from Ithaca, NY, the Armageddon Monks ( www.armageddonmonks.com ) has a song they've recorded twice, called "Waste". At first I thought the key line was "while I work on ways to put a face on you". After they re-recorded it with a new singer, I heard clear as day, "Why would God waste a pretty face on you?" Good line. Generally I can't make out 40% of their lyrics.

[KaiYeves]

What was sung: "If you can use some exotic booze, there's a bar in far Bombay."
What I heard: "If you can use supersonic booms, there's a bar in far Bombay."

[Jens]

In Your Eyes
"In your eyes-
the resolution
of all the fruitless searches."

What I heard:
"In your eyes-
(gibberish)
a thousand churches."
By the way, it is a very good song.

You know, I'm too lazy to look for it, but I don't think you misheard that. I think you're just confusing two lines.

I think one is, :In your eyes, I see the doorways, of a thousand churches,
And the other: In your eyes, the resolution, of all the fruitless searches.

Yes, great song.

[Jens]

In "soul love" by David Bowie, I thought he said:

She kneels before the grave of a brave son,
who gave his life to save a slow gun.

I couldn't for the life of me realize what he's given his life for. I thought maybe the gun was too slow, and he was killed. Until I realized he was saying:

who gave his life to save a slogan.

[KaiYeves]

The "Come Fly With Me" line was understandable, as in "If you can fly at supersonic speeds, we'll go to this bar in Bombay."

[Graybeard6]

As a young Catholic school student, hearing Gregorian chant:
"Libera nos Dominus"; "Lieber's got a snotty nose."
"Te rogamus audi nos"; "Tear the garments off of us."

[KaiYeves]

Sweet Victory from SpongeBob SquarePants.
Real:
Don't ever look back
on the wind closing in
What I heard:
Don't ever look back
On the crest of that hill

[Gillianren]

I was thinking about it last night--even though I've known the correct lyrics for years, now, in my head, I still sing "Science Fiction Double Feature" from The Rocky Horror Picture Show wrong. The line, of course, is "A triffid that spits poison and kills," but in my head, it's "A trivet that spits poison and kills."

[AndreH]

Wow, and I always thought this is something only happening to non native speakers.

Can you imagine that I did not undertand a single word in "smells like teen spirit" when I heard it the first time?
(Therefore I likede the Weirs Al Video of this song very much).

My favorite Mondegreen: "now basar" instead of "How bizarr" in the OMC song. It never made sense to me, but couldn't think of any other thing.

If you have another language to mix in, you get sometimes very funny Mondegreens.

BTW: There is another phenomenon: Understanding every single word of a song, being even able to translate it and thinking you are completely wrong because you have NO idea what the singer is talking about.
My favorite example: Don McClean, "The day the music died". Yeah I know, today there are complete internet sites about this song, but not 20 years ago.

[Gillianren]

Wow, and I always thought this is something only happening to non native speakers.

Oh, no. It's a phenomenon tracked in native speakers for, I believe, well over 50 years. Then again, there are plenty of examples of assuming that something's in your native language and trying to fit words to it when it's another language to begin with.

Can you imagine that I did not undertand a single word in "smells like teen spirit" when I heard it the first time?
(Therefore I likede the Weirs Al Video of this song very much).

No, no. I believe that. The first time I understood the lyrics to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was when I heard the Tori Amos cover. And Nirvana liked the Weird Al version, too, because it meant that they'd really made it.

BTW: There is another phenomenon: Understanding every single word of a song, being even able to translate it and thinking you are completely wrong because you have NO idea what the singer is talking about.
My favorite example: Don McClean, "The day the music died". Yeah I know, today there are complete internet sites about this song, but not 20 years ago.

And not a one of them endorsed by Don McLean himself. All you can get is what other people believe the song is about--though I have cards from the Baby Boomers edition of Trivial Pursuit, circa 1985, with questions about what the song is "really about."

[Matherly]

Wow, and I always thought this is something only happening to non native speakers.

Can you imagine that I did not undertand a single word in "smells like teen spirit" when I heard it the first time?

Unfortunatly, there are now no native speakers of Cobanese.

[The Supreme Canuck]

My turn!

From The Tragically Hip's At the Hundredth Meridian:

"...axe of enormity..."

I knew I wanted that Viking axe immediately! The Axe of Enormity? Win! But then:

"...acts of enormity..."

Nuts.

From the same song:

"...me, the funk, and the bear I came with..."

Supposed to be:

"...me debunk an American myth?"

Now, I heard that last one right, but it's apparently quite common.

[KaiYeves]

"Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, forever lies domain..."

[Tobin Dax]

Oh, no. It's a phenomenon tracked in native speakers for, I believe, well over 50 years. Then again, there are plenty of examples of assuming that something's in your native language and trying to fit words to it when it's another language to begin with.
Heh, I've almost done that in reverse (or I might have if I knew Mandarin). Last year, a Taiwanese grad student walked into my office and started talking to my officemate, who is also Taiwanese. I had my back turned and was working on something else, and I was expecting to hear the white noise of a conversation in Mandarin. It took about two seconds to process what I was hearing, and I was so surprised that I turned around and interrupted their conversation with, "Wait, that's English." Made for an interesting moment, though it's probably not quite a Mondegreen.

[Jens]

BTW: There is another phenomenon: Understanding every single word of a song, being even able to translate it and thinking you are completely wrong because you have NO idea what the singer is talking about.


At least he was writing about something. There are some songs that I doubt even the lyricist understands. For example, most songs by Yes.

[AndreH]

...snip
And not a one of them endorsed by Don McLean himself. All you can get is what other people believe the song is about--though I have cards from the Baby Boomers edition of Trivial Pursuit, circa 1985, with questions about what the song is "really about."


I have realised that. But for me before it was like I did not know what the line "The day the music dies" stood for. Obviously it was not part of German pop culture (or I did not realise it).
After someone told me the song refered to that plane crash, and was full of metaphores taken from Rock music and pop culture I understood at least why so many things did not make sense to me in a literal translation.

[AndreH]

Unfortunatly, there are now no native speakers of Cobanese.

Yeah, unfortunately not. R.I.P. Kurt (Heh was his first name really speelt with a K? Thats what the official German Nirvana Homepage says)

[closetgeek]

"Lucy in Disguise With Diamonds", as I heard it when I was a kid.

perhaps you were confusing two songs
Lucy in the Sky/Judy in Disguise.

I have never heard that term before so does it have to be a common, known thing, or can it be just you who mistakes the lyrics?

How's about a date- instead of Eyes without a face by Billy Idol
my most embarassing one is
"because the boy with the cold hard cashews always makes delight"
"because the boy with the cold hard cash is alway Mr. Right." Madonna

There was a book I once saw that had a bunch of examples and my personal favorit was We are the Mormons, instead of Heat Of The Moment, by Asia

[closetgeek]

I have realised that. But for me before it was like I did not know what the line "The day the music dies" stood for. Obviously it was not part of German pop culture (or I did not realise it).
After someone told me the song refered to that plane crash, and was full of metaphores taken from Rock music and pop culture I understood at least why so many things did not make sense to me in a literal translation.

That song actually started the VH1 pop up video trend. After each line of the song a little bubble would pop up on the screen to explain the line, such as;
And while the king was looking down, the jester stole his thorny crown was in referrence to Elvis going into the service and Buddy Holly becoming popular.

[closetgeek]

Sweet Victory from SpongeBob SquarePants.
Real:
Don't ever look back
on the wind closing in
What I heard:
Don't ever look back
On the crest of that hill

GREATEST SONG EVER!

[Gillianren]

I have realised that. But for me before it was like I did not know what the line "The day the music dies" stood for. Obviously it was not part of German pop culture (or I did not realise it).
After someone told me the song refered to that plane crash, and was full of metaphores taken from Rock music and pop culture I understood at least why so many things did not make sense to me in a literal translation.

Yup, that's the only line that he acknowledges the meaning of. I think most of the accepted "translations" have quite a few things the way McLean meant them (apparently, he really hates Mick Jagger), but I think it's a mistake for anyone other than him to claim to know what he "really" means by any line other than "the day the music died." (Well, just about the entire first verse, really.) I do, however, think there's some fine poetry to the song even if Don McLean didn't actually mean it to signify anything. (Which is certainly possible.)

And, yeah, Kurt spelled his name with a "K." He lived here in Olympia for a while, apparently, long before I did. Legend has it that he performed at least one concert in the dorms of my alma mater--and a slightly less-believable legend has it that he was living under the 4th Ave (or possibly 5th Ave, depending on whom you ask) Bridge downtown when Nevermind came out. I also had a coworker from Abderdeen (the one here, not the one in Scotland) whose mom was best friends with his mom and who had been in the church choir with him when they were kids. She was less impressed with his mythos than most of the people I've known.

[AndreH]

Yup, that's the only line that he acknowledges the meaning of. I think most of the accepted "translations" have quite a few things the way McLean meant them (apparently, he really hates Mick Jagger), but I think it's a mistake for anyone other than him to claim to know what he "really" means by any line other than "the day the music died." (Well, just about the entire first verse, really.) I do, however, think there's some fine poetry to the song even if Don McLean didn't actually mean it to signify anything. (Which is certainly possible.)

And, yeah, Kurt spelled his name with a "K." He lived here in Olympia for a while, apparently, long before I did. Legend has it that he performed at least one concert in the dorms of my alma mater--and a slightly less-believable legend has it that he was living under the 4th Ave (or possibly 5th Ave, depending on whom you ask) Bridge downtown when Nevermind came out. I also had a coworker from Abderdeen (the one here, not the one in Scotland) whose mom was best friends with his mom and who had been in the church choir with him when they were kids. She was less impressed with his mythos than most of the people I've known.

Isn't that funny how always these legends pop up if a famous rock star dies young and violantly?
I liked Nirvana, because they brought back real rock music after the 80'ties here in Europe were dominated by disgusting pop stuff.
Normally I am that type that care for the music and it's impact to me much more then the stars, stories and legends behind.

P.S: Legends: I live about 10 miles away from the place were Bruce Willis was born! (I know that is completly off topic, and as it does make me nothing special...just for the records)

[KaiYeves]

GREATEST SONG EVER!
Yes!

[KaiYeves]

I enjoy singing along to theme songs of cartoon shows, as do my younger brothers. One time, I heard one of them singing this line from the Jimmy Neutron theme song:
"A superpowered mind,
A mechanical canine,
Rescues the day from bad construction."
I chuckled and told him "It's sure destruction."

[closetgeek]

I enjoy singing along to theme songs of cartoon shows, as do my younger brothers. One time, I heard one of them singing this line from the Jimmy Neutron theme song:
"A superpowered mind,
A mechanical canine,
Rescues the day from bad construction."
I chuckled and told him "It's sure destruction."

I finally saw Jimmy Neutron, recently. It is actually kind of funny. The only exposure I get is what my kids happen to be watching when I join them. I find myself laughing out loud to The Fairly Odd Parents, and shh, I'll even watch it when the kids are not around. Spongebob rules and gained notoriety when my husband discovered Pantera did the soundtrack for an episode. Hey, they're not just cartoons...They're Nicktoons!

[Gillianren]

I like Danny Phantom and think all of the others are tedious at best.

[KaiYeves]

I don't really watch TV much, since the Science Channel is no longer showing Cosmos on Tuesdays at 9. But I think the Nicktoons are very nice.

[closetgeek]

I don't really watch TV much, since the Science Channel is no longer showing Cosmos on Tuesdays at 9. But I think the Nicktoons are very nice.

Wait! when did they stop? They just started again...

[KaiYeves]

They didn't show it last week, I'm going to check tonight. Maybe they removed it because nobody except me was watching.

[AndreasJ]

I used to wonder what Silverchair meant by the lines

"Maybe we dont want to live in a world
Where innocence is social"

Turns out they actually sang "... where innocence is so short".

[closetgeek]

They didn't show it last week, I'm going to check tonight. Maybe they removed it because nobody except me was watching.

I actually know quite a few people who watch it, myself included. The past two weeks, I missed it because sadly, I feel asleep...yeah before 9. They have competition, now, though. The Universe is on one of the other channels, Tues. at 9.

[KaiYeves]

My dad had the only TV that shows the Science Channel, and he was in a bad mood, so I didn't want to bother him.

[Jens]

Here's another good one I just remembered. The Eagles song "lyin' eyes". I always used to wonder why somebody had "lion eyes," and why it was necessary to hide them.

[Parrothead]

The Stranglers' song "Skin Deep" is playing in the background right now.

Lyrics: "Better watch out for the Skin Deep
Better watch out for the Skin Deep
Brother watch out watch out for the Skin Deep
Brother watch out watch out for the Skin Deep
Better watch out for the Skin Deep"

I'd always hear "Scoobies" instead of "Skin Deep"

[mahesh]

Si Senor, i hold you responsible for starting this....
now it's in my head already...shucks...

it's a blackbox song i think. all i know is, it's a lot of noise, screaming, dinny drums, just noise. the words that i can hear / discern are:
....i could eat a horse right now....every knuckle from a to z ...
ow.. ow.. ow.. ow.. ow...
sorry i can't connect to the real song right now...i'll go search my memory...

[Jens]

Another one just came to mind. In the song "In the Air Tonight," I used to think Phil was singing, "so you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been, it's all been apocalyzed." Not only a Mondegreen, but making up my own imagined word as well. The real lyric is, "it's all been a pack of lies."

Also, just a question, but would you still call it a Mondegreen when it's deliberate? I mean, by the lyricist?

[Gillianren]

That's a good question. I would say no--it's wordplay, but a Mondegreen cannot be intentional.

[mahesh]

....
it's a blackbox song i think. all i know is, it's a lot of noise, screaming, dinny drums, just noise. the words that i can hear / discern are:
....i could eat a horse right now....every knuckle from a to z ...
ow.. ow.. ow.. ow.. ow...
sorry i can't connect to the real song right now...i'll go search my memory...
found it...it isn't BlackBox...it's Chaka Khan...I'm every woman...

here:
Im every woman, its all in me
Anything you want done, baby
Ill do it naturally
Im every woman, its all in me
I can read your thoughts right now
Every one from a to z


However, to me it'll always be about the horse...

[ToSeek]

Merriam-Webster adds "mondegreen" to its lexicon (http://www.merriam-webster.com/info/pr/2008-honor-lady-mondegreen.htm)

If you have ever misheard a song or poem and come up with your own version of the words, you are already familiar with the concept of the "mondegreen," one of over 100 new words included in the annual update of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. Mondegreen—noun defined as a word or phrase that results from a mishearing of something said or sung—was first coined by author Sylvia Wright in 1954, when she wrote an article for Atlantic magazine confessing to a childhood misinterpretation of the Scottish ballad "The Bonny Earl of Moray." When she first heard the lyric "they had slain the Earl of Moray and had laid him on the green," she felt terribly sorry for the "poor Lady Mondegreen." The tradition has been going strong ever since, from "The ants are my friends," a mangling of "The answer, my friends," by Bob Dylan, to "There’s a bathroom on the right," a bungling of "There’s a bad moon on the rise," by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

[BigDon]

You know, few things will color up ones face quite like getting caught singing a mondegreen with enthusiasm.

Yep, still too embarrassing to relate.

[KaiYeves]

Apparently, it's "Ladies' night and the feeling's right", not "Late at night..."

[BigDon]

(baratone) Oh what a night...

[Argos]

Al Jolson´s, Rock-a-bye your rock-a-bye baby with a gipsy melody...

That´s how it sounded to me. :)

[KaiYeves]

From We Didn't Start The Fire

Real Lyrics:
"Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal suicide..."

What I heard:
"Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, every man a suicide..."

I thought that was rather disturbing.