For those who don’t know the term, it was coined by Sylvia Wright in 1954. There is an old folk song that includes the lines “They had slain the Earl of Moray/And laid him on the green.” Ms. Wright, however, mistakenly heard the lines as “They had slain the Earl of Moray/And Lady Mondegreen.” Hence, the term “mondegreen” to refer to a misheard song lyric.
Some of the most famous mondegreens include “Pardon me while I kiss this guy” (“Pardon me while I kiss the sky”) and “The ants are my friends/They’re blowing in the wind” (“The answer my friends…”)
For years, I thought the Hall and Oates song “Maneater” contained the line “And she can tell by the purple jag you wore” instead of “A she-cat tamed by the purr of a jaguar.”
Another one that I always misheard was the Toto song “Africa.” Not only did I think they were singing “I miss the rains down in Africa” instead of “I bless the rains,” I always thought it contained the line “She’s coming in for a bloody flight” instead of “she’s coming in, twelve thirty flight.”
So… What are some of your personal favorite mondegreens?
In Seal’s “Kiss from a Rose”, I originally heard most instances of “grey” as “grave” (e.g. “kiss from a rose on the grave”). I like my version better, though it definitely gives the song a darker tone, so I stick with it even now.
In some song by some heavy metal band (“Eat the Rich”), I thought they were saying “Bu-cha-rest.”
In “I Like My Women a Little on the Trashy Side,” there’s a line “I like brassy and bold.” I kept hearing it as “I like President Ford.”
Crystal Gayle’s “Half the Way:” Aaaaah So! Don’t take me half the way!
And this one I really believe: Andy Gibb’s “Love Is Thicker Than Water.” Several times he says, “You are. . .this dreamer’s only dream.” However, in one instance I still swear he is saying, “You are. . . the fish dreamer’s only dream.”
And one from a six-year-old kid I was giving a ride home: Paula Abdul’s “Opposites Attract” was on the radio, and this kid was singing along with it. In the line “Ain’t no fiction–it’s a natural fact” she said it once as “Ain’t no fiction–it’s electrical fact.” And another time she was a little closer with “Ain’t no fiction–it’s a national fact.”
I’m so embarrased, but my SO had a good laugh. I thought “Ventura Highway” (America) was “One minute you’re a highway, in the sunshine” instead of “Ventura Highway, in the sunshine”.
I think I’ve already listed some in an earlier thread, but here’s another batch off the top of my head:
Oldies-but-goodies:[ul]
[li]Excuse me while I kiss this guy (kiss the sky)[/li][li]"… and to the Republic for Richard Stanz …"[/li][li]“The girl with colitis goes by” (girl with kaleidoscope eyes)[/li][/ul][ul]
[li]Alex the Seal (Go-Go’s, Our Lips Are Sealed)[/li][/ul]Hymns are the best:[ul]
[li]Christ the Royal Master Leans Against the Phone (leads against the foe, from Onward Christian Soldiers)[/li][li]Gladly, the Cross-Eyed Bear (gladly the cross I’d bear)[/li][li]“Stand Beside Us, and Guide Us, through the night with a light from a bulb” (God Bless America)[/li][/ul]I’ll probably be back, when I think of all my favorites that are escaping me at the moment. I’ve got about a jillion of these.
I’ll never forget the immortal words of Elton John:
Like Balance, I also misheard the lyrics to Seal’s Kiss From A Rose. Instead of “To me you’re like a growin’ addiction” I thought it was “To me you’re like a benediction.” I was disappointed when I found out the truth.
I just looked it up, and the actual EJ Lyrics are “Burning out his fuse up here alone.”
Janet Jackson’s “What have you done for me lately,” I always thought it was “What have you done for men like me.” Which made no sense, but, you know. She’s a Jackson.
One that I know is common is the song Smooth Operator, (don’t know who it’s by) sounds to me like “OOOO Boperetta.” I even met someone one time who called it the ooo boperetta song.
I misheard a line from “I Can Do That” from A Chorus Line as “watchin’ Cisco pitter-pat” to such an extent that I named a character after this non-existent dancer in a play I wrote in high school. The line, I learned later, is “watchin’ sis go pitter-pat.”
Well, there’s that line from Green Day’s song “When I Come Around” where they sing, “throw doughnuts at the door.” Sadly, I don’t even know what the real lyrics are.
Also, “stand up for your liver” from a John Mellencamp song (“Wild Nights”)
There’s a local band (Boston, MA—the band is Hip Tanaka) who have a song which contains a line about a pelican eating a fish. MY SO and I swore it said, “a black kid eating a fish.”
I thought the Dire Straits song “The Walk of Life” was “The Walk on By” until a co-worker mercilessly pointed my error out again, and again, and again.:smack:
I posted here asking for info about the song “The Dangerous Dyke” which I liked in college. It turned out it was “The Dangerous Type” which spoiled the essence of the song entirely for me.
One of my current favorites was posted in a similar thread by a doper (who it was, I can’t recall.) Her daughter thought the words: “What would you do if I sang out of tune, would you stand up and walk out on me?” Were: “Watch what you do with your skank attitude, don’t you stand up and walk out on me.”
Interesting. A quick google for the toto lyrics reveal quite a collection of mondegreens: this one “I passed some rains down in Africa” and this one “I bless the rains down in Africa.” I confess I never knew what was being said either.
