Misheard Lyrics: Mondegreens!

JENN McKINLAY: I'm married to a musician, which is no surprise because I love music. I love listening, singing, and feeling that visceral punch to the chest from a really great song. Here's the thing, I never get the lyrics right and the poor beleaguered Hub has to listen to me sing, "Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing' through the chasm in my mind..." Which, frankly, I think makes more sense then "blowing through the jasmine in my mind" but whatever. He's ever patient with me.

Recently, I learned that misheard song lyrics, which are unintentional and not at all like Weird Al Yankovic's parody of songs, actually have their own terminology. They are called mondegreens. Somehow this makes me feel that singing the wrong words is a less egregious offense, you know, because it has a name so it's legit.

Little known fact: My nickname when I lived next-door to the AZ state liquor commissioner, Howard Adams, was "Ave Maria". Why? Well, he was a good Irish Catholic boy and I was a sinner, but we spent many a happy hour together where I would imbibe too much and then sing Ave Maria in Latin, which he loved. Those words I never got wrong, most likely do to the fear of eternal damnation. Plus, it was Latin!

So, how about you Reds? Do you get the songs right or wrong? And if you do get them wrong, what's your most dazzling mondegreen? Here's another personal fave, because...donuts!

Crystal Gayle's donut problem.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: You know why they’re called mondegreens, right? It’s from something like an Irish folk song, about someone who was was slain by somebody-somebody, and they "laid him on the green."  Someone thought it was "and Lady Mondegreen."

Anyway, don’t get me started on song lyrics.  “in the night with the light from a bulb?” “Excuse me while I kiss this guy?”
And what are those impossible lyrics from Rocket Man?  Burning up his face down here alone?  (it's really "Rocket man, burning out his fuse up here alone" which make no sense at  all.)

JENN: I had no idea where "mondegreen" came from, Hank. Oh, I love that back story. And "Excuse me while I kiss this guy" is a classic! Jimi Hendrix, FTW. 

Jimi!

RHYS BOWEN: One of the most used Mondegreens is what is called in the US Ring Around the Rosie.  In England where it originated, it is Ring a ring of roses. A pocket full of posies. Atishoo. Atishoo. We all fall down. It is a creepy song about the great plague of 1665. The ring of roses is the rash around the body that signifies you have the plague. You carry flowers and herbs in an attempt to ward it off. Atishoo is the sneeze and we all fall down. You die anyway.
But my favorite mondegreen came when I was singing with the local opera chorus. A flamboyant and fun gay guy who sang with me insisted that the song "She's a must to avoid" was really "She's a muscular boy."

LUCY BURDETTE: I'm always singing something and usually with words made up to fit the person or pet in front of me. For example, Tonka's favorite song was "T-t-t-Tonka, beautiful Tonka, you're the only d-d-d-dog that I adore..." But I'm desperately searching for mondegreens and all I can come up with is: "One toe over the line sweet Jesus, one toe over the line..."

HANK: Lucy! I love that!

HALLIE EPHRON: JASMINE of my mind? I always thought it was canyons of my mind. Go figure. And of course I pledged allegiance to the republic for Richard Stans. My granddaughter mangle the lyrics of every song she sings. And sings. Except supercalifragilisticexpialidocious she nails.

DEBS: Hallie, I though it was "canyons" too! "Jasmine?" You have to wonder what they were smoking...

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Hank, I thought it was "burning up his face up here alone" too. I can't think of any mondegreens that you all haven't already mentioned, but, like Lucy, I'm constantly singing songs with new lyrics to my pets, kids, etc. "Oh, Louie, you're so fine, you're a fun dog all the time hey Louie" (clap clap, clap clap) "Hey Louie," (clap clap, clap clap) To the tune of "Hey Mickey," of course. 

I also do it with pop songs on the radio, which drives Youngest absolutely bonkers. There's one out now where the Camila Cabello sings, "Half of my heart is in Havana, na, na na. He took me back to east Atlanta, na, na, na..." and I will go on, "I like to eat a nice banana, na, na, na. While I am wearing my pajama, na, na, na." I usually can't get further than a couple of bars before I start getting threats from my daughter.

JENN: So, you clearly have a strong song parody game, Julia. Love it!

Another Elton John mondegreen classic!

DEBORAH CROMBIE:  I had no idea that misheard song lyrics were called mondegreens! And I love Hank's explanation. But here's the thing. I have a terrible time remembering song lyrics at all, unless I'm prompted by someone singing them. It's a weird brain gap, like not getting algebra. But if Rick starts singing something, for instance, I can immediately fill in the lyrics (and usually correctly) even when he can't remember them. And I can sing along with songs on the radio just fine. Brains are very quirky.

INGRID THOFT: Okay, the most memorable mondegreen isn’t really family friendly, but I’ll let you fill in the blanks.  Famously, in my family, one of my sisters was sure that the lyric from The Motels’ song “Only the Lonely” was “only the lonely g*t l$#d.”  In fact, the lyric is “only the lonely can play.”  Not necessarily that different in meaning, but a bit different when it comes to singing along in the car!  The lyric that I always think should be a mondegreen but isn’t?  “You’re a vegetable” sung in the bridge of Michael Jackson’s fantastic “Wanna Be Startin Something.”  That one always leaves me scratching my head!

JENN: When Hub was reviewing a John Fogerty show, Fogerty embraced the mondegreen and sang "There's a bathroom on the right" as opposed to "bad moon on the rise" and pointed to the right. Hub said it was pretty hilarious! 

How about you, Readers? What's your most common mondegreen? And for all the earworms I've now planted in your head, you're welcome!

Looking for Lady Mondegreen.

RHYS BOWEN: Yesterday we talked about poetry being spoken out loud. I used to love reciting and listening but I have to confess that as a child I used to misunderstand the lyrics from time to time, especially when the words were unfamiliar to me. "While shepherds washed their socks by night," was a common one.

But there was one hymn at church that said "sweet the countless tongues united to entrance the prophet's ear."
I didn't know the word entrance. I took that word to mean entrance as in doorway. So it conjured up a horrible picture for me... all those tongues trying to force their way into an ear.  It was the stuff of horror movies.

This phenomenon of mishearing or misinterpreting lines of poetry is known as "Mondegreens."
It comes from a misunderstood poem, much recited as:  They have killed the Earl of Moray, and Lady Mondegreen.
The line should read "and laid him on the green."

My husband's brother , who was educated by Benedictines, always thought that words of the Hail Mary were "blessed art thou monks swimming," rather than "blessed art thou amongst women."

Other favorites are "Gladly, the cross-eyed bear" instead of "Gladly the cross I'd bear."
And Olive, the other reindeer, instead of "all of the other reindeer."

So I'm curious to know if anyone else has had some amusing or embarrassing misunderstandings.Fess up, Reds.

HALLIE EPHRON: I had no idea that's what they're called. Like so many other kids, for years I pledged allegiance to the republic for Richard Stans. And there was elemeno -- the letter between K and P. And it took me a long time to realize that The B-52s were urging me to Roam if you want to. I thought it was Rome ipsewannoo, like maybe a Latin expression. No clue until I saw the lyric printed out. My granddaughter is besotted with Mary Poppins an sings Supercalifragilistic: "If you say it loud enough you'll always sound capocious" while marching around the house with an open pink umbrella.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, yes, Mondegreens. Love them.  Of course, the Jimi Hendrix song: Excuse me while I kiss this guy. Instead of kiss the sky.
And in God Bless America: Through the night with a light from a bulb.
(I'm sorry, I laugh every time.)
Londonderry Air? I ALWAYS thought was London Derriere.
My grandson Eli used to cry out: "Cariou! Cariou!" And we could never figure it out. Finally we realized he was saying: Carry you. As in: Want me to carry you?

RHYS: Hank, when I sang with an opera chorus, many moons ago, a flaboyantly gay fellow singer misinterpreted the song "She's a must to avoid" as "She's a muscular boy!"

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: One of my kids, also in Catholic school, thought the prayer said, "Hail, Mary, full of grapes." I certainly Mondegreen on many popular songs today -I'm not sure if my hearing is that bad, or if singers' enunciation is poor. Maybe both?  When I was younger I never got the lyrics to "Secret Agent Man" right. I thought the singer was saying "secret Asian man." Also, the song "Evil woman" STILL sounds like "Medieval Woman" to me.

My late father-in-law consistently referred to Alzheimer's as Old Timers, although that may be a malapropism rather than a Mondegreen.

Oh, and for Christmas songs? For years, I thought the verse in "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" was "Later on, we'll perspire/As we sit by the fire." To be fair, it seems more logical than conspiring by the fire.

LUCY BURDETTE: Our son used to call people "papaswinbags" instead of pompous windbags. We can't remember the context! Could it possibly have been in HOME ALONE?

DEBORAH CROMBIE; DEBORAH CROMBIE: I had no idea they were called that, either! How funny. I never get song lyrics right, either, and the hub always laughs at me. I did finally learn that the line from The Weight was "Take a load off Annie," not "Take a load of fanny..."

RHYS: Anyone have a favorite Mondegreen to share?