Ye Highlands and ye Lowlands,
Oh, where hae ye been?
They hae slain the Earl Amurray, [sic]
And Lady Mondegreen
The actual fourth line is "And laid him on the green."
A mondegreen is the misinterpretation of a line or lyric in a song due to homophony.
In honor of the word "mondegreen" being added to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, I thought it appropriate to have a thread where we post our favorite mondegreen. Or any that we've heard.
When my son (CoastieMouse) was 12, he heard Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name" as "You give love a Band-aid." (Sounds like a Weird Al song...)
Any you'd care to share with us?
Lord, you have filled my cup so full,
How can I fear tomorrow?
...I won't let a thread of mine go without a reply, even if I have to reply to it myself.
One of the most famous mondegreens is Jimi Hendrix's " 'Scuse me while I kiss this guy". I have recordings of "Purple Haze" by Winger (Kip seems to be very careful to be sure it sounds like "...while I kiss the sky"), Ozzy Osbourne (A little sloppy, could go either way.), and 2 versions by Hendrix himself. In the studio version, of course, you sorta hear the famous mondegreen. And in the live version, he had a little fun with it, and sang it as " 'Scuse me while I kiss that guy." [laugh]
Lord, you have filled my cup so full,
How can I fear tomorrow?
In "Surfin' USA" by the Beach Boys, I always thought they were saying "If everybody had a notion" instead of "If everybody had an ocean." I like my version better...it makes the surf culture seem more of a state of mind to me...all you need is the desire...or notion!
"Looking Out My Back Door" by Credence. For years I heard "Listening to begonias" instead of "Listening to Buck Owens." My WIFE finally straightened me out after having a good laugh at my expense. In my defense, MY version makes as much sense as the REST of the song!
Toolin' down the highway doing 79,
I'm a twin-pipe papa and I'm feeling fine...
Ummm...I have a few but the first one is a real blusher.
In Manfred Mann's "Blinded by the Light", I swear he kept saying "Revved up Like a Douche" instead of Deuce. It makes me laugh every time I hear the song, but I still sing douche in my mind.
In "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen, I always thought it was "Baba Boosh, Baba Boosh" instead of "Scallaboosh".
And the biggest one of all is the Beatles, "Get Back!" I always thought they were singing, "Jo Jo was a man who thought he was a woman"...LOL
tmac396 wrote:"Looking Out My Back Door" by Credence. For years I heard "Listening to begonias" instead of "Listening to Buck Owens." My WIFE finally straightened me out after having a good laugh at my expense. In my defense, MY version makes as much sense as the REST of the song!
I just heard this and it reminded me! "Heard it in a Love Song" by the Marshall Tucker Band. For the longest time I thought they were saying, "Purty little love song!" Oh, well...
jodlyn wrote:And the biggest one of all is the Beatles, "Get Back!" I always thought they were singing, "Jo Jo was a man who thought he was a woman"...LOL
That's NOT what they're saying?
Toolin' down the highway doing 79,
I'm a twin-pipe papa and I'm feeling fine...
In the same vein..."Honky Cat" by Elton John. He supposedly says "FISHING in a stream" but I always here...well...something along the same line as your Peter Gabriel song!
Toolin' down the highway doing 79,
I'm a twin-pipe papa and I'm feeling fine...
In "You Keep Me Hangin' On", there's a part where Diana just sings "Woe woe woe". I always heard it as "Want another lover". (Well, it fits the song, doesn't it?) It wasn't until I heard Vanilla Fudge and Kim Wilde sing it that I realized what the line really is.
I like my version better.
Lord, you have filled my cup so full,
How can I fear tomorrow?