Since yesterday (February 9) was the 60th anniversary of the Beatles’ first performance on the Ed Sullivan Show, it seems appropriate to talk about song lyrics today.
The word mondegreen, meaning a mishearing of a popular phrase or song lyric, was coined by the writer Sylvia Wright.
As a child, she heard the Scottish ballad The Bonny Earl of Murray and though that one verse went like this:
Ye Highlands and Ye Lowlands
Oh where hae you been?
They hae slay the Earl of Murray,
And Lady Mondegreen.
Poor Lady Mondegreen, thought Sylvia Wright. Years later, she discovered that what they had actually done was slay the Earl of Murray and lay him on the green. Wright then memorialized her Lady Mondegreen with the new word.
Here are just some of the popular mondegreens:
ELTON JOHN – Rocket Man
Lyrics: Rocket man, burning out his fuse up here alone Mondegreen: Rocket man, burning all the trees off every lawn
JOHN COUGAR – Jack and Diane
Lyrics: Changes come around real soon, make us women and men Mondegreen: Changes come around real soon; naked swimming in bed
ROBERT PALMER – Loving You
Lyrics: I’ve got a bad case of loving you Mondegreen: I’ve got a backache from loving you
ZZ TOP – Sharp-Dressed Man
Lyrics: Everybody’s crazy ’bout a sharp-dressed man Mondegreen: Everybody’s crazy ’bout a shot glass man
U2 -Bullet the Blue Sky
Lyrics: I can see those fighter planes Mondegreen:I can see those spider veins
QUEEN – We Will Rock You
Lyrics: You’ve got mud on your face, a big disgrace Mondegreen: You’ve got mud on your face, front disc brakes
ELVIS PRESLEY – Jailhouse Rock
Lyrics: Everybody in the whole cell block Mondegreen: Everybody in a wholesale frock
THE POLICE – Message in a Bottle
Lyrics: A year has passed since I wrote my note Mondegreen: A year has passed since I broke my nose
MICHAEL JACKSON – Billie Jean
Lyrics: Then every head turned with eyes that dreamed of being the one Mondegreen:Her heavy head turned to ice cream, being the one
ROBERTA FLACK – Killing Me Softly
Lyrics: Strumming my fate with his fingers Mondegreen: Stuffing my face with his fingers
ERIC CLAPTON – Forever Man
Lyrics: Won’t you be my forever woman? I want to be your forever man Mondegreen:Won’t you be my bald-headed woman? I want to be your bald-headed man
PAT BENATAR – Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Lyrics: Hit me with your best shot Mondegreen:Hit me with your pet shark
BEATLES – Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Lyrics:The girl with kaleidoscope eyes Mondegreen: The girl with colitis goes by
DEEP PURPLE – Smoke on the Water
Lyrics: Smoke on the water, fire in the sky Mondegreen: Slow walking Walter, the fire engine guy
and this oldie but goodie!
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER – Bad Moon Rising
Lyrics: There’s a bad moon on the rise Mondegreen: There’s a bathroom on the right
Thank you for the mondegreens! Here are some more.
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