Lady Mondegreen

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.