Dead Ants Are My Friend
by
Tom Neven
on Feb 27, 2008 at 2:39 PM
Okay, admit it: at one time or another you sang a song but messed up the lyrics. Instead of singing the classic hymn "Reign On, O King Eternal," you sang, "Rain on the kinky turtle." Instead of the grand old "Gladly the Cross I'd Bear" you sang, "Gladly, the cross-eyed bear." (And what kid wouldn't want Gladly as a cute pet?)
These misheard words are called "mondegreens," a term coined by Harper's writer Sylvia Wright, who, in a 1954 column, wrote the wrong lyrics to a Scottish ballad she'd learned as a child. Commenting on "The Bonny Earl of Murray," she wrote:
They ha'e slain the Earl of Murray,
And Lady Mondegreen
For years Wright was taken by the tragic tale of the good lady who died alongside her liege. The problem is, the real lyrics are:
They ha'e slain the Earl of Murray,
And they laid him on the Green.
Upon learning that her fabled lady never existed -- in song or in reality -- Wright coined the word in her honor.
Of course, mondegreens do not have to come from songs. Many a child has prayed for his "jelly bread" or pledged allegiance to the flag of the "Republic of Richard Stans." And one woman I know for years thought really expensive things cost "a nominal egg." (She grew up on Long Island; think about it.)
Classic mondegreens can be found in Credence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon on the Rise," which was heard by many to say, "There's a bathroom on the right." Or Jimi Hendrix's line in "Purple Haze": "'scuse me while I kiss the sky," which became, "'scuse me while I kiss this guy."
Or the classic Cuban love song "Guantanamera" became "One Ton Tomato." (Weird Al, are you listening?)
The universal tendency to create mondegreens -– yes, they exist in other languages, too -– I think points to the human mind's desire to create order from disorder. Badly heard words are forced into some semblance of order, no matter how silly. It's the same as staring at the wood grain on a door, the stucco pattern on the ceiling or clouds in the sky; our minds start to see faces or animals in the random patterns. There's a larger theological truth in that, too. We were created by an orderly God in His image, and we crave order in a seriously disordered world.
What are your favorite mondegreens, spoken or sung? Oh, and a hundred Extra-Special Brownie Points to the first person who knows the mondegreen that makes up this post's title.
1. Louise had the following to say on Feb 27 at 2:49 PM:
There's Elton John's song "Tiny Dancer."
The lyrics really say "Hold me close now, Tiny Dancer", NOT "Hold my clothes and tie me down, sir."
:)
2. J.T. had the following to say on Feb 27 at 3:03 PM:
"Rain on the kinky turtle"?!
You have got to be kidding me!
Anyway, this guy at my grandparents' church has this song called "King of Remote" a soin of of King of the Road. (The song is about how he stole the remote from his wife and watches manly shows i.e. sports.)
3. Michela had the following to say on Feb 27 at 3:06 PM:
I had a funny incident with the two little girls I used to nanny for... The conversation went something like this:
Paige (4 years old): "I want to listen to the song about burning babies."
Me (horrified): "What?!"
Taylor (5 yrs.): "Ooh! I love that song! I'll turn it on!"
CD Player: "Burn baby burn, disco inferno!"
I know it's not exactly the same as a "mondegreen," but it just shows how little kids take things WAY too literally sometimes...
4. Aria had the following to say on Feb 27 at 3:09 PM:
hee hee... "The answer my friend..."
5. Sara had the following to say on Feb 27 at 3:27 PM:
A favorite Easter hymn: "Up From the Gravy, A Rose"
And the Queen song One Vision-- at one point it REALLY sounds like the say "Gimme, gimme, gimme fried chicken"
6. Tom Neven had the following to say on Feb 27 at 3:29 PM:
Okay, rule #1: mondegreens have to be genuine mis-hearing (if that's a word) of something, not deliberate exaggerations along the line of "Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg."
And Aria (@ 4) gets only 50 Extra-Special Brownie Points until she (or someone else) identifies the artist and song.
7. Christina had the following to say on Feb 27 at 3:29 PM:
an arm and a leg! I wouldn't have gotten that one if you hadn't mentioned Long Island!
8. Tom Neven had the following to say on Feb 27 at 3:30 PM:
Louise (@ 1), in Elton John's case, you can't be too sure!
9. Katie had the following to say on Feb 27 at 3:31 PM:
At Vacation Bible School one year, one child changed
"The gift of God is eternal life"
to
"The gift of God is a turtle light"
Why anyone would want a turtle light from God is beyond me. :)
10. Sara had the following to say on Feb 27 at 3:45 PM:
I used to sing "Long Legged Me" instead of "Love Lifted Me".
Of course there's the funny one about someone singing "the girl with colitis goes by" in the Beatles song. (It's really "the girl with kaleidoscope eyes".)
Anyone remember Ramona asking her mother to turn on the dawnzer? :)
11. Amelia had the following to say on Feb 27 at 3:46 PM:
My friend, who clearly doesn't play enough Rock Band, thought the lyrics to "Enter Sandman" were "Amstel Light" instead of "Exit light/Enter night"
12. Julie had the following to say on Feb 27 at 3:48 PM:
3rd Eye Blind's song Jumper: took me a long time figure out what he was saying. I suspected it wasn't actually "And everyone's got toothpaste down and dreaming."
13. Katie had the following to say on Feb 27 at 3:58 PM:
"The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind."
Blowing in the Wind, Bob Dylan
14. Sara had the following to say on Feb 27 at 4:02 PM:
And let's not forget Round John Virgin who's too often left out of the manger scene at Christmastime.
(Hello, other Sara!)
15. Miah had the following to say on Feb 27 at 4:04 PM:
In my family, the song, "I Exalt Thee" soon became 'my eggs are salty' or 'I salt me'
16. Andrew R. (aka Canadian Boy) had the following to say on Feb 27 at 4:07 PM:
"Oh, and a hundred Extra-Special Brownie Points to the first person who knows the mondegreen that makes up this post's title."
Okay...
Dead ants are my friend, are blowing in the wind?
So it'd be "Blowing in the Wind" by Bob Dylan (a certified genius, despite being unable to sing).
Either that, or a reference to the old joke "What did the Pink Panther say when he stepped on an anthill? Dead ants, dead ants, dead ants dead ants dead ants..."
17. Jane had the following to say on Feb 27 at 4:09 PM:
i thought "we shall overcome" was we shall overrun". i kind of like that version better.
and i used to sing "oh, how he loves me" as "oh, howie loves me". i asked my mom once who the heck howie was. hilarity ensued.
18. Heather Koerner had the following to say on Feb 27 at 4:25 PM:
A good friend sang this at the top of her lungs in my car: "I'm a rebel by morning!" Any George Strait fans out there?
19. Laura had the following to say on Feb 27 at 4:26 PM:
Also from the hymn, "Christ Arose", I always thought the last line was,
"And he lives forever with the King of Spain"
20. Tracy had the following to say on Feb 27 at 4:29 PM:
I can't think of any mondegreens of my own, but I've got two from other sources.
1.
Ramona (Beatrice's little sister from the Beverly Cleary books) thought that "Dawnzer" was a word for lamp. She took it from the star spangled banner. "Oh say can you see, by the dawn's early light". She heard it as "Dawnzer lee light".
2.
Eddie Murphy joked about his uncle who would sing incorrect lyrics to Motown songs. e.g. Instead of "If I have to beg and plead for your sympathy." [Temptations, Ain't Too Proud to Beg] -- his uncle would sing "If I had to beg and plead do the symphony."
21. Sara had the following to say on Feb 27 at 4:44 PM:
Ha ha, Laura, I love that. That's the most addicting song to sing ever. He aroooooooze, Christ ARRRRRRRROZE!
22. Becky had the following to say on Feb 27 at 4:48 PM:
heard:
"I want to hear you laugh like you're reeling me in"
actual: "I want to hear you laugh like you really mean it"
Snow Patrol, Hands Open
23. Melanie had the following to say on Feb 27 at 4:51 PM:
My mom tells this story:
A father was puzzled when his daughter came home from Sunday School singing about "Cherry Coke". Surprised that she was being taught such meaningless songs in church, the father approached the teacher with his concern. Having the child sing for her, the teacher laughed when she heard the little girl sing "Joshua fought the battle of Cherry Coke, Cherry Coke, Cherry Coke..."
"Cherry Coke" translation: Jericho.
24. Amadeus had the following to say on Feb 27 at 4:54 PM:
I used to love Disney's Beauty and the Beast movie...so I sang "Lumiere, I knew him," instead of "He loved me ere I knew him," (from Victory in Jesus). I was about ten before I figured it out!
25. Anna had the following to say on Feb 27 at 5:08 PM:
Sara (#10) and Tracy (#20), I thought I was the only one who would think of Ramona's dawnzer lee light. That's a great one. :)
It seems that "Christ Arose" has many mondegreens. I always laugh while singing that song in church with my mom, even though I try not to. When she was little, she thought it said "Up from the gravy arose," just like some others did, as well as "with a mighty triumph o'er his toes."
26. Joy W. had the following to say on Feb 27 at 5:20 PM:
When I was little, I heard the chorus of "Our God Reigns" as "Our Gar Grey"...no idea what that was supposed to mean. It puzzled me even then, but I sang it with all my heart!
A friend of mine heard "I won't poke my eyes out and surrender" instead of "I won't put my hands up and surrender" in "White Flag," by Dido. I don't know where she got that either, but I still laugh when I hear that song!
27. Jo had the following to say on Feb 27 at 5:22 PM:
One of my friends had a faith crisis when he was about eight and a visiting speaker prayed for him to grow into a 'mighty man of valour'. He heard 'mighty man of Allah' and went crying to his Dad about how the guy had tried to make him become a muslim. The whole thing took a fair bit of sorting out, by all accounts.
28. Kelly had the following to say on Feb 27 at 5:23 PM:
I've just looked up the real lyrics to this song and it's a lot 'ruder' than I ever suspected! But as a kid, I used to hear this song a lot (you know, it plays in the background when you go somewhere, etc):
"My angel lives in Singapore, angel lives in Singapore."
The real lyrics, thanks to google, are:
"My blood runs cold, my memory has just been sold.
My angel is a centerfold."
I think I like my version better!
29. Melissa D. had the following to say on Feb 27 at 5:23 PM:
As a kid, I was convinced the lyric "love is a battlefield" was "love is a fertile field." My sisters tease me about it to this day, but I think it's a lovely metaphor! :-)
30. Adam T. had the following to say on Feb 27 at 5:46 PM:
When I was little (I mean, really quite little!) I thought the Teddy Bears' Picnic was telling us to 'watch them, catch their underwear!'
(Instead of 'watch them, catch them unawares...' :) )
31. Liz had the following to say on Feb 27 at 5:58 PM:
I always (until I just googled it) thought the lyrics to that Norah Jones' Cold Cold Heart song were: "Why can't I free your daft old mind" (or dappled mind--but that made even less sense)... I've even cranked it up really loud and it still sounds like "daft old mind," but it is "doubtful mind."
32. Lee McKusick had the following to say on Feb 27 at 6:02 PM:
Funny you should mention the Jimi Hendrix song, because http://www.kissthisguy.com is an archive of mondegreens inspired by it.
It's always amusing to hear what kind of things people mishear. =)
33. Becky had the following to say on Feb 27 at 6:16 PM:
me and my brother thought that "mony mony" was "ride the pony" ...in fact we had a debate about it this summer. lol
34. Becky had the following to say on Feb 27 at 6:18 PM:
Sarah! that is totally from the babysitter's club!! (the girl with colitis goes by) i used to be obsessed with the books!
35. BDB had the following to say on Feb 27 at 6:53 PM:
Heather (#18):
Amarillo perhaps?
This is why we use hand motions during worship in Children's Ministry.
36. Leah had the following to say on Feb 27 at 6:58 PM:
Hey, Weird Al is cool! ;)
37. ptschett had the following to say on Feb 27 at 7:06 PM:
How about "Lord I Lift Your Name on High":
You came from heaven to earth
To show the way
From the earth to the cross
my dead toupee
38. Louise had the following to say on Feb 27 at 7:07 PM:
"He was crucified under Pontius Pilate."
When I was a child I thought the above phrase referred to someone who flew an airplane.
Once I got old enough to see that the spellings were different, I became very confused.
39. Alyene had the following to say on Feb 27 at 7:10 PM:
How funny... I thought "me ere" was the name of a person, too. I think I finally asked my mom who it was, since I couldn't remember a Bible character with that name.
40. farmer Tom had the following to say on Feb 27 at 7:30 PM:
Or Jimi Hendrix's line in "Purple Haze": "'scuse me while I kiss the sky," which became, "'scuse me while I kiss this guy."
That bugs me every time I hear that song.
41. Dani had the following to say on Feb 27 at 7:58 PM:
A friend at church told me about a little boy who thought his Sunday school teacher would be with him forever: "Good Miss Murphy will follow me all the days of my life."
(Goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.)
42. Chrysti had the following to say on Feb 27 at 8:01 PM:
I always thought dcTalk's song "You consume me" sounded like "You can sue me... any time, any place, you invade my space..."
Or another one I heard for "Tiny Dancer" was "Hold me close now, Tony Danza..."
43. Missy had the following to say on Feb 27 at 8:09 PM:
As someone else said, I can't think of any of my own, but one of my good friends told me a couple of hymns she used to sing wrong as a child. For example, she used to wonder why there would be a "bomb" in Gilead (as opposed to a "balm.") Or "Bringing in the Cheese" instead of "Bringing in the Sheaves." :-D
44. Kristen K. had the following to say on Feb 27 at 8:19 PM:
As a kid, I wondered why we sang about butchers in church. "Why so downcast, O my soul? Butcher hope in God!"
I teach 2nd grade Sunday School and we sing "This Is My Father's World." One boy thought we were singing about the "music of the spears."
45. Jessica had the following to say on Feb 27 at 8:38 PM:
My mom, another lady, and I sang as a trio a few times. Southern Gospel was the genre. The third or fourth run through came by and I couldn't hold it any longer. I had to point out that the way the second verse started out sounded like 'snot' rather than the intended ' it's not.' We never could get through that verse without cracking a smile.
46. Jessica had the following to say on Feb 27 at 8:39 PM:
My mom, another lady, and I sang as a trio a few times. Southern Gospel was the genre. The third or fourth run through came by and I couldn't hold it any longer. I had to point out that the way the second verse started out sounded like 'snot' rather than the intended ' it's not.' We never could get through that verse without cracking a smile.
47. Cassandra had the following to say on Feb 27 at 9:59 PM:
I have two. The first, someone told me, but now I can't get out of my head now.
"Did you know God's name was Andy?"
"How do you know?"
"Aaaaanddyyyy walks with me, Andy talks with me, Andy tells me I am his own..."
(From the hymn "In the Garden")
The second is from my little brother. When he was little he used to sing "I want to be like a guy, I want to be like a guy" to the "Daba di dabi da" part of Eiffel 64's song Blue.
48. erin Woods had the following to say on Feb 27 at 10:29 PM:
There is a country song about 9.11 and in the chorus he sings, " I can't tell you the difference between Iraq and Iran." About the first 8 time I heard the song, I couldn't figure out for the life of me how someone could get such writer's block that they would actually write a song that said, "I can't tell you the difference between a rock and an ant."
There is also the classic, "Hold me closer Tony Danza." Praise the Lord they don't actually want Tony to hold them but a tiny dancer.
49. Ellie had the following to say on Feb 27 at 11:04 PM:
The first day of kindergarten the paretns came and sat with their kids while the teachers explained details about the coming school year. I don't think the kids were intended to listen, but I was paying attention. When the teacher said 'parties won't be tolerated' I turned and asked my mom what 'tolerated' means, and she explained it to me. I was very distressed over the fact that we would not be allowed to have parties, and even more confused when everyone had them anyway. It wasn't until a few years ago that I realized she said 'tardies won't be tolerated.'
50. Maggie had the following to say on Feb 27 at 11:43 PM:
I thought it hillarious to read that some people heard the words "Kyrie eleison on the highway in the night" as "Carrying a lazer on the Starship Enterprize."
51. Jo had the following to say on Feb 28 at 12:14 AM:
A couple more: my brother used to think that Bon Jovi's 'Living on a Prayer' went:
We've got to hold on to what we've got
It doesn't really matter if we're naked or not
And Sara (#5): the Queen song DOES say 'fried chicken', just once at the end I think. Perhaps it was an in joke and they decided to include it as a deliberate mondegreen?
Oh last one, I play in a band who covered 'Real Gone Kid' by Deacon Blue, and the backing vocals ('Maybe now baby...') sound so much like something else that we now actually refer to the song as 'Lebanon Baby'.
52. Suzanne had the following to say on Feb 28 at 12:28 AM:
As a little girl, I sang "To God Be the Glory" as:
Praise the Lord
Praise the Lord
Let the peacocks rejoice!
Still, if all creation praises God, that works, right??
And my cousin really loved this one:
I've got a little ol' knife coming out of me
Makes the lame to walk and the blind to see
Hocus-pocus doors, lets the cows go free
I've got a little ol' knife coming out of me.
53. Randy Breedveld had the following to say on Feb 28 at 12:48 AM:
My 4 year old boy was at our kitchen table colouring one day when he started singing "Stay in the lines, stay in the lines" to the 70's Bee Gee's tune "Stayin' Alive". It was priceless.
54. Catherine had the following to say on Feb 28 at 1:13 AM:
My sister thought a lyric from Reliant K's "Million Pieces" talked about "kissing your casket 'bye" (kissing your cares goodbye)
I also remember growing up saying the Lutheran Table Grace: "Commord Jesus, be our guest..."
55. Amanda had the following to say on Feb 28 at 5:34 AM:
My five year old son and I were singing songs on the way to church last night (songs that have a million verses...like "This Old Man" and "BINGO"). Well, he couldn't remember the name "BINGO" so he asked for the song about Farmer Brownie...
"Farmer Brown, he had a dog..." LOL
56. aj had the following to say on Feb 28 at 7:27 AM:
Cassandra (#47):
At least you were still refering to God with "In the Garden"! My cousin's name is Andy and whenever we used to sing that song in church, us girls would make flirty eyes at him while we were singing "Andy tells me I am his own..." just to annoy him. We were way old enough to know better, but to this day, I still can't sing that song without laughing over our youthful church antics!
57. Carrie (the original) had the following to say on Feb 28 at 7:35 AM:
George Harrison's "I've Got My Mind Set On You": when I was a child I thought it was "I'm gonna sit on you"
I also misheard "idiosyncrisies" as "idiot's secrets".
58. Anastasia had the following to say on Feb 28 at 7:59 AM:
"Poodle shots from Heaven"
instead of "do not shut the heavens".
59. Diana had the following to say on Feb 28 at 9:44 AM:
Chrysti mentioned dc talk which reminded me of my youth paster saying that for a while he thought the lyrics to "Hey You, I'm into Jesus" were "Hey Jew, I'm into Jesus," which seemed a little odd.
60. Jo had the following to say on Feb 28 at 10:07 AM:
I keep thinking of more... Someone mentioned this mondegreen on the radio once and now whenever I hear 'Independent Women' by Destiny's Child, this is what I sing:
The shoes on my feet (Alf Garnet)
The watch I'm wearing (Alf Garnet)
The car I'm driving (Alf Garnet)
I depend on me...
61. Maria had the following to say on Feb 28 at 11:08 AM:
I was listening to New Strings by Miranda Lambert one time with my friend and about half way through the song she looks at me horrified at asked "what did she just say?!"
She had heard "I've got this old guitar and a brand new set of strings" as "I've got this old guitar and a brand new sex change". Now everytime I hear that song I hear that.
62. Lauren had the following to say on Feb 28 at 11:17 AM:
I sang on a worship team at 15, passionately asking, "Purify my heart let it be eschol (as gold) and precious silver" until they actually gave us the song sheet. I think it was somehow associated with gold, frakincense and myrhh. Hmmmmm.
63. John had the following to say on Feb 28 at 11:21 AM:
Does cross lingual count?
I know Mexicans who sing:
"Zappo birthday to you"
64. Bethany had the following to say on Feb 28 at 11:28 AM:
From a kindergartener last night in AWANA: "God requests lying lips..." (should be DETESTS!)
65. Julie had the following to say on Feb 28 at 11:39 AM:
Thanks Cassandra #47 - Yes, that song "Blue" by Eiffel64 - I still remember driving into the parking lot senior year of high school having just heard it for the first time on the radio and wondering What the Heck they were saying...
I'm in need of a guy?
I believe I'm a god?
I'm in need I'm a guy?
I belive I'm alive??
66. Nicole had the following to say on Feb 28 at 11:44 AM:
As a young pre-teen, my friend and I loved the song Glory of Love by Peter Cetera (ok, I still LOVE it). She asked me then "what is a Urana?"
"I am a man who will fight for your honor"
67. Katie had the following to say on Feb 28 at 11:59 AM:
I'm a reviewer, so I received a copy of FM Static's Critically Ashamed without the lyrics, and couldn't find them online yet. "Nice Piece of Art" had me really confused:
You make me feel like a lab in this sweater
when I'm caught in bad weather
and my boat's weighing down
It's really:
You make me feel like a lavender sweater
when I'm caught in bad weather
in my Volkswagen Jetta
But even some of the lyric sites aren't sure what it says!
68. Sara had the following to say on Feb 28 at 12:19 PM:
So many of these are Freudian slip- type things.
In a psych class I took we read about a study that gave some scientific backing to Freud's theory: People were given reading-aloud tasks that were set up such that they'd be likely to misread certain 'benign' words as more 'naughty' words. they made more mistakes when the tester was an attractive woman wearing a low-cut top than when it was a more 'homely' lady.
I'd never heard that 'Purple Haze' lyric before. "Scuse me while I kiss the sky"? That's gorgeous!
69. Karen had the following to say on Feb 28 at 1:56 PM:
A friend of mine thought the Easter choir was singing "Right on, King Jesus!" instead of "Ride on King Jesus".
70. Karen had the following to say on Feb 28 at 2:05 PM:
From the song "there she goes, just a-walking down the street" I always used to hear "Now I'm hurt, she's mad" instead of "I'm hers, she's mine" and wondered why wedding bells were going to chime if they were mad at each other :^)
71. Esther had the following to say on Feb 28 at 2:06 PM:
DC Talk - My Will
My friend really thought they were singing, "It's my will - I'm a pooh bear" instead of "It's my will - I'm not moving."
Out of Eden - If you only knew
"I apologize to you, on being Picacchu" instead of "I apologize to you on behalf of being untrue."
72. Nick had the following to say on Feb 28 at 2:30 PM:
Great tie in to how we imitate God and have a desire for order.
Love the game Mad Gab - it's all about these wonderful mondegreens :)
And the title could also be "The Dancer, my friend"
73. Carrie (the original) had the following to say on Feb 28 at 2:57 PM:
Comment #70 . . . you reminded me of another one that I struggled with as a child!
Instead of "Goin' to the chapel and we're gonna get married . . ." I heard "Goin' to the jack-o-latern, gonna get married . . ."
I could never figure why people actually wanted to get married in front of a carved pumpkin.
74. Natasha had the following to say on Feb 28 at 2:57 PM:
Well, my family still bugs my Mom about this one:
Until we caught her at it, she always sang the song "Secret Agent Man" as
"Secret Asian Man". She really thought that was what the song was.
It gives quite a funny mental picture.
:)
75. Becks had the following to say on Feb 28 at 3:33 PM:
I figured those two out only recently:
it's not 'hold the line' but 'walk of life'....
and 'sign your name across my heart' rather than 'suddenly you cross my heart'... (although it really sounds like it, honest!)
Becks
76. Holly had the following to say on Feb 28 at 4:15 PM:
In a gospel song "Leave your many burdens at the cross and sinner go free" sounded to my 9 year old ears like "Leave your many burdens at the cross and Synagogue free." I was probably in my teens before I started why you would leave your burdens at the cross and that would free the synagogue?
It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who thought that "Low in the grave he lay" Was "Low in the gravey lay" What is it with that song? Everyone misunderstands it!
77. Natalie had the following to say on Feb 28 at 5:34 PM:
When my friend first heard the Hillsong song "Take it All" he thought they were saying "Take it off."
78. beelo had the following to say on Feb 28 at 7:16 PM:
how about, for Rusted Root's "send me on my way," hearing "Simeon my Whale."
Nickel Creek's Spit on a Stranger:
"oh meow" instead of "pull me out"
and Smashmouth's Walking on the Sun:
"you've got to be there till your baby's old enough to get laid" instead of "you've got to be there when your baby's old enough to relate"
79. Michael had the following to say on Feb 28 at 9:48 PM:
Has nothing to do with music, but when I was very young I thought "soap operas" were actually "soul poppers." Somehow, I still smile and think in some way it may be more fitting....
Also, into my teen years, I thought Michael Card's song said "Love crucified a Rose," when actually it says "Love crucified, arose."
Recently I heard that someone thought Enya's song "Orinoco Flow" said "Save a whale, save a whale, save a whale" ... instead of "sail away, sail away, sail away."
80. Marisa had the following to say on Feb 28 at 11:04 PM:
Coldplay's What If?:
"hold your breath, John, hold it inside..." should be "Let's take a breath, jump over the side"
I like these! :)
81. Apryl had the following to say on Feb 28 at 11:28 PM:
I'm with #72 - Mad Gab is tons o' fun! And it's really funny how some people can hear the mondegreens and for others it takes a long while to catch on.
I don't know when it happened, but one day I finally realized that "Drift Away" wasn't saying "gimme the Beach Boys and free my soul, I wanna get lost in their rock and roll and drift away." I still laugh about that!
82. Shannon F. had the following to say on Feb 29 at 5:05 AM:
GREAT post. I enjoyed them all!
One of my favorites is "I hate Psalty, I hate Psalty, I hate Psalty, O Lord." instead of "I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, O Lord." But then you have to know who Psalty is. :)
83. Diana had the following to say on Feb 29 at 7:26 AM:
beelo, I heard "meow" in Spit on a Stranger, too. It made me go check the liner notes.
84. Jaime had the following to say on Feb 29 at 6:43 PM:
Neither my sister or I grew up in church, but she went to a VBS-type program back in the 70's through our great-aunt's church and "learned the song "The Consecrated Cross I Bear". What she heard was "the Constipated Cross-Eyed Bear".
85. Jacob MT had the following to say on Feb 29 at 8:26 PM:
I've heard the "meow" there too. Ramona's might be thee most famous.
But don't forget "I pledge allegiance to Queeen Frag, and her mighty state of hysteria..."
It's not a real mondegreen of course. Can anyone identify it?
86. Jacob MT had the following to say on Feb 29 at 8:29 PM:
Oh right...
Is our church the ONLY one that uses hymnbooks? Or did all these come from before we could read? I'm just wondering.
87. kathy had the following to say on Mar 1 at 9:04 AM:
My mom heard the old song "We Will Rock you" by Queen.
She thought the line was "Somebody better put a bag into your face" instead of "Somebody better put you back into your place."
88. Jo had the following to say on Mar 1 at 11:19 AM:
I heard 'I Don't Wanna Know' by Mario Winans today on the radio, and seriously - there's a line where he's going on about all the things he's given this girl, where it REALLY sounds like "Gave you extra cheese"...
I looked up the lyrics and it's "Gave you extra G's". I don't even know what that means. :( I prefer my version. I don't care what anyone says, I'd love a man who gave me extra cheese.
89. Leah had the following to say on Mar 1 at 11:21 PM:
Jacob MT- I think most mondegreens come from before people learnt to read- at least when it comes to songs sung in church. If you hear it all your life, you might never have to actually look at the words to know it... and could easily get one or two of them wrong ;)
Shannon F- I know who Psalty is!!!
Cassandra and aj- I've heard conspiracy theories that the "daba di daba die" part of "Blue" is a cover up and that it's supposed to be "I'm in need of a guy" (ie. the guys singing it are gay but trying to make it sound like an innocent song) :P Not sure I believe it though!
90. Elizabeth had the following to say on Mar 2 at 7:50 PM:
I have two:
1. In the song "We Three Kings" I used to wonder where "Orientar" was.
2. Someone I know heard the line, "I just died in your arms tonight. It must have been something I ate." It took us the longest time to figure out the real words, and I'm still not completely sure. I think they said, "something strange."
91. Ruben had the following to say on Mar 3 at 2:10 PM:
I remember wondering as a kid what kind of store a five-and-dime was, and what freak technology they possessed that enabled them to sell sex-dreams.
The actual lyrics are: "I got my first real six-string. Bought it at the..."
I guess that's what's called a Freudian slip. I don't know what it's called when i actually still hear "sex-dream" even today.
92. Afton had the following to say on Mar 3 at 3:01 PM:
Jacob MT: "But don't forget "I pledge allegiance to Queeen Frag, and her mighty state of hysteria..."
It's not a real mondegreen of course. Can anyone identify it"
Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes. Or should I say, Spaceman Spiff from Calvin and Hobbes.
93. Afton had the following to say on Mar 3 at 3:11 PM:
Oops, I got two different Calvin quotes confused. That's just calvin in school, right? There's another one of him being Spaceman Spiff that involves the Pledge of Allegiance.
94. DEH had the following to say on Mar 3 at 8:51 PM:
When I was little, I used to think the Enya song was "Say la way, say la way, say la way." I never knew what "la way" was or why I was supposed to say it, but I sang along anyway until my dad informed me it was "sail away."
When my dad was little, he thought "Feliz Navidad" was "my knees knobby knock."
95. Justin had the following to say on Mar 7 at 2:10 PM:
these are hilarious, i love this stuff.
i had a couple growing up, but the one that stuck out came from the old hymn 'When the roll is called up yonder'
i could not figure out for the life of me what a 'pyonder' was, why a piece of bread was going to be called a pyonder and why the heck i was going to be there. it was all beyond me..
96. Catherine had the following to say on Mar 9 at 8:37 PM:
There's a Bethany Dillon song called "Great Big Mystery" where she sings "...on my knees or on my face", but I swear, every time I hear the song I hear "all I need's a llama face"
97. Becky had the following to say on Mar 12 at 9:14 PM:
My parents tell me that I used to belt out "It Is Twelve" in church. I was about 6 before I knew it was really "It Is Well."
My cousin used to sing Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name" as "Shot through the heart, and you're too late. Can't give love a band aid." Kinda fitting, actually!
Shannon (82): Not only do I know who Psalty is, but I've been to one of his concerts. 'Cause I'm just that cool.