Mondegreens, anyone?
By
BafflingBeerMan,
Posted on: 2010-08-17 20:45 in Comic and Hero-Villain Culture
My personal favorite was that for YEARS, I was under the impression that Sting and the Police had recorded a song called "Spare Ribs in the Maternity Ward."
If you think about it long enough, it makes sense in a weird sort of way... sort of.
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In my defense, it makes more sense to an 8 year old than the actual lyrics... 
Silly Brit reporting in sar! 
There's always the famous one about "Excuse me while I kiss this guy" although my all time favourite was a friend from when I was younger who was utterly convinced that MC Hammer was singing a song called "King Testes". 
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'Poison Summer', that well known song by Don Henley.
And there's someone regularly singing about how he has his socks on fire.
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The above post may contain Cynicism, sarcasm and/or pessimism. If you object to the quantities contained, then tough.
Not so much an outright mondegreen, but... Orange Range is a Japanese band, and they have a song named 'City Boy.' Except, thing is, it's hard for most Japanese people to pronounce the 'si' sound (like the first syllable of 'city,') so it tends to come out as 'shi.' And the song requires them to say 'city boy' about a dozen times in the chorus.
Hilarious.
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Well, it WAS the 70s. Free love and all. Plus, he was in a haze.
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Originally Posted by Dante
There's always the famous one about "Excuse me while I kiss this guy"
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"If you're going through hell, keep going."
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
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Oh, Japan.|
Originally Posted by Kelenar
Not so much an outright mondegreen, but... Orange Range is a Japanese band, and they have a song named 'City Boy.' Except, thing is, it's hard for most Japanese people to pronounce the 'si' sound (like the first syllable of 'city,') so it tends to come out as 'shi.' And the song requires them to say 'city boy' about a dozen times in the chorus.
Hilarious. |
I'm trying to remember which YuGiOh Abridged episode it was where LittleKuriboh subtitled the intro song with what was essentially a parade of Mondegreens.
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ShoNuff: If sophisticated = bro-mantically emo-tastic, then I'm going to keep to my Shonen loving simplicity dammit.
I was flipping through the channels yesterday and I stopped briefly on a cooking show where they were making "ceviches". I heard it as "Chevy Chase". I thought he'd gotten a meal named after him. I was kind of sad when I found that wasn't it at all.
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It's the Other Abridged Movie, which for some reason doesn't appear to have been reposted on his Youtube channel. He did the ending theme too (Cloak a sea otter, Raquelle had an emo man...).|
Originally Posted by Bitt_Player
Oh, Japan.
I'm trying to remember which YuGiOh Abridged episode it was where LittleKuriboh subtitled the intro song with what was essentially a parade of Mondegreens. |
I'm not sure "translating" lyrics like that technically counts as a mondegreen, though; I think there's another term for that.
not mine, but one of my favorite "dork towers" was when a character misheard u2 lyrics, and was going on about how much he loves "I still haven't found gerald's cookiejar" the Gerald part is kind of stretching it, but the cookiejar will not get out of my head when i hear the real song.
my personal one is seal's song "a kiss from a rose on the brain" that sounded painful.
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Those would be a soramimi, which is a sort of homophonic translation.
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Originally Posted by Wonderslug
I'm not sure "translating" lyrics like that technically counts as a mondegreen, though; I think there's another term for that.
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I got into The Beatles via someone telling me about the "Paul is Dead" rumor, so I still heard some lyrics like...
"Nobody was really sure if he was from the House of Paul" (from A Day in the Life)
"Silly Beatle, run around" (from Fixing a Hole)
"Paul, untimely death" (from I Am The Walrus, but really from King Lear)
"Paul, miss him, miss him, miss him" (from I'm Only Sleeping)
"Paul, Paul, Paul" (from While My Guitar Gently Weeps)
"Ben is short for Frank."
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...at first I misread that as 'homophobic translation' and I was all 'WTF?'. As you can probaly tell from that, I'm prone to mondegreens of all shapes and sizes.
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Originally Posted by Rush_Bolt
Those would be a soramimi, which is a sort of homophonic translation.
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"If you're going through hell, keep going."
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
When I was about 6 I used to think "You Give Love a Bad Name" was about Bambi.
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My favorite mondegreen is still "wrapped up like a ******".
It wasn't until just a few years ago, literally, that I found out he was saying "revved up like a deuce" (as in coupe).
Heh, they censor that? You can figure it out, I believe.
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yep, blinded by the light, Bruce Springsteen and later covered by Manfred Mann. famously misquoted on that line which mann changed from "cut loose like a deuce" to "revved up like a deuce".
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Originally Posted by Primal
My favorite mondegreen is still "wrapped up like a ******".
It wasn't until just a few years ago, literally, that I found out he was saying "revved up like a deuce" (as in coupe). Heh, they censor that? You can figure it out, I believe. |
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"Season ticket on a one-way ride"
There's no way in the world that's what he says. I'll let you look it up to guess at what it sounds like he says. Howard Stern has discussed this many times.
Two true ones from a friend of mine:
"Where the deer and the cantaloupe play." & from Smashmouth "The **** of a elk on her forhead". I always thought Elton John's tiny dancer sounded like Tony Danza.
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Well, when you travel, often they tell you not to drink the water.|
Originally Posted by Eisregen_NA
And I keep listening to the guy talking about gross incontinence and wonder what the **** that has to do with leaving your homeland.
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Mondegreens: not just a funny salad in a fancy resturaunt.
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WAIT! What's the rest of that line?! I can't tell! Please help meeeeeee!|
Originally Posted by rian_frostdrake
yep, blinded by the light, Bruce Springsteen and later covered by Manfred Mann. famously misquoted on that line which mann changed from "cut loose like a deuce" to "revved up like a deuce".
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Also, I got one from some emo song: "I'm a creeeeeeep, I'm a wido-o-ow..."
Cracks my mother up (which is nice because she loves that sort of crappy music).
And of course, the Trope Namer:
"Ye Highlands and ye Lowlands,
Oh, where hae ye been?
They have slain the Earl Amurray,
And Lady Mondegreen."
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I don't know that I would lump Radiohead's music in with "some emo song"
Thank you, Champion.
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The song is way beyond emo. That doesn't necessarily mean the band is emo.
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Originally Posted by Bramphousian
I don't know that I would lump Radiohead's music in with "some emo song"
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My best friend, who loves that type of music and that song, always thought Thom Yorke was saying "Widow" as well. He was like, "Why would he say he was a widow? That doesn't make any sense!"
I had to sit him down and say that the lyric is "Weirdo." Then a light went on over his head and he got it.
"Ben is short for Frank."
-Baffling Beer-Man, The Tenacious 3: The Movie
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Just in case people are unaware, a Mondegreen is "the mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase, typically a standardized phrase such as a line in a poem or a lyric in a song, due to near homophony, in a way that gives it a new meaning."
So, earlier today I was listening to the BBC World Service, and they advertised an upcoming programme called 'Gross Incontinence' about African expatriates. And I keep listening to the guy talking about gross incontinence and wonder what the **** that has to do with leaving your homeland.
Of course, it eventually dawned on the that the programme was called 'Crossing Continents', but then you never know with those silly Brits.
Now, I know that you (yes, you) have definitely got one of those yourself, so let's hear 'em.
Winston Churchill