mondegreen ?

Subject: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,mr happy
Date: 22 Apr 02 - 09:53 AM

there's an excellent folk news page run by a mr red is this name a mondegreen? (Mr Ed?)

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: MMario
Date: 22 Apr 02 - 09:58 AM

"missed 'er 'ead"

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 22 Apr 02 - 10:07 AM

Wrong sex. Surely the whole point of a modegreen is that it's Miss Red

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: MMario
Date: 22 Apr 02 - 10:40 AM

no - mondegreens are like 'ghost riders in the sky' ...they are Mist Herd

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 22 Apr 02 - 10:43 AM

Im just a guy whose intentions are good
O Lord please don't let me be Miss Understood!

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Morticia
Date: 22 Apr 02 - 11:24 AM

My daughter used to have a school matron called Miss Dakin....lots of Airplane type jokes around that one.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 22 Apr 02 - 02:18 PM

Mr Bates, Mrs Bates and their son Master... Whoops. Better not.

Whenever a HP unix system boots up it 'Starts tracing and logging' and I always remember miss-reading (Miss Reading?) that as 'Starting Tracy and Roger'.

But then again I need to get out more;-)

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 22 Apr 02 - 02:56 PM

My other half had a teacher when at school, who was of the lesbian faith [ allegedly ] called Miss Bumpus
Read it and weep....Giok

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 22 Apr 02 - 03:05 PM

Does anybody know the beginning of this one? Believed to originate in war time.
.................................send reinforcements
Misheard [nice girl] as,
We're going to the pictures, send three and fourpence.
Giok

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Mr Red
Date: 22 Apr 02 - 03:15 PM

Send re-inforcements we are going to advance
classic military game where you tell a soldier at one end of a line (and to tell the next man) the above and by the time it gets to 'tother end they are asking
Send three and fourpence we are going to a dance.
3/4d is about 17.43 pence in new money (or nearly one third of a Euro for mainlanders)
FWIW Miss Red faded about a year ago and the song should be "Laddie in Red"
Not dancing despite appearances but pictures yes, one of this Mr Red, go see :- Upton u 7 Folk Festival 3rd to 6th May 200

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Joe_F
Date: 22 Apr 02 - 07:06 PM

When I was little, I thought "Jingle Bells" mentioned a young lady named Miss Fortune, who proved her lot, whatever that might mean.

Lady Luck's maiden name, I dare say.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Mr Happy
Date: 23 Apr 02 - 10:00 AM

I recently heard a song which may throw some light on further details of Lady Mondegreen's aristocratic connections.

I think it's called The Lighthouse and the chorus goes:

'I am ready for the storm, yes Sir Eddy, I am ready for the storm, yes Sir Eddy, I'm ready for the storm'

Sir Eddy Mondegreen, perhaps.

Mr Happy

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Mr Happy
Date: 23 Apr 02 - 10:04 AM

Mr Red

I think we're 1, 802 years too late to attend Upton FF 200!

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: CapriUni
Date: 23 Apr 02 - 02:23 PM

I'm missing something, I think.

(Not surprising, considering the subject matter).

What is: "I am ready for the storm, yes Sir Eddy" supposed to be?

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 23 Apr 02 - 02:53 PM

I just remembered my all time favourite and, so I'm told, genuine kids monegreen.

In the 'Hail Mary' - Blessed are thou, a monk swimming...

Still has me in fits of giggles.

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 23 Apr 02 - 05:30 PM

Happiness, Capri Uni

On the recording I have (by Tall Stories, aka Pat Ryan, Ken Howard and Malcolm Gibbons) it's called "Ready for the Storm", as in yes sir, ready for the storm. And credited to Dougie Maclean.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 23 Apr 02 - 06:19 PM

I still think the original Earl of Murray mondegreen is the quintessential example

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Joe_F
Date: 23 Apr 02 - 07:08 PM

In my old copy of the _Folksinger's Wordbook_, in "The Old Orange Flute", the line

"Kick the Pope," "The Boyne Water" it freely would sound,

appears as

"Kick the Pope," and "Boil Water" it freely would sound.

A little-known song describing the Protestant way of making holy water (boil the hell out of it)?

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Mr Red
Date: 23 Apr 02 - 08:13 PM

Happiness
I blame word wrap
Now your nom de guerre? Would this be a reference to Ken Dodd's immortal song of "Happiness" ? (the greatest gift that I possess ) - not so much a modegreen as a single entendre I would say (Oh OK! 1.5 and thats my final offer).

"I thank the Lord that I've been blessed, with mor than my share of ............."

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,mr happy
Date: 24 Apr 02 - 04:26 AM

Miss Tread

I'm all undone!You've broke my cover.

'I'm so unhappy, unhappy as can be I'm so unhappy, dearie, dearie me'

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,mr happy
Date: 24 Apr 02 - 04:31 AM

i am ready for the storm, yes sir, ready

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: An Pluiméir Ceolmhar
Date: 25 Jun 02 - 08:38 AM

I figured out some time ago what a mondegreen is, but can someone tell me what is the etymology of the word?

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: greg stephens
Date: 25 Jun 02 - 08:44 AM

And laid him on the green

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Wolfgang
Date: 25 Jun 02 - 08:45 AM

"...laid him on the green" misheard as "...Lady Mondegreen".

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,Nerd
Date: 25 Jun 02 - 03:26 PM

The full line comes from the ballad "The Bonny Earl O' Moray," which laments:

They have slain the Earl O' Moray And laid him on the green.

This was misheard as

The have slain the Earl O' Moray and Lady Mondegreen.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 25 Jun 02 - 04:14 PM

Wait a minute - it's NOT "'Kick the Pope' and 'Boil Water'" it freely would sound? I was sure that Boil Water had something to do with the Catholics having so many children...

My favorite misheard line today: From the Traveling Wilbury's there is a line about My shoes are wearing out, walking down this same highway... which I heard as Well, she's a worry now, walking... (a song about a woman you can't get rid of?) -

My fave in French is Tous attablés les soirs d'hiver/lorsqu'un par un Mamie nous sert, which I heard as Tous accablés. The real line is Sitting at table, what I heard was Overburdened... so the people at the table in my visual all straightened up!

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Mr Red
Date: 25 Jun 02 - 04:26 PM

Thankyou for the plug Mr Happy
blickie is cresby.com
I am not a mondegreen, man de red only spoken here.

My addition to the sum of knowledge on mondegreens is :
"Sea Coal" (polite mental images please) is related to mine shafts.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: An Pluiméir Ceolmhar
Date: 26 Jun 02 - 11:48 AM

Thanks for the explanations. Is it a term generally used among folkies or is it Mudcat-specific?

I remember an excellent advertisement for audio tapes a few years ago built around the idea of mondegreens caused by listening to music on cheaper brands of tape.

The punch line was the magnificent "My ears are alight" (the Israelite). Anyone remember it?

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Genie
Date: 26 Jun 02 - 12:03 PM

An Pluimeir, There's a current ad campaign --for cell phones, I think -- that's based on mondegreen-type misunderstandings, too. Someone orders one thing and a totally different (ridiculous) thing gets delivered.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: MikeofNorthumbria
Date: 27 Jun 02 - 05:59 AM

Wasn't Lady Mondegreen's execution arranged by Sister Mattick, the well-organised nun?

Wassail!

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: greg stephens
Date: 27 Jun 02 - 06:10 AM

A French witticism is based on the fact that Le Concerto en sol mineur (the concerto in Gminor) can be misheard as the French for "the c**t is used early in mining country".

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 27 Jun 02 - 06:36 AM

Thread Drift: following on from the comments on Ads with misheard requests, I like the add wher a man in a cafe is served with a small 'gremlin'; when he asked for a 'Sprite'.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Susan A-R
Date: 27 Jun 02 - 10:43 PM

Paint 'em all red

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Declan
Date: 28 Jun 02 - 12:06 PM

There's a story that a man from London who used to go to the Irish traditional sessions there once asked some of the musicians after one of the sessions why they hadn't finished off with the usual song - the one about shoving Connie around the field.

He meant the Irish national anthem which finishes up "Seo libh canaig Amhran na bhFhiann"

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Chris Amos
Date: 28 Jun 02 - 01:35 PM

My friend tells me that he has hung a hammer cup under the trees in his garden for the summer, I don't like to ask.

CA

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Noreen
Date: 01 Jul 02 - 06:50 PM

APC, the term mondegreen is used outside mudcat circles also- if you look up mondegreen on Google, you'll find at least one website which specialises in them. You'll be sorry you asked...!

N

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 01 Jul 02 - 07:15 PM

APC

Yes I remember the ad on TV ("Me ears are alight") and it was magnificent because of the reggae soundtrack that delivered the punchline... Desmond Dekker EYHO

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: michaelr
Date: 01 Jul 02 - 07:34 PM

Vacationing in the Greek isles, I found romance with a beautiful French girl. When we parted, she looked into my eyes and said:

"May you always `ave `appiness!"

I sure hope I will!
Michael

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Genie
Date: 27 Aug 02 - 11:45 AM

The first lyrics posted for Look To The Rainbowin this thead http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=29707&messages=9   are from another website and contain several mondegreens:

Someone heard "whip-poor-wills singing" as "whimper we're singing," so the line became, "...with whimper we're singing beyond the next hill."

Then, "I bundled my heart" morphed into "I pondered my heart,"
And "...I scanned all the skies," became "...I scandeled* the sky."

I just love the powerful, joyous rainbow image of folks on the other side of the hill singing with whimper!  And just what would you have to do to "scandal" the sky--run around nekkid (whilst singing with whimper)?

Genie

*Shouldn't that be spelled "scandaled" or "scandalled?"  Is there such a verb, anyway?

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 27 Aug 02 - 12:08 PM

A fellow at one folk club kept asking me to sing "The song about sailing around the coast of Ireland". He insisted that he'd heard me sing it before. One evening I sang "The Shoals of Herring". "That's it", he said, "The Shores of Erin".

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,Pat Darlington
Date: 28 Aug 02 - 10:11 AM

My father tels me for years at school he thought a couple of hymns a bit wierd. In "We plough the fields and scatter" he heard "[he sends] the warmth to swell the grain" as "the warmth to swell the drain" and "Gladly my cross I'd bear" he thought was about a teddy bear with cross-eyes.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: masato sakurai
Date: 28 Aug 02 - 11:08 AM

Bruce Jeffrey Halitcher Taub composed "Lady Mondegreen's Dances," "Lady Mondegreen Sings the Blues," and "Lady Mondegreen Bangs the Can!" (Scores are HERE. She is not dead.

~Masato

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: harper
Date: 28 Aug 02 - 09:04 PM

And I suppose you heard about the little boy who wanted to say something "religious" for the funeral of his goldfish, whom he was about to flush. He said "Glory be to the Father and to the Son and down the hole he goes."

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Genie
Date: 29 Aug 02 - 01:16 AM

Not really a mondegreen, harper -- but still funny!

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,Amos
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 12:07 PM

I just heard Iris de Mente singing "Let the Mystery Be" for the first time. The recurring tag line is, "I think I'll just let the mystery be." (concerning the Big Questions like "Where do we go when we die?", and so on...)

But listening at low volume in my office, I was certain the first time through she was saying, "I think I'll just let them screw with me..."

Not a bad attitudem, wehn ya cvome to think of it.

A

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Schantieman
Date: 02 Oct 02 - 12:19 PM

Apparently President de Gaulle was speaking (in fractured English) at a dinner wher he expressed the wish that those present should " 'ave 'appiness all your life". I daresay those present agreed.

S

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: An Pluiméir Ceolmhar
Date: 09 Jan 03 - 06:32 AM

Belated thanks to Noreen for answering my supplementary question about the putative Mudcat-specificity of "Mondegreen". I took your advice and GOT BACK TO WORK, and lost sight of this thread. Now I'm Mudcatting again as a way of (not) coping with post-holiday stress disorder.

But I still have my doubts. Surely lady Mondegreen was a member of the Scottish branch of that well-known Italian musical family, the Monteverdis?

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jan 03 - 09:58 AM

Visit here and here for some nice discussion of mondegreens.

Dave the Gnome or others, I have a question. I am not Catholic, haven't spent any time to speak of in church, so the chuckle over "a monk swimming" goes totally over my head. What in fact is the origin of this "kids monegreen." DtG wrote "In the 'Hail Mary' - Blessed are thou, a monk swimming... " and this same one is reflected in the title of a memoir by Malachy McCourt.

SRS

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Jan 03 - 10:25 AM

Hail Mary full of grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou, amongst women...

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Noreen
Date: 09 Jan 03 - 10:32 AM

Blessed art thou amongst women
Is a phrase from the Hail Mary, SRS- you can have it all if you wish (though the Angelus responses are getting rusty for lack of usage).

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Noreen
Date: 09 Jan 03 - 10:40 AM

And hello again, Mr Plumber- don't let it get you down too much. You coming to Portaferry??? That would cheer you up....

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jan 03 - 10:40 AM

Ah! Thanks!

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: An Pluiméir Ceolmhar
Date: 09 Jan 03 - 10:59 AM

Can't make it to Portaferry, but hope you enjoy it. For a while I was fantasising about going via the Zeebru99e to Hull ferry but ...oops! another thread contaminated!

Stilly River Sage, you might appreciate another Dublin Catholic children's mondeveridianisation (?) of the Lourdes Hymn:

"An angel of Mercy ate [led] Bernadette's feet..."

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jan 03 - 11:35 AM

translation?

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: An Pluiméir Ceolmhar
Date: 09 Jan 03 - 11:46 AM

Just my mock-academic way of turning mondegreen into a verb, because among English-speakers on this side of the Atlantic the simple "verbing" of nouns is frowned upon.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: BUTTERFLY
Date: 13 Jan 03 - 08:33 AM

Nerd on 25.6.2002 more (see below) or less gave the full origin of Mondegreen. All I can usefully add is that it was someone called Sylvia Wright who thought up the term on mishearing the ballad "The Bonny Earl of Moray"; I think it may have been in the 1950s or 1960s. I suppose a Mondegreen is the musical equivalent of a malapropism (after Mrs. Malaprop). There are 1 or 2 websites devoted to Mondegreens. What surprises me is that the word does not seem to be in general use yet. I wonder if it ever came up in "Call My Bluff"?

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,Nerd - PM
Date: 25 Jun 02 - 03:26 PM

The full line comes from the ballad "The Bonny Earl O' Moray," which laments:
They have slain the Earl O' Moray And laid him on the green.

This was misheard as

The have slain the Earl O' Moray and Lady Mondegreen

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: banjomad (inactive)
Date: 13 Jan 03 - 08:58 AM

who invented the word ' mondegreen ' I can't find it in any dictionary.
What does it meen?
Stupid Dave

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: An Pluiméir Ceolmhar
Date: 13 Jan 03 - 09:29 AM

Regarding Mrs Malaprop's etymology, "mal à propos" is Frog for inappropriate, out of place.



Banjomad,


Read the posts from 25 June 2002 again more carefully.

If you want more detail on the coining of the word, follow the blue clickies in Stilly River Sage's post of 9 Jan 9.58.

It's all much more fun than ranting on about Bush and Thactcher, even though I do a lot of that myself.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: banjomad (inactive)
Date: 13 Jan 03 - 02:53 PM

thanks y'all I really had a good laugh, cheered me up after loosing my cool about Mrs fecking Thatcher
Cheers Dave

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: banjomad (inactive)
Date: 13 Jan 03 - 03:21 PM

A dear friend of mine always misheard that great song ' The Blaydon Races ' the Bleedin Races '
And Two old ladies going into the working mens club one night,
1st old lady to doorman, " who's on tonight "
Doorman " it's some country and western "
2nd old lady " what did he say "
1st old lady " he says it's some c*** from Preston.
Cheers Dave

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,Frank Hamilton
Date: 13 Jan 03 - 03:41 PM

"Round John Virgin" from Silent Night, "One Ton Tomato, Guajira"
from Guantanamera.............kids and Mondegreens go together.

Then Stephen Sondheim wrote a song from a sci-fi version of "Night Music" called "Send in the Clones."

Frank

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Haruo
Date: 13 Jan 03 - 10:51 PM

Genie says (a few months back but I just saw it) that "Glory be to the Father and to the Son and down the hole he goes!" is not a mondegreen. Looks like one to me. Why not, Genie? ("down" for "to" may be a bit of a stretch, but no more than many other celebrated mondegreens) Or perhaps your Unitarianism hasn't provided enough exposure to the Gloria Patri to recognize the text? It is, after all, about as Trinitarian a text as you'll meet, and the spectral wording ("Ghost" for the more au courant "Spirit") is still current in many churches. Especially since changing it destroys the meter.

Haruo

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Genie
Date: 16 Jan 03 - 02:39 AM

Actually, Haruo, I stand corrected. I didn't process your quote fully.   I just saw (heard) it as a kid saying something silly and didn't recognize "... the hole he goes..." as a mondegreen of "...the holy ghost," which it, of course, is.

Genie

PS, I'm a Baptist Minister's daughter, not a life-long Unitarian, so I'm quite familar with the Trinity.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 16 Jan 03 - 08:30 AM

As I mentioned in another thread, The campfire song "You can't put your muck in our dustbin" sounds as if its title line may be an extended Mondegreen of the normal words for the tune by which it's sung: "Ach du lieber Augustin"

Nigel

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Genie
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 01:36 PM

Mondegreen spawned by a downeaster accent:

transcription of Kendall Morse singing "Gently Down The Stream Of Time"

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Ebbie
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 02:17 PM

Genie, how funny! The hilarious thing is that I was giggling over the possibility that some might think it was 'fawns', as in Bambi. Never occurred to me that I was mishearing it. 'Fauns' kind of fit the mystical nature of the streams of time metaphor.

Thanks, Genie. (Sorry, Kendall!)

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Joe_F
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 07:14 PM

I am told that someone once asked for Edith Piaf's song about the pink airplane (l'avion rose).

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Genie
Date: 04 Mar 03 - 09:31 PM

LOL, Joe!

Yeah, Ebbie, I bought into the "fauns" idea at first, too, surreal as it seemed. Then when I finally heard it as "fawms" ("forms"), it made more sense!

Genie

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: TIA
Date: 05 Mar 03 - 07:54 AM

The New England accent does wonders...saw a megaplex movie marquee in Rhode Island in the 80's advertising:

"Star Trek III, The Search for Spark"

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 25 Mar 03 - 05:49 AM

Sorry messed up that link, try here.

Do any Joeclones want to sort out the first one and lose this posting for me ?

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Gurney
Date: 25 Mar 03 - 06:09 AM

In Scotland, I found, the clan Wishart are not very fond of the first line of the Lord's Prayer, but it gives them confidence....

Sorry, think Protestant, not Catholic.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Apr 03 - 11:36 AM

last night at an andy m. stewart concert he sang wi' gallant murray in the first half of the show....well during the break a couple of women were talking to him...asking why the soldiers in the song put a white rose in their bottom...he went huh? what song is this? you know the one where they put a white rose in the bottom...why did they? he went on to say that a white rose was a symbol of the jacobites...but still he was clueless on what they were on about..then it dawned...he said oh it's not bottom...it's BON-NET...the poor ladies started cracking up more...and they said they were picturing a bunch of kilted lads bending over to show white roses sticking out of they're butts waving in the wind...

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,Catfish's moustache.
Date: 12 Apr 03 - 12:47 PM

There is a book called "'Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy" which is filled with popular song lyrics which have been Mondegreened (?).

The children's author / illustrater Robert McClosky, in one of his best stories about Homer Price, has a character who is the romantic desire of two of the men of Centerburg. Her name is the ambiguous Miss Terwilliger. (I would reccomend Homer Price as an enjoyable read for any Mudcatters, regardless of their age.)

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Jun 03 - 06:21 PM

what about " i boldy steped up to her and gave her ass a prize" ??

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,Dave Hollowood
Date: 25 Jun 03 - 11:28 AM

Funny I've always regarded The Lord's Prayer as a rather "personal" benediction.

Our Father, Who art in Heaven,
Hollowood be thy name.

It's always given me comfort {LoL}

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: JennyO
Date: 25 Jun 03 - 11:32 AM

Actually, it's

Our Father, Who art in Heaven,
Harold be thy name.

(after my uncle Harold, of course)

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,Dave H
Date: 25 Jun 03 - 03:34 PM

Funny, that's what my friend Harold said too. I told him to clean his ears out.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: the lemonade lady
Date: 02 Jul 03 - 06:19 AM

My daughter was singing 'Miss Miller, NO, I will not let you go...' for (I think these are the words) 'Bish Millah, no, I will not let you go...' Bo Rapsody Heman or maybe I'm confussled too!

Sal

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: An Pluiméir Ceolmhar
Date: 02 Jul 03 - 07:21 AM

b'ism'Illah (my attempted transcription), more commonly spelt bismillah = "in the name of God".

Religion is a rich source of mondeverdure. Did anyone mention the pre-Vatican II Confiteor used in the Latin Mass? Every Irish altarboy converted "mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa" into "I'm a cowboy, I'm a cowboy, I'm a Mexican cowboy".   

The switch to Mass in English gave us the more blasphemous "This is Mi-Wadi" (a foul concoction of sugar, artificial flavours and colouring agents of a broadly orange disposition) for the consecration.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Schantieman
Date: 02 Jul 03 - 09:07 AM

And then there's the carol we sing in our school choir every Christmas which refers to 'highly flavoured gravy' for 'highly favoured lady'.

Gloria.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,BDog
Date: 03 Jul 03 - 08:59 AM

From Sammy's Bar:-

And my real love, she was there
There was sandal in her hair.

Brian

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Snuffy
Date: 03 Jul 03 - 09:35 AM

From Sailor's Prayer

With Judy Lee all on my knee
And in my ear a lion ...

Oh Lord above, send down a dove
With beakers sharp as razors ....

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,Mr Happy
Date: 10 Feb 05 - 02:34 PM

a guy at the sessh last nite sang 'me & u & a dog name boo'

there was a line: 'another tank of gas & i'm back on the road again'

i could clearly hear an audience member singing along 'another attack of gas & i'm back on the road again'

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Cool Beans
Date: 10 Feb 05 - 03:24 PM

My daughters were very impressed with the accomplishments of Davy Crockett who "built him a bar when he was only 3."
That's what I get for livin' in the suburbs.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Feb 05 - 06:31 AM

At last, the answer to the question, what is God's full name? Answer: Aled Wishart.

Our father Wishart in Heaven
Aled be thy name

Presumably God is half Scotch and half Welsh

The Scots, who keep the Sabbath and everything else they can lay their hands on
The Welsh, who pray on their knees and their neighbours

Or possibly Harold Wishart

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Linda Goodman Zebooker
Date: 11 Feb 05 - 07:56 AM

I remember reading many years ago about a child reciting The Lord's Prayer, "and forgive them their trashbaskets..."

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Linda Goodman Zebooker
Date: 11 Feb 05 - 08:01 AM

As a kid I always heard the last line of "He's a Jolly Good Fellow" as, "Which nobody candy nigh" and I wondered WHY can't they have candy now?   (Nobody can deny)

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,Bill the Collie
Date: 11 Feb 05 - 08:32 AM

And lead us not into Temple Meads Station

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,Bill the Collie
Date: 11 Feb 05 - 08:34 AM

Last line of jolly good fellow:

"And so say all a fuss"

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Snuffy
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 07:13 AM

And her hairy tongue over her shoulder
Tied up in a black velvet band

Sing choirs of angels, sing in Exhall station

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 07:26 AM

Shouldn't the last one have been submitted by Bill the Collie?

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,Bob Coltman
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 09:59 AM

Sylvia Wright was the daughter of Austin Tappan Wright, who wrote Islandia. "The Death of Lady Mondegreen" first appeared in an article in the New Yorker around 1951?. Later it was collected in her book Get Away From Me With Those Christmas Gifts, which should be available on Abe if you want to read a whoppin' funny article.

I don't have the book any more, but I still recall one of the other mondegreens:

Round John Virgin, who appears in Silent Night right next to the mother and child.
The Donzerly Light, from the second line of the National Ant Theme, illuminating all those flags, rockets, bombs and all those other bits of ordnance we Americans can't wean ourselves off.

And I don't know if anybody mentioned it yet, but my mother used to love an early animal friend, Gladly, the Crosseyed Bear. She also remembered one of the old Spoonerisms: I am not as drunk as some thinkle may peep, which also appears in other variants. Ours was a punning family, we lived by this stuff. Maybe that's why my mind is so unhinged today.

I'll have to google that mondegreen site. Yes, as someone said earlier, Lady Mondegreen didn't die alongside of Earl Amoray. She was just very, very sick.

Bob

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Celtaddict
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 01:54 PM

During a recent shantysing with Liam Clancy and the Makem Brothers, in Stan Rogers' "Barrett's Privateers" a man near me (in blonde braids) clearly sang "I was told we'd screw the cheese for American gold . . ."
I did not mis-hear, he mis-spoke, but I suspect neither of us will hear the song correctly for some time.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 08:46 PM

What's her name?

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,Bob Coltman
Date: 16 Mar 05 - 06:38 PM

Happy to correct my earlier entry...Sylvia Wright's "The Death of Lady Mondegreen" appeared in Harper's Magazine in 1954. It convulsed our house and touched off a gonzo correspondence between my mother and my aunt that lasted six months before they ran out of gas.

I've remembered one more of Sylvia Wright's originals:
"Haffely, gaffely, gaffely, gonward," the opening line of Charge of the Light Brigade.   (It was a heavy brigade when Sylvia got through with it.)

The related but separate category of Spoonerisms ought to be easier to research. One I remember supposed to be by the originator, Rev. Spooner (legend says he couldn't help it...dysverbia?) was "Kinquering congs their tatles tike."

I did a search trying to see if there was any e-text version of "The Death of Lady Mondegreen" on the web. The article's sideslittingly written (Okay, I'll let that typo stand.) and well worth reading.

The best existing Mondegreen site on the web seems to be:

http://www.sfgate.com/columnists/carroll/mondegreens.shtml

It has some of Sylvia's original mondegreens and a whole bunch more others have thought up since.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Mr Red
Date: 16 Mar 05 - 06:48 PM

http://www.sfgate.com/columnists/carroll/mondegreens.shtml

I wonder if they have the Wurlitzer song?

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Leadfingers
Date: 16 Mar 05 - 07:04 PM

Mr Red - Consider your wrist slapped for that one !!

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,Mingulay at work
Date: 17 Mar 05 - 03:50 AM

"I'd like to teach the world to sing and furny shit with love"

Sung by the child chorus of the Stamford Pantomime in the early 70's.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Dave Earl
Date: 17 Mar 05 - 05:53 AM

Is it or isn't it?

From the song Glorious Ale

"Some folks likes radishes, some cur like (curly) kale"

Dave Earl

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: BanjoRay
Date: 17 Mar 05 - 08:22 PM

Oh let the prairie echo....
God Bless the Prince of Walesssss!!!
(with gusto)
Ray

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,Snuffy
Date: 18 Mar 05 - 10:45 AM

Is that the Canadian version, Ray?

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Declan
Date: 24 Mar 07 - 08:41 AM

I heard someone last year singing "Fair thee well sweet amber Liffey" in Dublin in the rare aul' times. While the Liffey can sometimes be quite colourful, the correct line is "Fair thee well sweet Anna Liffey".

There have been a couple of great monedgreens in current threads. The Ride on thread was originally started by someone looking for an Irish song about a horse called "Sea Dew" - Ride on Sea Dew, I could never go with you no matter how I wanted to.

In the "When I was a cowboy" thread Leadbellies "Oh de hardes' battle" became Odi, Hart and Spanner - the names of three cowboy heroes.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: SouthernCelt
Date: 25 Mar 07 - 08:35 AM

>>From Guest, Bob Coltman: "...rockets, bombs and all those other bits of ordnance we Americans can't wean ourselves off."
I believe you'll find that this ordnance was being fired by the British against American fortifications in America. Besides, what's wrong with spending a little quality time with a something like a World War II .30 cal air-cooled machine gun to thank it for its service?
SC

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 07 Jul 08 - 12:26 PM

I see in today's Chicago Tribune that the word "mondegreen" has been accepted into the latest edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Truly, this is a significant step forward for the world of folk music, to have such an important concept accepted into the dictionary.

By the way, Wikipedia has quite an article on Mondegreens. Merriam-Webster even has a Website for collecting Mondegreens. They'll reveal their favorites July 25.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: GUEST,lefthanded guitar
Date: 07 Jul 08 - 01:38 PM

Appropriate for this past weekend is:

My country is a tree. Sweet land of liberty...

******************************

And my own personal one,
that probably only folks from Lawn Guyland will get is:

We danced all night at
Roosevelt Field

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Tootler
Date: 07 Jul 08 - 05:16 PM

When I was in the scouts we used to sing (To the tune of Frere Jacques)

Life is butter,
Life is butter,
Melon cauliflower,
Melon cauliflower
Life is butter melon,
Life is butter melon,
Cauliflower,
Cauliflower.

And a personal one

"Fiddler's green is a place I've heard tell
Where fishermen go if they don't go to Hull."

Geoff

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Lord Batman's Kitchener
Date: 07 Jul 08 - 05:19 PM

José can you see by the dawn's early light

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 07 Jul 08 - 09:44 PM

Lead On, Thou Kinky Turtle (King Eternal). And don't forget the fat guy...Round John Virgin

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: Joe_F
Date: 07 Jul 08 - 09:44 PM

I gather that children in various northeastern cities have innocently prayed

Lead us not into Penn Station

but some naughty ones have improved that to

Lead a snot into Penn Station.

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: iancarterb
Date: 08 Jul 08 - 01:04 AM

So does "Gladly, the Cross-eyed Bear" qualify as a mondegreen? It is, after all, the identical sound to the line in the hymn...

Subject: RE: mondegreen ?
From: evansakes
Date: 08 Jul 08 - 04:23 AM

Someone was asking above about the 80's Maxell advert featuring Desmond Dekker's 'Me Israelite'.

Mondegreens a-plenty (and VERY funny)

"Me ears are alight"

There was another similar one featuring the Skids' 'Into The Valley'...not so successful because the original lyrics made even less sense than the Mondegreen version