Spoonerisms in songs- Examples

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Gweltas
Date: 18 Mar 09 - 10:11 PM

The one that went down in our family folklore was when my late father was attempting to renew the electrical wiring(flex) for a light in our kitchen and found himself in need of a phillip's screwdriver, which we didn't have, so my late mother (a very prim and proper lady) dashed out to our neighbour's busy shop to ask if she could borrow the required article, which the neighbour duly produced and, being slightly curious, asked my mother why it was required --- my mother's breathless response, in the hearing of a shop full of customers, was "It's because my husband is putting sex in the feeling" (instead of "flex in the ceiling" !!) She was so profoundly embarrassed about it that she couldn't face back in there for about 6 months afterwards and obliged us kids to do all her shopping for her in the meantime.
I reckon that it runs in the family as I have frequently been guilty of getting my wucking murds fuddled, most recently when referring to the Falmouth Shanty Festival (in Cornwall) as the "Shalmouth Panty Festival" -- where I got the letter P from, when there is no P in the proper title, is a complete mystery. I am now terrified to refer to that festival as the wrong version just keeps wanting to come out and I have to think very carefully before mentioning it in polite conversation.

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Gweltas
Date: 18 Mar 09 - 09:39 PM

Ha Ha, Bill D,
I agree..........I will never again be able to think of "Big Rock Candy Mountain" in the same way ever again !!

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: bubblyrat
Date: 18 Mar 09 - 01:53 PM

Not to mention "Billing the Clues", " Your Heating-Chart",and the rather unsavoury "Seep on the Cunny Side" (Sorry ).

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: bubblyrat
Date: 18 Mar 09 - 01:47 PM

How about " Knocking on Devon's Whore " ??

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Bill D
Date: 18 Mar 09 - 12:12 PM

"mess up the Big Rock Candy Mountain...."

Oh, thanks a LOT! Now *I'm* thinking about it!

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: JohnB
Date: 18 Mar 09 - 10:42 AM

I had a freind who worked in a Travel agency, he asked this rather atractive lady one day "if she would like a fooking borm"
JohnB.

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: SINSULL
Date: 18 Mar 09 - 10:14 AM

Posted this before:
Upon first hearing the tune "Just Call Me Angel Of The Morning" I swore she sang "Just brush my teeth before you leave me, baby"

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Frank_Finn
Date: 18 Mar 09 - 06:39 AM

In the song The Green Fields of America there is a line

"So here's to you Bessie my one blue-eyed lassie"

I'm always afraid I will sing it as
".... my blue one-eyed lassie"

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: bubblyrat
Date: 18 Mar 09 - 05:48 AM

One of my favourite "out-takes" from the TV show "It'll Be Alright On The Night", is the BBC regional news-reader reporting on the mother who took her little daughter to play on the beach,and was later horrified to find her playing with a " Hypodeemic Nerdle".

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: pavane
Date: 18 Mar 09 - 05:16 AM

Likewise (mondegreen, not spoonerism) the lyrics of Carly Simon's "You're so vain" often have the phrase quoted "scarf which was Afric cut" - I am sure it should be Apricot. But the UK transcriber was probably not aware of US pronunciation. (Here we say "AYpricot" not AHpricot)

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Mavis Enderby
Date: 18 Mar 09 - 04:06 AM

One of these days I know I'm going to mess up the Big Rock Candy Mountain....

Pete

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 18 Mar 09 - 03:55 AM

The Bee Gees Song... 'Saved by the bell'... If you google a search for lyrics of this song you will likely come up with one that has the words "Now I walk down our great lane" which should be not OUR GREAT but HEARTBREAK ........ I have found those words on a few lyric sites so I reckon they copy them from each other.... one gets it wrong and they all do!
Best wishes, Mike.,

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 18 Mar 09 - 03:40 AM

Not a song but a recitation - Derby Ram (Keith Kendrick) performs the story of Robin Hood, including the wedding ceremony conducted by Friar Tuck.....

Kitty

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: GUEST,Salamander '72
Date: 18 Mar 09 - 12:45 AM

Kenny Roger's "Lucille" What was "...four hungry children and a crop in the field..." sounded to me like "...four hundred children and a crop..." For many years I wondered why he didn't round up the kids and make them pick the crop.

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: GUEST
Date: 05 May 04 - 07:58 AM

From The Downeaster Alexa:
"There's no f*ckin' swordfish in here"
(no luck in swordfishing here)

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 05 May 04 - 05:31 AM

Well there's always "The whore's-bed carol" !

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Joe_F
Date: 04 May 04 - 04:58 PM

The Saturday Evening Post used to have a regular column of spoonerisms. I recall from my childhood one entitled "How to Slow to Geep" that ended with the desperate suggestion "a moakress eethed in satter".

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: RWilhelm
Date: 04 May 04 - 01:23 AM

"I Get My Mirds Wixed Up"
Mic Conway's National Junk Band

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Joe_F
Date: 03 May 04 - 05:20 PM

The full text of the apocryphal scolding is: Young man, you have tasted this entire worm. You have hissed all my mystery lectures, and have been caught fighting a liar in the quad. You must leave Oxford by the town drain.

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: GUEST
Date: 03 May 04 - 11:00 AM

As far as I can remember, it was one Sylvia Wright who invented the Mondegreen, after hearing the line in "The Bonnie Earl of Moray".

They have slain the Earl of Moray
And laid him on the green

which she thought was:

They have slain the Earl of Moray
And Lady Mondegreen

There are or were at least a couple of websites about Mondegreens; sorry I don't know the URLs, but you could try looking up "Mondegreen" on the Internet.

Strictly speaking a Spoonerism is where the first bits of adjacent or nearby words get tranposed, as in "Drink a Toast to the Dear Old Queen (Queer Old Dean)". A book I have called "The Dictionary of Common Fallacies" seems to imply that "Spoonerisms were not a recurrent feature of the speech of Reverend William Spooner" though as it gives several examples of spoonerisms, it may be tongue in cheek (or should that be Chung in Teak?). Whether true or not, I very much doubt if he was the first person in the English (or other) language to get bits of words transposed.

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Charley Noble
Date: 03 May 04 - 10:26 AM

Mr. Red-

Another spoonerism verse for "Martin Said to His Man" is this beauty:

I saw a butterfly flutter by,
Fie, man, fie;
I saw a butterfly flutter by,
Who's the fool now?
I saw a butterfly flutter by,
Saw a dragonfly drink a flagon dry!
I have well drunken and who's the fool now?

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Mr Happy
Date: 03 May 04 - 08:20 AM

I've a children's tape of Jon Pertwee singing 'The Runaway Train'

In one verse he sings 'the driver got an awful fright, it scared him so he i>turned haired white!<'

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: GUEST,Genie
Date: 10 Sep 01 - 03:31 AM

Ah, yes, Snosrap, I remember the address of the Queen as "the queer old dean." That's the one I was trying to recall.

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Nigel.Parsons
Date: 09 Sep 01 - 12:13 PM

Oft claimed examples from the Rev. Spooner also include his admonition to a student..."Sir, you have tasted two worms, and will leave by the town drain" And the loyal toast "Jadies and lentil men, glaze your asses to the queer old dean"

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Mr Red
Date: 09 Sep 01 - 06:45 AM

as a cyclist he also liked a "well boiled icicle"
I doubt he ever sang "Martin said to his Man" but many have including the verse
I'd rather have a full bottle in front of me which can be scanned if you are persistent
and the punchline? I think you are all ahead of me - except those with a full frontal lobotomy!

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: GUEST,Genie
Date: 09 Sep 01 - 05:07 AM

The Reverend Spooner also referred to his congregation once as, "ye tons of soil," instead of "sons of toil," and referred to himself as "the shoving leopard of his flock."

Genie

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Jenny H
Date: 08 Sep 01 - 03:52 PM

I've never been quite sure whether the line in 'New York Girls' that goes

I'll never court another girl, I'll stick to rum and beer

is itself a bowdlerising spoonerism, a cheeky (oh, dear, sorry, I didn't mean that) temptation to spoonerise, or wholly innocent; I find the last the least likely theory

Jenny H
///
:-)
\\\
ps the name 'mondegreen' is from The Bonny Earl of Moray not Lord Randall

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: GUEST,Phillip
Date: 08 Sep 01 - 11:52 AM

Old time country comedian Archie Campbell, late of Hee-Haw fame, had a couple of albums of "Tairy Fales". These were his twisted renditions of the classic stories with the added Spooner twists. Some of them have become classics, recited at country gatherings and cowboy poetry gatherings.

The best I can recall was the tale of Rindercella who slopped her dripper and eventually married the pransome hince!

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: John Kidder
Date: 08 Sep 01 - 01:58 AM

Spoonerisms are named after William Archibald Spooner, a clergyman, Warden of New College, Oxford from 1093 to 1924.

The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations cites "You will find as you grow older that the weight of rages will press harder and harder upon the employer", and "Her late husband, you know, a very sad death - eaten by missionaries, poor soul." My mother always said that Spooner was most famous for asking a congregation to sing "Kinquering Congs their Titles Take".

John Kidder

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 07 Sep 01 - 06:56 PM

For Dave the Gnome: Just had to mention that my brother wants to start a "hows about that club" and since you must remember Jimmy Saville, perhaps you'd like to join?! It gets a bit lonely saying hows about that guys and gals, all by your self! Lion (lej's wife)

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: weepiper
Date: 07 Sep 01 - 05:39 PM

When I was small I used to listen to - 'Sovay, Sovay, all on a day, she dressed herself in man's array' thinking 'manzaret' must be a colour or a kind of dress or something!

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Ditchdweller
Date: 07 Sep 01 - 02:40 PM

Did hear a recording of someone with the lines from "Everything is Beautiful":-

It don't matter about the colour of their hair,

Or the length of his skin!!!

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: GUEST,Jenn
Date: 07 Sep 01 - 10:51 AM

From Edgar Allen Poe's, "The Raven," (last stanza):

"And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door."

"...on the pallid busted phallus just above..."

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Dunc
Date: 07 Sep 01 - 07:22 AM

Not part of a song...But at a festival once, a traditional singer called Doris Rougvie once called a man bringing her a drink her "Shite in Nining Armour".

That same weekend I found myself refering to a passenger boat on the English Channel as a "Cross Flannel Cherry".

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Whippet
Date: 07 Sep 01 - 05:40 AM

I have a friend of mine who likes the odd spliff or two. When we were at Warwick Folk Festival a few years back his mother sat in the audience listening to someone singing 'Fiddler Green' she came up to us at the bar and said to her son 'Did that singer really sing 'Just tell me I'm shitfaced and taking a trip mate@ ? It really cracked us up !!

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: GUEST,Arjay
Date: 06 Sep 01 - 11:25 PM

When my little brother was a teenager, he and his buddies used to use deliberate spoonerisms to disguise "forbidden" words. E.g., they would say, "I need to pake a tiss," I have to crake a tap," etc. One time, though, they didn't think it through and the deliberate spoonerism came out "I have to shake a tit."

This particular one was said to my brother's buddy's very prim and proper mother, who was not amused.

Arjay

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: lady penelope
Date: 06 Sep 01 - 04:40 PM

Jasper Carrot recorded Bastity Chelt, it's on record somewhere......

TTFN M'Lady P.

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: KingBrilliant
Date: 06 Sep 01 - 10:13 AM

Not a song, but....
During a driving lesson some years ago I was trying to use the classic 'I keep getting my mucking ferds wuddled' line - but accidentally said ..... the unmuddled version. I had to stop driving for a while and tears of laughter were pouring down my face. The driving instructor was completely nonplussed - it took some explaining I can tell you!

Kris

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Fin
Date: 06 Sep 01 - 10:08 AM

Micca, "The pheasant plucker" it makes me all twitter and bisted that I still can't get that one straight, even after forty years (or more.) Fin

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Deckman
Date: 06 Sep 01 - 09:23 AM

This thread reminds me of the time that my twist got all tongued up in my eyetooth and I couldn't see what I was saying!

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: GUEST,micca at work
Date: 06 Sep 01 - 07:20 AM

The one you definately (and it is difficult not to)Spoonerise, is Joan From Wigans " Pheasant plckers song"

example chorus
"I'm not a pheasent plucker, I'm pheasant pluckers son
I'm only plucking Pheasents 'til the pheasant plucker comes
try this at the speed Joan does the last chorus!!!!!

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: KingBrilliant
Date: 06 Sep 01 - 05:14 AM

Half a spoonerism - I keep singing the snow it melts the soonest when the wind begins to sing, the swallow swims without a care....

Kris

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: GUEST,Genie
Date: 06 Sep 01 - 03:11 AM

From time to time when I sing "Edelweiss," I end up singing, "...Blossom of snow may you groom and blow, groom and blow forever ... ."

Genie

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: fat B****rd
Date: 06 Sep 01 - 02:40 AM

Years ago I made a demo of Otis Redding's "Sweet Lorrine" which had her making me meep and woan. The demo didn't do us much good anyway.

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Trevor
Date: 04 Sep 01 - 09:40 AM

My twin daughters used to compete in pairs competitions on their ponies Foxy and Puck. How many commentators got it wrong? Laugh, we almost did.

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: GUEST,redhorse
Date: 04 Sep 01 - 08:27 AM

At a singaround a few years back, someone - I think it may have been Eileen Pratt - recounted how she has never been able to sing one particular song again since the line "she mounted on her swift steed" came out as"she mounted on her stiff Swede"

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: GUEST,Genie
Date: 03 Sep 01 - 11:51 PM

This is not quite a spoonerism, but it is a lyrical malaprop. I often sing "Hey, Good Lookin'" at retirement homes. Several years ago, after being well into the song and repeating a main line --"How's about cookin' somethin'up with me?" several times, I realized, to my combined horror and amusement, that I had been singing, "How's about keeping somethin' up for me?"

Having realized my mistake, I tried very hard to sing the line correctly, but for several weeks, if I did not concentrate-- if I let my mind go on 'auto-pilot' - I reverted to the (Freudian?) slip of the tongue.

I don't know if any of my senior clients noticed. If they did, they were too polite to point out my error.

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 25 Aug 01 - 05:49 PM

DtG, Allan Sherman did it this way:

God rest ye, Jerry Mendelbaum
Let nothing you dismay
This May you had a rotten month
So what is there to say?
Let's hope next May is better
And good things will come your way
And then you'll have a month without dismay
Next May

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: GUEST,DeadHorse
Date: 25 Aug 01 - 04:21 PM

A morris colleague was singing Black Velvet Band and had imbibed a few beers. He ended up doing "three years senile pervitude" and every time he has sung that song since, we always laugh when he gets to that bit, even tho he NEVER got it wrong again.

Subject: RE: Spoonerism's in songs- Examples
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 25 Aug 01 - 04:09 PM

Nah - the truer Spistmas Chroonerism - although not politicaly correct if you are either German or mentaly unstable is "God rest ye Gerry Mentlemen..."

Cheers

GtD