Mondegreens

Here's a multiple choice question for you:

What is a mondegreen?

A. Part of a golf course

B. A kind of insect

C. The mishearing of a phrase

I've included this picture not only for your viewing pleasure, but also to keep you from seeing the answer as you contemplate. You are contemplating...aren't you?

The answer is C. Answers.com defines a mondegreen as "A series of words that result from the mishearing or misinterpretation of a statement or song lyric. For example, I led the pigeons to the flag for I pledge allegiance to the flag."

Do you remember this commercial from...when...2006? It's the perfect example of a mondegreen, mistaking the Clash's "Rock the Casbah."

Following are some other common mondegreens.



"There's a bathroom on the right." for "There's a bad moon on the rise." Bad Moon Rising, Creedence Clearwater Revival

"Dead ants are my friends; they're blowin' in the wind." for "The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind." Blowin' In The Wind, Bob Dylan

"The girl with colitis goes by." for "The girl with kaleidoscope eyes." Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, The Beatles


"Sleep in heavenly peas." for "Sleep in heavenly peace." Silent Night, Christmas carol

"I got no towel, I hung it up again." for "I get knocked down, but I get up again." Tubthumping, Chumbawumba


"She's got a chicken to ride." for "She's got a ticket to ride." Ticket to Ride, The Beatles

"Sunday monkey won't play piano song, play piano song." for "Sont des mots qui vont tres bien ensemble; tres bien ensemble." Michelle, The Beatles

"Baking carrot biscuits." for "Taking care of business." Takin' Care Of Business, Bachman-Turner Overdrive

"Donuts make my brown eyes blue." for "Don't it make my brown eyes blue." Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue, Crystal Gale

Frankly, some of them amaze me. Who the heck thought CCR was singing about bathrooms??? I grew up reading Blowin' in the Wind piano music from a collection bound in a big, green Reader's Digest piano book, so "dead ants?" Come on. Finally, Tubthumping's song is one of my all-time favorites, so that one especially cracked me up.

We have our own Mondegreen in the Solomon house, courtesy of Hannah. After watching The Sound of Music approximately 3,427 times, she has figured out the words to So Long, Farewell. Following are the correct lyrics, with the confusing German words in italics:

So long
Farewell
Aufwiedersehn
Goodnight

Hannah, being unfamiliar with German (shocking, huh?), has figured it out:

So long
Farewell
The people say
Goodbye...

...Goodbye.