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OT: Mangled Songs
Jul. 12th, 2008 02:13 pmOn someone else's blog the other day, readers were asked to post their favorite misheard lyrics, popularly known as "mondegreens." The term came from a writer who claimed that as a kid a Scottish ballad she heard went, "Oh they slew the Earl of Warren and Lady Mondegreen" instead of "laid him on the green." There are songs infamous for its mondegreens, such the line in Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" that goes "'scuse me while I kiss the sky" but many people thought was, "'scuse me while I kiss this guy." Or Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising" with "there's the bathroom on the right" instead of "there's a bad moon on the rise." (Another popular CCR mondegreen is "who'll stop Lorraine" instead of "who'll stop the rain.") Then there's "Blinded By The Light": a lot of people, including me, thought the song went "wrapped up like a douche." Or Elton John's "Tiny Dancer": "Hold me closer, Tony Danza/Count the headlice on the highway." There are entire websites devoted to mondegreens including amiright.com and kissthisguy.com.
The reasons why these things happen? One is good old-fashioned bad enunciation. For example, there's a song from a few years ago called "Bandages" by Hot Hot Heat but instead of "bandages" in the refrain, it sounds like the dude is singing "blame the Jews." I did a double-take the first time I heard it. Another reason is the production on the song can obscure the singing or distort it. And yet another reason is, like Jimi Hendrix, when you put certain words together it can sound totally different from what you intended. Little kids mishear lyrics all of the time. My brother used to think "Hopelessly Devoted To You" was "nosafairyfoted to you." Every child once thought Harold the Angel sang "hark" around Christmas time. But the biggest reason of them all? Most of us believe the lyrics to most pop and rock songs do not make any sense anyway.
When I was a kid, I thought when Kim Carnes sang "all the boys think she's a spy" in "Bette Davis Eyes," I thought she was singing, "all the boys think she's a spaz." As a teen, it took a while before I realized Depeche Mode's "Master and Servant" wasn't "it's a long, long life" but "it's a lot like life." It took even longer before I figured out what the song was really about :0. But it's the ones I've seen other people post about that really crack me up. Here are my favorites:
"Gingivitis, dance on air" instead of "Ginger Rogers, dance on air"--Madonna, "Vogue"
"I just can't get it up" instead of "I just can't get enough"--Depeche Mode, "Just Can't Get Enough"
"J Lo, what's she yellin' for" instead of "Chill out, what you're yellin' for?"--Avril Lavigne, "Complicated"
"I scream my balls off, no matter whose fault, I gotta scream my balls off" instead of "I screen my phone calls, no matter who calls, I gotta screen my phone calls"--No Doubt, "Spiderwebs"
Then there's one I just saw on kissthisguy.com, "Gonna have to face it, you're a d*ck with a glove" instead of "you're addicted to love."
Watch this…I was laughing so hard at work, tears were streaming out of my eyes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4_MsrsKzMM
The reasons why these things happen? One is good old-fashioned bad enunciation. For example, there's a song from a few years ago called "Bandages" by Hot Hot Heat but instead of "bandages" in the refrain, it sounds like the dude is singing "blame the Jews." I did a double-take the first time I heard it. Another reason is the production on the song can obscure the singing or distort it. And yet another reason is, like Jimi Hendrix, when you put certain words together it can sound totally different from what you intended. Little kids mishear lyrics all of the time. My brother used to think "Hopelessly Devoted To You" was "nosafairyfoted to you." Every child once thought Harold the Angel sang "hark" around Christmas time. But the biggest reason of them all? Most of us believe the lyrics to most pop and rock songs do not make any sense anyway.
When I was a kid, I thought when Kim Carnes sang "all the boys think she's a spy" in "Bette Davis Eyes," I thought she was singing, "all the boys think she's a spaz." As a teen, it took a while before I realized Depeche Mode's "Master and Servant" wasn't "it's a long, long life" but "it's a lot like life." It took even longer before I figured out what the song was really about :0. But it's the ones I've seen other people post about that really crack me up. Here are my favorites:
"Gingivitis, dance on air" instead of "Ginger Rogers, dance on air"--Madonna, "Vogue"
"I just can't get it up" instead of "I just can't get enough"--Depeche Mode, "Just Can't Get Enough"
"J Lo, what's she yellin' for" instead of "Chill out, what you're yellin' for?"--Avril Lavigne, "Complicated"
"I scream my balls off, no matter whose fault, I gotta scream my balls off" instead of "I screen my phone calls, no matter who calls, I gotta screen my phone calls"--No Doubt, "Spiderwebs"
Then there's one I just saw on kissthisguy.com, "Gonna have to face it, you're a d*ck with a glove" instead of "you're addicted to love."
Watch this…I was laughing so hard at work, tears were streaming out of my eyes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4_MsrsKzMM
