Mondegreens, anyone?

kenposurf · Post by **kenposurf** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 10:51 am

The classic one is in Louie Louie..I smelled the rose a in her hair..if you know what I mean, and I think you do.

sir_andrew_of_left_coast · Sat Aug 04, 2007 10:54 am

Here's an archive of 'em:

http://www.kissthisguy.com/

Or, you can buy the book:

http://www.amazon.com/Scuse-While-Kiss-This-Guy/dp/0671501283

jimk · Post by **jimk** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 1:08 pm

I thought of another one. It's easy to misunderstand RM in "Chimes of Freedom" singing

"Far between sundown's finish
And midnight's broken toe...."

JimK

35012 · Post by **35012** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 6:52 pm

In Helter Skelter I always heard the "Look Out, Cause here she comes" as "Look out, False Intercom," but that doesn't really count that much.
A famous one is in "I Want to Hold Your Hand," when Bob Z. interpreted the line "I Can't Hide" as "I Get High," prompting him to introduce the Beatles to pot.

mfb · Post by **mfb** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 7:37 pm

Yeah, but actually John sings "there's a bathroom on the right" live ... so would you call that "real life imitating a mondegreen"?

jimk · Post by **jimk** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 3:45 pm

I read that somewhere JF does sing "there's the bathroom on the right." Hilarious.

I used to have a friend who many years ago played in a bluegrass band. They'd do "Fox On The Run" and sometimes deliberately sing
"Wash my sox, (wash my sox, wash my sox...")

BTW, isn't that an old pop song from the early '60s? I'd heard that bluegrass bands picked it up from some top 40 type group and made a sort of bluegrass standard out of it.

JimK

mfb · Post by **mfb** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 5:17 pm

If it's the same one I'm thinking of, that would be "Fox On The Run" by Manfred Mann.

Starts off "She walked through the corn leading down to the river ...", etc.

wmthor · Post by **wmthor** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 2:56 am

On a related note, I remember that in the mid 60s, some family friends from Wisconsin were visiting us at our home in South Texas. The son, who was a couple of years older than I was, inquired as to where he buy some "pop". I was ready to direct him to someone I knew who sold "pot".

His folks didn't think that my misunderstanding of their son's accent was very funny. Besides, he could have bought some "sodas" around the corner.

wayang · Post by **wayang** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 3:22 am

Someone who sold pot in South Texas in the mid 60s? That's one of the most terrifying stories I've ever heard...

It occurs to me that this particular 'mondegreen' explains a lot of the confusion surrounding 'pop' culture...

wmthor · Post by **wmthor** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 3:50 am

This link will give you an idea just how far south I lived at the time.

http://www.google.com/maps?q=1900+E+Elizabeth+St,+Brownsville,+TX+78520,+USA&sa=X&oi=map&ct=title

johnallg · Post by **johnallg** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 5:15 pm

""She's got electric boobs, her mom has two" -that jerk guy"

I too heard the first part....

jimk · Post by **jimk** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 5:56 pm

Manuel: Yup, that's the one, all right.

They call carbonated soft drinks "sodas" in South Texas? I didn't know that. I thought that was an eastern thing. I grew up in western Oregon, where such beverages were universally called "pop." A soda was a concoction made in ice cream parlors using soda water, ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles, and a cherry on top, served in a very tall glass, with a straw and a long stemmed spoon.

JimK

fireglo · Post by **fireglo** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 6:36 pm

In the south, people use the word coke to mean soft drinks or pop. It doesn't matter if it is Pepsi Dr. Peper or whatever. Coke is a general term used for them all. Weird huh?

elysrand · Post by **elysrand** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 1:52 am

Funny you should say that. I was just fixin to go get me a coke in the next few minutes.

We also say "cocola" [coe-CO-luh] when we mean the real thing, not just any other brand of coke.

And of COURSE I am gonna pour a little bag of salted peanuts into the bottle! Might even get me a Barqs instead, ya'll...