"Mondegreens" - Commonly Misheard Song Lyrics

"Mondegreen" is a term for mishearing a phrase or lyric in such a way that the misheard version acquires a new meaning altogether. Newspaper columnists William Safire of The New York Times and Jon Carroll of the San Francisco Chronicle have frequently included mondegreens in their columns. Unlike other quotables, the best mondegreens usually originate from average people as opposed to celebrities.

William Safire

According to Safire, the term "mondegreen" came from a 1954 magazine article by Sylvia Wright who claimed that she had misheard a 17th century folk music lyric "and laid him on the green" as "and Lady Mondegreen."

Jon Carroll

Some of Jon Carroll's favorite mondegreens or misheard lyrics include "I've got sperms that jingle jangle jingle", "My body lies over the ocean", James Brown's "Say it loud, I've got a cow" (original lyric: "Say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud."), and Elton John's "Hold me closer, Tony Danza" (original lyric: "Hold me closer, tiny dancer.")

Jimi Hendrix

There's even a popular Internet site, "kissthisguy.com", which serves as a compendium of frequently misheard song lyrics, many of which are sent in from average people. The site itself is named after the Jimi Hendrix lyric "Excuse me while I kiss the sky" from his song, "Purple Haze." According to "kissthisguy.com", "Excuse me while I kiss this guy", is the best known of all misheard lyrics. From several accounts, Hendrix even once sang this misheard lyric to Otis Redding onstage, while throwing him kisses.

My Mother

My own mother once misheard the Wilson Pickett version of The Beatles' "Hey Jude." She thought that the lyric was "Hey Jew."

Madonna

Her "Like a Virgin" lyric "Like a virgin touched for the very first time" has been misheard as "Like a virgin touched for the thirty-first time."

Manfred Mann's Earth Band

Written and originally performed by Bruce Springsteen, Manfred Mann's "Blinded By the Light" lyric "revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night" is often misheard as "wrapped up like a douche, I knew their owner every night."

The Beatles