Have you ever been singing along to one of your favourite records, when all of a sudden, the lyrics you have come to sing half a thousand times turn out to be complete gibberish? For many of us this is our first brush with the illusive creature known formally as the Mondegreen.

Noun
Plural noun: mondegreens
A misunderstood or misinterpreted word or phrase resulting from a mishearing of the lyrics of a song

Mondegreens come in many shapes and sizes, though for the most part they stem from a simple misinterpretation, most commonly in the case of accents, whether it’s the Mancunian tenor of Oasis or the Bajan tones of Rihanna. Mondegreens are difficult to explain if you’ve never encountered them before, so for clarity and your own sanity, here’s a list of the top five mondegreens in music history:

1)
Perhaps the most famous mondegreen in music history is contained in Jimmy Hendrix’s ‘All Along the Watchtower.’ The song is a cover of the Bob Dylan classic, written following Dylan’s recuperation after a motorcycle accident. The lyrics evoke a chapter in Dylan’s life where his spirituality came into contact with his growing family. The song is a didactic mix of storytelling and spirituality, which has absolutely nothing to do with homosexuality. So it’s surprising that the lyrics ‘Scuse me while I kiss the sky have been misheard to be ‘Scuse me while I kiss this guy.

2)
Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Bad Moon Rising’ is a story of sinister happenings, more of a warning to the listener that bad things are bound to happen to be out wandering at night. The song has nothing to do with incontinence or asking for the directions to the closest water closet, and yet, the lyrics there’s a bad moon rising, have been misinterpreted as there’s a bathroom on the right. Creedence frontman John Fogerty and Jimmy Hendrix have famously sung the mondegreens in the place of the actual lyrics.

3)
Controversy struck with the release of Black Sabbath’s ‘Paranoid’ which purported to contain the lyrics I tell you to end your life, I wish I could but it’s too late. This followed the controversy within the metal genre surrounding Judas Priest and other bands in the British scene. However the lyrics to Ozzy’s famous track where far more uplifting, I tell you to enjoy life; I wish I could but it’s too late. The mondegreen became so popular that it prompted Ozzy to state the actual lyrics in several interviews.

4)
Bryan Adam’s ‘Summer of 69’ is a song spanning Adam’s whirlwind summer in 1969, evoking a nostalgic feeling no matter your age. The song is uplifting and upbeat, and has nothing whatsoever to do with killing your parents, so it is surprising that a lot of people heard starin’ at my momma’s corpse, the summer’d seem to last forever, instead of the correct standing on my momma’s porch, the summer’d seem to last forever.

5)
The mondegreen which stands out the most in popular culture relates to Who’s the Boss star Tony Danza, and has become the topic of several sitcom moments. Elton John’s ‘Tiny Dancer’ became the source this mondegreen, most notable appearing in an episode of Friends where Phoebe mishears the chorus as, Hold me closer, Tony Danza.

Next time you’re listening to the radio or playing you favourite record, make sure to keep your ears open, because you might have been singing it wrong.

Tom Keane