Hello, dear readers!
I’ve been writing articles here for a few years, and sometimes I can’t quite remember what we’ve covered before. I do know I’ve written several Editor’s Corner articles on mondegreens, but it’s been a while. In case you don’t remember, mondegreens are misheard song lyrics. For an extended description, see the Wikipedia article here.
As my husband and I drove out to the desert a few weeks ago, we discussed our favorite mondegreens. They amuse me so much that I think it’s time for more. I apologize if any of these are repeats. These are from two different lists I found while looking for some more modern examples (but a lot of them are still on the old classics list). (Stacker and Hollywoodreporter.com)
| Artist or Group | Song | Original Words | Misheard Words |
| Taylor Swift | Blank Space | Got a long list of ex-lovers | All the lonely Starbucks lovers |
| The Police | Message in a Bottle | A year has passed since I wrote my note | A year has passed since I broke my nose |
| TLC | Waterfalls | Don’t go chasing waterfalls | Don’t go Jason Waterfalls [KC – A whole series of sites and tweets responded to this imaginary “Jason Waterfalls” character.] |
| The Monkees
[KC – I think I’ve reported this, but it makes me laugh each time I read it.] |
I’m a Believer | Then I saw her face, now I’m a believer | Then I saw her face, now I’m gonna leave her |
| Billy Joel | We Didn’t Start the Fire | We didn’t start the fire, it was always burning, since the world’s been turning | We didn’t start the fire, it was always burning, said the worst attorney |
| Iron Butterfly | ‘In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (In the Garden of Eden) | In-a-gadda-da-vida, honey | In a glob of Velveeta, honey |
| Adele | Chasing Pavements | Or should I just keep chasing pavements | Or should I just keep chasing penguins |
| Beyonce | Single Ladies | Got gloss on my lips, a man on my hips, hold me tighter than my Dereon jeans | Got gloss on my lips, a man on my hips, hold me tighter than my very own jeans |
| Will Smith | Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It | Gettin’ jiggy wit it | Kick a chicken with it |
| CeeLo Green | Forget You | I guess he’s an Xbox, and I’m more Atari | I guess he’s an expert, and I’m more an attorney |
| Lorde | Royals | You can call me queen bee | You can call me green bean |
| Abba | Chiquitita | Chiquitita, tell me what’s wrong | Take your teeth out, tell me what’s wrong |
| Far East Movement | Like a G6 | Now I’m feelin’ so fly like a G6 | Now I’m feelin’ so fly like a cheese stick |
I hope you found these funny, or at least amusing. If not, I attached a link to a five-minute Beyonce video, where she has some help with backup dancers at Saturday Night Live.
Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory
Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com
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