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| So this old world must still be spinning 'round ... |
But what I really want to say is I'm still on a thought-train about hearing (see yesterday's post on My own personal soundtrack, which links to the previous day's post about peace-full music). Because even though I usually have the musical part of my personal soundtrack down pretty well, I'm pretty shaky when it comes to the lyrics. Which leads me to mondegreens ... the auditory equivalent of DYAC (which I like, strangely enough ... because I'm usually not big on four-letter words, but somehow find their unintentional use hilarious ... I'm sure therapy is in order here).
Side note: I have been asked repeatedly not to read Damn You Auto Correct in Don's presence since he finds my spontaneous bursts of laughter a tad bit disconcerting ... so of course, now I'm reading the DYAC link and Don is saying, "What are you reading?" to which I reply, tears in my eyes, "Damn You Auto Cucumber."
Ah well, you had to be there ...
Anyway, back to mondegreens, which are misheard or misinterpreted words and phrases ... that is to say, a large part of my life. The classic example (in addition to the many good ones in the Wikipedia article link above) is my memory of saying the Lord's Prayer in Sunday School at St. Andrew's in Williston Park, earnestly praying to "deliver us from eagles." The more mundane examples pertain to my misunderstanding normal everyday speech, substituting what I expect to hear for the speaker's intention ... which can make for some very puzzled looks. Add to that my all-too-frequent question to Don, "What did you say?" to which he usually responds, "I was singing."
Yes, well ... as I said, that's my life.
Are you smiling to yourself? Do you have one better? Please comment and share your favorite mondegreen(s) below, because I love to laugh.
... da da da dum ... da da da dum ... the opening bar of Beethoven's Fifth ... time to change my hearing aid batteries.
love the concept, mondegreens. LOVE it
ReplyDeleteWord play ... always makes me smile
Deletemondegreen... that old Bruce Springsteen song "Blinded by the Light"
ReplyDeleteHad the devil's own time trying to get the lyrics written out for a friend back in the 70's...
that line "revved up like a deuce" ... really did sound like "wrapped up like a douche!" had no idea what he was singing & reading online just now I always thought he was covering Manfred Mann, not the other way around!
oxymorons are another word game I enjoy playing with
Springsteen ... oh my my. Have you seen him in concert? It's a life-list experience.
DeleteOur Christmas present to our girls in 2002 was tickets to the Rising Tour concert in Richmond, VA ... they were 18 and 21 at the time and I think their opinion of us went up a notch that night. Of course they had heard us play his music over the years, but there is absolutely nothing like seeing him bring a whole arena to its feet and keep them there.
Don actually got to see him at a small venue in 1975, buying tickets at the door ... while I was on a Greyhound bus traveling all night from New York to Virginia (but that's another story). Odds are Blinded by the Light made the set list since Springsteen only had two albums out at the time.