Do you ever wonder if the lyrics you are happily singing are correct?

Do you often sing lyrics even though you are sure they couldn’t possibly be correct due to their extreme absurdity?

If so, then you may be suffering from mondegreen. I learned all about it from Pfitz over at Coffee Klatch. You must read his post. Amusing.

Here’s a couple of examples of my own mondegreen-isty. (Not sure is mondegreen is a verb or a noun.)

Sing along to Depeche Mode’s ‘Enjoy The Silence’:

Vows are spoken
To be broken
Feelings are intense
Words are trivial
Pleasures remain
Soldiers burping (ALERT! Not the actual lyrics!!! Mondegreen in progress ALERT!)*
Words are meaningless
And forgettable

I sang it as ’soldiers the pain’ but eons ago Heather told me she sang it as ’soldiers burping’. That’s obviously wrong and I told her so. Yet, here I am all those years later singing it her way. I can’t help it. I hate her. NB – I would like to point out that I did get all but one line of the stanza correct so I should get props for that.

And who can forget Underworld’s ‘mmmm…skyscraper I love you’:

way up in my big black plane (ALERT! Not the actual lyrics!!! Mondegreen in progress ALERT!)*
my total pig disorientate her
way up in my big black plane
my ninja power
my number cruncher

I always thought this was an odd song about the Cold War, spy planes and the whole Russia vs. America. Turns out I was not entirely correct. After reading many interviews I know that Karl Hyde just makes up crap to fit the beat that Rick Smith creates. That’s why none of their songs really make any sense. Karl calls it ’stream of consciousness’. I call ‘intoxication’. No one can put pornfest porkfat jesus christ and elvis in the same song while sober. Just doesn’t happen.

So what are your mondegreens?

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Real Lyrics

UW = will you be my big plaything, my total big disorientator, will you be my big plaything, my ninja power, my number cruncher