Lili Wilkinson

I love a good mondegreen.

For those who are not familiar with the term, it was invented by US writer Sylvia Wright, who had misheard a 17th century ballad. The final two lines of a verse were:

They hae slain the Earl Amurray,

And laid him on the green.

Sylvia thought it was

They hae slain the Earl Amurray,

And Lady Mondegreen.

Other famous mondegreens include Excuse me while I kiss this guy, and There’s a bathroom on the right.

My first mondegreen:

Tis the season to be Charley [jolly].

You can blame my Disney Christmas tape for that.

My most recent mondegreen:

Lips parted like a fraggle unfurled [a flag all unfurled]

From The Decemberists’ Summersong.

My favourite mondegreens:

Our land abounds in nature strips [nature's gifts]

-Australian National Anthem

Hold me closer Tony Danza [tiny dancer]

-Tiny Dancer, Elton John

You’d think that I could rustle up a little soft-shoe Dennis Quaid [gentle sway]

-I Don’t Feel Like Dancing, Scissorsisters

What are yours?

How awesome is English!?

The above is a grammatically correct sentence, using three meanings of the word ‘buffalo’: the bison, the place, and the verb, which means ‘to bully’.

So, it means: the buffalo from Buffalo who are bullied by other buffalo from Buffalo, also bully buffalo from Buffalo.

Getit? No? Here’s the Wikipedia article, which also provides a link to the article on “James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher“.