DEFINITION: n. A misheard or misunderstood lyric, which gives the song a completely different meaning than originally intended. v. To misinterpret a song because you "hear" different words than the ones actually being sung.

Mondegreen

Created by: theodrixx

Pronunciation: Mawn-deh-green

Sentence: I discovered a mondegreen just the other day; I heard Jimi Hendrix's lyrics in Purple Haze, "excuse me while I kiss the sky" as being "excuse me while I kiss this guy."

Etymology: Named for an instance of this phenomenon during a reading of a poem, where in the line "and laid him on the green" was heard as "and Lady Mondegreen."

Points: 1613

Email this page to a friend