• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Chandler's Ford Today

  • Home
  • About
    • About Chandler’s Ford
    • Chandler’s Ford War Memorial Research
  • Blog
    • Blogging Tips
  • Map
  • Event
    • Upcoming Events
    • Thornden Hall Events
    • Messy Church at Chandler’s Ford Methodist Church
  • Community
    • Groups
    • Churches
    • Schools
    • GP Surgeries
    • Leisure
    • Library
    • Links
    • Travel
    • Charities
      • Eastleigh Basics Bank
      • Cat & Kitten Rescue in Chandler’s Ford
    • Fair Trade
      • Traidcraft stalls in Chandler’s Ford
    • Chandler’s Ford Parish Council
    • Members of Parliament
    • Newsletters by EBC
    • Winchester 2015 General Election
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Site Policies
  • Site Archive
    • Site Archive 2018
    • Site Archive 2017
    • Site Archive 2016
    • Site Archive 2015
You are here: Home / Information / Gladly, the Cross-eyed Bear and Other Mondegreens

Gladly, the Cross-eyed Bear and Other Mondegreens

June 26, 2018 By chippy minton 3 Comments

You probably know a few mondegreens, even if you didn’t know they had a name.  It’s when the words of a song or poem are misheard to give a different meaning.  The word comes from 17th-century ballad “The Bonnie Earl o’ Moray”:

Ye Highlands and ye Lowlands,

Oh, where hae ye been?

They hae slain the Earl o’ Moray,

And Lady Mondegreen

The final line should be “laid him on the green”

A fairly well-known example is the hymn “Glady, the cross-eyed bear”, or “Gladly the cross I’d bear” to give it its correct name.

Usually a mondegreen is just one word or phrase, but in the 1980s, Maxcell managed to fill a 30-second commercial with them:

 

Here are a few of my favourite mondegreens.  Despite knowing (usually) what the real words are, I still use my version when singing along to the radio. Each video clip should start a few seconds before the mondegreended (is that a word?) phrase.

First, we have Neil Diamond singing about The Reverend Blue Jeans:

 

This song by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton appears to be dedicated to Ireland’s Industry:

 

Next, we have The Foundations singing what I call “the xylophone song” because of the line “I’ll be a xylophone”:

 

In The Days of Pearly Spencer by David McWilliams I wonder who Shula was and what was so special about her feet:

 

For a long time, I thought this UB40 song started with “I’m a Prima Donna”

 

And I only found out a couple of years ago that Matthew Wilder wasn’t running “on church ground”

 

As a quick aside, that video makes me ask “what was going on in the 1980s?”

No matter how many times I hear this recent song by Calvin Harris (which is thankfully few), I always hear “don’t be afraid to catch fish”.

 

The real words are “catch feels” but I think my version makes more sense.  I’ve even made up a short scenario where you might indeed have cause to say those words.  Suppose you invite a friend on a fishing trip, but they are reluctant to come because of a food allergy.  You would say “it’s only a problem when you eat them; you don’t need to be afraid to catch fish”.

Another more recent song.  What is the Windsor Race being sung about here by Ward Thomas?

 

Listen to the start of this Queen song.  Freddie sings “Each morning I get off my toilet”:

 

A special mention for Kenny Rogers: not only is this the second of his songs to make the list, it’s also the only one with a double-mondegreen.  It tells the story of the father of many children, whose dilapidated footwear finally falls apart: “you found a fine time to leave me, loose heel.  Four hundred children …”

 

And finally, I’m sorry if I ruin this Lion King song for you, but have you ever noticed the chant of “Arsene Wenger” at the beginning?

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google
  • Email

Related posts:

Tags: music

About chippy minton

I've lived in Chandler's Ford and Eastleigh for most of my adult life, having recently returned after seven years in north-west Hampshire (though remaining a regular visitor to the area).

I work in IT, and my hobbies include bell ringing, walking and cycling. I volunteer with St John Ambulance and am also a self-confessed “born-again runner” having discovered parkrun in 2015.

I enjoy watching live theatre and music, and try to watch many of the shows that are performed in the Eastleigh area.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Allison Symes says

    June 26, 2018 at 8:21 pm

    Wonderful post, Chippy. Great fun.

    Not exactly a mondegreen but my favourite hymn story is of the last verse of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” which has the lines “Are we weak and heavy-laden, cumbered with a load of care?” Fine but the minister (as ever in these things an anonymous one!) stopped short when he led the inhabitants of the maternity ward in the community singing and suddenly realised what he was asking the ladies to sing along to!

    Reply
  2. Mike Sedgwick says

    June 27, 2018 at 10:51 am

    The name of God; not Allah, not Jehovah but Harold Wishart.
    Our Father Wishart in Heaven, Harold be thy name…

    A great post, Chippy. I did not know they had a name.

    Reply
  3. Ruby says

    July 3, 2018 at 10:37 pm

    When I was a child, I thought the theme tune to “The Wombles” was “Underground, overground, wombling free; the Wombles of Wimble and common are we”

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Search

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to Chandler's Ford Today blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Archives

Top Posts & Pages

999, 111, 101, 112? Emergency Numbers You Must Know
101 Things to Put into Room 101
How To Make An Orange Pomander
The Pomander: A Brief History
Santa’s Grotto at Brambridge Garden Centre with Eastleigh Lions
Home
Charles Baynham in Chandler's Ford
Upcoming Events
From Old To New: Furniture Upholstery And Restoration In Chandler's Ford
Trains

Categories

Tags

arts and crafts books Chandler's Ford Chandler's Ford Today Chandler’s Ford community charity Christianity Christmas church community crafts culture Eastleigh Eastleigh Borough Council education entertainment event family fundraising good neighbours Hiltingbury Hiltingbury Road history hobby how-to Hursley Road interview Joan Adelaide Goater local businesses local interest memory Methodist Church music nature news reading religion review social storytelling theatre travel viewpoint Winchester Road writing

Recent Comments

  • Doug Clews on Trains
  • Mike Sedgwick on Trains
  • Mike Standing on Review: Chandler’s Ford MDG Players: ‘Welcome to our village, please invade carefully’
  • Allison Symes on Review: Chandler’s Ford MDG Players: ‘Welcome to our village, please invade carefully’
  • Martin Damsk on Review: Chandler’s Ford MDG Players: ‘Welcome to our village, please invade carefully’
  • Rick Goater on Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal (Part 106)

Regular Writers and Contributors

Janet Williams Allison Symes Mike Sedgwick Rick Goater Doug Clews chippy minton Martin Napier Roger White Andy Vining Gopi Chandroth Nicola Slade Wellie Roger Clark Ray Fishman Hazel Bateman SO53 News

Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal by Joan Adelaide Goater

Forty Years in Chandler’s Ford – a Journal by Joan Adelaide Goater

Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s by Martin Napier

Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s by Martin Napier

My Memories of the War Years in Chandler’s Ford 1939 – 1945 by Doug Clews

My Memories of the War Years in Chandler’s Ford 1939 – 1945 by Doug Clews

Chandler’s Ford War Memorial Research by Margaret Doores

Chandler’s Ford War Memorial Research by Margaret Doores

History of Hiltonbury Farmhouse by Andy Vining

History of Hiltonbury Farmhouse by Andy Vining

My Family History in Chandler’s Ford and Hursley by Roger White

My Family History in Chandler’s Ford and Hursley by Roger White

Do You Remember The Hutments? By Nick John

Do You Remember The Hutments? By Nick John

Memory of Peter Green by Wendy Green

Memory of Peter Green by Wendy Green

History of Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) Hursley Park by Dave Key

History of Vickers Armstrongs (Supermarine) Hursley Park by Dave Key

Reviews of local performances and places

Reviews of local performances and places

Copyright © 2019 Chandler's Ford Today. WordPress. Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.