…carry a laser through the darkness of the night…
Do you know that song? By Mr Mister? 😛
Yes, I know those aren’t the *actual* words, but don’t go pretending you never *heard* those words when you listened to Kyrie Eleison. (I used to picture a Jedi hitchhiking whenever I heard this song as a kid.)
Anywhoo…
The point is: Sometimes we hear things a bit differently than what’s, y’know, actually been said. (Or sung, as the case may be.) And while this could easily be a source of consternation under the wrong circumstances, I find that it is more often a source of laughter. And I, for one, am not afraid to use a conversational mondegreen as a source of blogging inspiration.
SO.
Picture, if you will:
My husband, having recently acquired a kayak, is standing in our driveway with the dual-sided paddle doing… something… that looks like a flaming-baton-twirl routine for middle-aged men. (Minus the flame. We have enough trouble with that as it is.) I watch him for a moment, and when he notices that I’m there, he starts to speak.
“I’m thinking,” he says, “of making new –“
I interrupt him mid-sentence, lest I forget what I came outside to talk to him about, with a quick “Hold on, just a minute hon.”
The beginning of a question forms on his lips. “Wh…”
I finish my thought…
Then he finishes his.
“…ores.”
I clear my throat. Raise an eyebrow.
He knows _something_ about that interaction didn’t come out quite right; I can see it in his face.
“Did you just tell me,” I ask in clipped Victorian-schoolteacher tones, “that you’re going to make yourself new whores?”
He stares at me.
[ . . . ]
“Oars,” he clarifies. “OARS.”
Carry a laser where my oar, you will follow
(not) Mr Mister
Carry a laser on a highway in the night
This post is part of my Music As Muse September Song Project, which you can learn more about – and see who else is participating – by clicking the badge above.
Well, really, if they’re going to drop Greek into the middle of a mid-80’s American pop tune, they can’t claim surprise that people bring lasers to their concerts, now, can they?
One of the best mondegreens I ever heard of was a guy who thought the opening line of “My Eyes Adored You” was
“Miles of Torture”
(“tho I never laid a hand on you… miiiiiiles of torture”)
Jz recently posted…Speaking of Banjos…
Baahaahaha! 😛
Miiiiles of tortuuure….
Yes, I’ll definitely be singing those lyrics! 😉
… love the humour in your posts, Mrs F … in our house, with one deaf guy (who often ‘forgets’ to wear his hearing aids) and my hearing diminishing (in denial, denial) life is just one mondegreen after another :>)) … nj
Oh, I can imagine…! *laugh*
De Nile is more than just a river in Egypt. 😛
Kayaking !!!!!!!! YAY !!
Whitewater or open water ?
A great sport either way….
and making his own paddles
is a pretty interesting idea-
I’d like to know how it turns out.
Open water. It’s a two-seater, but I haven’t been in it yet.
I, too, am curious how his paddle-making will come out. We have really nice wooden paddles for our canoe, and I think he might have something similar in mind for his kayak. We’ll see how it goes…
Paddling in tandem… that’s the real spirit of togetherness !
Haha! Wellll… I’ve sometimes heard a “double kayak” be referred to as a “divorce kayak” — methinks perhaps it brings out the Who’s in charge here, anyway? questions in relationships. 😉
(I’m sure it will be fun; we enjoy our canoe quite a bit.) 🙂
I’ve never doubled in a kayak, but I can see what that phrase would mean in a canoe. Oooo boy.
Heehee. I love mondegreens! I will never hear that song in the same way, lol!
It’s all Greek to me… 😉
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