Mondegreens definition – What is a mondegreen?

Mondegreens are the mishearing of a popular lyric or phrase in a song/poem that lead to a funny outcome. They are by far my favourite as they create so much comedy! I constantly sing the wrong lyrics to songs and don’t find out the correct lyrics until years later.

Take a look at the picture below for an example.

mondegreens meaning and definition

Do you recognise the song in the picture above? Not with those lyrics about cheese I expect. The lyrics are in fact from the song ‘Sweet Dreams’ by the Eurythmics. The real lyrics are:

‘Sweet Dreams are made of this, who am I to disagree.’

NOT

‘Sweet Dreams are made of CHEESE, who am I to DIS A BRIE.’

misheard song lyrics - sweet dreams are made of cheese

As you can see, they are very funny, Shall we take a look at some more funny mondegreens?

funny mondegreens - we built this city on sausage rolls
funny mondegreens - dancing queen feel the beat from the tangerine
misheard song lyrics - then I saw her face now i'm gonna leave her
misheard song lyrics - red red wine steak lobster meat
misheard song lyrics - blue seal in the sky with diamonds
misheard lyrics - should i just keep chasing penguins
misheard lyrics - in containers, avocado a potato
misheard lyrics - It doesn’t make a difference if we’re naked it or not
funny mondegreens - let’s pee in the corner let’s pee in the spotlight
misheard lyrics - we're caught in a trout
misheard lyrics - I just died in your barn tonight
misheard lyrics - just let me staple the vicar
misheard lyrics - I remove umbilicals
misheard song lyrics - I like big butts in a can of limes

Have you noticed any slang in these mondegreens? Songs are full of slang and real English pronunciation. I’m specifically referring to contractions. Contractions are shortened words and are often pronounced differently. They are common in real speech and good to know if you want to speak like a native.

 

Songs are a terrific way to learn English. Click here to see a list of songs and other materials that can help you improve your English.

Mondegreen examples

Check out these examples. I’d love to hear your own mondegreens If you’ve ever misheard lyrics, comment below.

mondegreens examples - misheard song lyrics
mondegreens examples - misheard song lyrics
mondegreens examples - misheard song lyrics
mondegreens examples - misheard song lyrics
mondegreens examples - misheard song lyrics
mondegreens examples - misheard song lyrics
mondegreens examples - misheard song lyrics
mondegreens examples - misheard song lyrics
mondegreens - misheard song lyrics9
mondegreens - misheard song lyrics10
mondegreens - misheard song lyrics11
mondegreens - misheard song lyrics12
mondegreens - misheard song lyrics13

Click the button below to download a table of more that 70 of the funniest mondegreens.

mondegreen songs

Comedians use Mondegreens in their shows as they can be hilarious! Check out these funny videos.

**BEWARE, CONTAINS HILARIOUS CONTENT **

Aren’t mondegreens just great? If you’ve enjoyed these, I’m pretty sure you’ll also love eggcorns, malapropisms and spoonerisms. They are also very funny and are a fantastic way to learn English. Find out what they are here.

1 Comment

  1. This design is wicked! You obviously know how to keep a reader entertained. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Great job. I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!

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