The Wellcome Trust, a U.K.-based charitable group specializing in advancing human and animal health, has given a £60,000 grant to an Irish choral group to help with a study on misunderstood song lyrics. The misunderstandings, referred to as a "mondegreen" in homage to an oft-misunderstood Scottish ballad, could serve to help researchers understand how the hearing-impaired perceive music. Those in the audience will listen to The Clerks choral ensemble and use an electric handset to note what lines they can understand and those they cannot. Analyzing what words are most confusing for the listeners can reflect on the nature of language and the nature of song vocals as well.
The researchers involved have done their homework when assembling the list of tracks for The Clerks to sing, having already carried out similar tests on those without any hearing trouble. This research is entirely U.K.-based of course, but the Wellcome Trust has already singled out some more commonly misheard lyrics, and they come from some pretty popular songs.
One is David Bowie's 1972 hit "Ziggy Stardust." The line in question, "making love with his ego," is commonly interpreted as "making love with a seagull." That might sound ridiculous, but as Music Times writer Jon "Union Jack" Niles points out, it wouldn't be the strangest line Bowie included on the album (See "you're squawking like a pink monkey-bird" from "Moonage Daydream").
Another is seminal Oasis hit "Wonderwall." "You're gonna be the one that saves me" is reportedly interpreted as "you're gonna be the one at Sainsbury's" (a grocery chain in the UK).
What's your favorite American "mondegreen?" Add it to the comment section below!
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