A misheard song lyric or occasionally other utterance. The funnier the
better. Originated when the seventeenth century ballad "The Bonnie
Earl of Moray" was misheard; "they have slain the Earl of Moray/ and laid him on the
green", became "They have slain the Earl of Moray/ And Lady Mondegreen".
Examples of mondegreens:
The ants are my
friends, they're blowing in the wind. (After Bob Dylan).
They've all come to look for a miracle. (from "America", by Paul Simon.)
Jumbled shack flash is a gas, gas, gas. (Rolling Stones.)
Lock the cash
box, lock the cash box. (The Clash, "Rock the Casbah".)
Olive, the other reindeer. ("Rudolf the
Red-Nosed Reindeer".)
There's a bathroom on the right. (Originally "there's a bad moon on the rise", from "Bad Moon Rising" by Credence Clearwater Revival.)
The girl with colitis goes by. (The Beatles.)
Jose, can you see? ("The Star-Spangled Banner".)
Blessed art thou, a monk swimming. (Catholic prayer "Hail
Mary".)
