Well, it's a new year with lots of new challenges and lots of lyrics to mishear. I haven't posted any mondegreens lately, so here's another round.
I have been accused of making up these mondegreens after the fact. But I did mishear all these lyrics at one point in my life. You'll notice that most of these mondegreens are of older songs (I think the newest song in this entry came out in 1981), which is no accident, as I misheard most of these lyrics when I was younger.
WRONG: I am Danny Heidelman
RIGHT: I'm the dandy highwayman
"Stand and Deliver," Adam and the Ants
WRONG: When my finger goes east and lights
RIGHT: When I think of those East End nights
"Someone Saved My Life Tonight," Elton John
WRONG: Sh-boom and automobile again
RIGHT: Sh-boom and hopin' we'll meet again
"Sh-Boom," The Crew Cuts
WRONG: Doctors fill my room
RIGHT: Darkness fills my room
"Nice to Be With You," Gallery
WRONG: Nel blu, a yucky boy blue
RIGHT: Nel blu degli occhi tuoi blu
"Volare," Domenico Modugno
WRONG: I like this kind of Hawkeye music
RIGHT: I like this kind of hot kind of music
"Honey Pie," The Beatles
WRONG: I don't believe in cinnamon
RIGHT: I don't believe in Zimmerman
"God," John Lennon
WRONG: Never goose me any other way
RIGHT: Never could see any other way
The repeating loop at the end of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles
Showing posts with label The Beatles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Beatles. Show all posts
Friday, January 15, 2010
Monday, September 28, 2009
The dream is over, what can I say?
I have heard it said that, if you have a hero, look again--you have diminished yourself in some way.
I was reminded of that quote last night as I finished John, the biography by Cynthia Lennon, John's first wife.
You could not have been a small child in the late '60s and early '70s--with four teenagers in the house--without becoming a Beatles fan. So it was with me. I recognized, even then, that there was something special about this band and how they covered so much ground in less than a decade. As I came of age, they became my heroes, even though the dirt on them wasn't quite hidden. I will always remember the morning I woke up and heard the news on the radio that John Lennon had been killed. I don't think there was anybody else in my school who was quite as affected by his death as I was.
I dismissed Albert Goldman's negative Lennon bio as garbage, even though I never read it and do not plan to. I have held to the romanticized ideas about the Beatles, especially John--the social activist who poured out his soul in his music.
It's obvious that any biography written by an ex-wife is going to be biased. At the same time, John shows another side of Lennon that you won't get from any Yoko-approved hagiography.
Things started out fairly well--boy meets girl in art school, boy travels to Hamburg with his band but keeps in touch, boy and girl sneak around for trysts when they can, boy gets girl pregnant while the band is on its way to superstardom, but appears ready to become a devoted husband and father. At the same time, there were flashes of jealousy and abuse, which Cynthia excused as stemming from John's abandonment by his father and the death of his mother.
Cynthia's inside view of Beatlemania was thrilling, but things began to unravel when John started using LSD, and came crashing down when he met ::sinister music:: YOKO ONO!
I have never held as much bile toward Yoko as many other Beatles fans. It's silly to singlehandedly blame her for the Beatles' breakup, as all four were going in different directions. Sure, her aesthetic sense is weird, but so what? John and Yoko always seemed like the quintessential rock 'n roll romance.
John shows the relationship as one-sided and dysfunctional. Again, you have to consider the source, but I've seen this view backed up by other sources as well. John's nickname for Yoko--"Mother"--says a lot.
The person who I felt the worst for in this book was Julian Lennon, who, in turn, wound up being abandoned by John and did not see him for several years. Feuds over money and visitation are recounted in painful detail. The most poignant quote in the book came from Julian as a child: "Why does Daddy tell people to love each other when he doesn't love me?"
John is slanted, but it represents a human reality of an artist who, I'm sure, was himself annoyed at (and ultimately died because of) his canonization. I imagine he's somewhere saying, "Well, Cyn, you got me."
I was reminded of that quote last night as I finished John, the biography by Cynthia Lennon, John's first wife.
You could not have been a small child in the late '60s and early '70s--with four teenagers in the house--without becoming a Beatles fan. So it was with me. I recognized, even then, that there was something special about this band and how they covered so much ground in less than a decade. As I came of age, they became my heroes, even though the dirt on them wasn't quite hidden. I will always remember the morning I woke up and heard the news on the radio that John Lennon had been killed. I don't think there was anybody else in my school who was quite as affected by his death as I was.
I dismissed Albert Goldman's negative Lennon bio as garbage, even though I never read it and do not plan to. I have held to the romanticized ideas about the Beatles, especially John--the social activist who poured out his soul in his music.
It's obvious that any biography written by an ex-wife is going to be biased. At the same time, John shows another side of Lennon that you won't get from any Yoko-approved hagiography.
Things started out fairly well--boy meets girl in art school, boy travels to Hamburg with his band but keeps in touch, boy and girl sneak around for trysts when they can, boy gets girl pregnant while the band is on its way to superstardom, but appears ready to become a devoted husband and father. At the same time, there were flashes of jealousy and abuse, which Cynthia excused as stemming from John's abandonment by his father and the death of his mother.
Cynthia's inside view of Beatlemania was thrilling, but things began to unravel when John started using LSD, and came crashing down when he met ::sinister music:: YOKO ONO!
I have never held as much bile toward Yoko as many other Beatles fans. It's silly to singlehandedly blame her for the Beatles' breakup, as all four were going in different directions. Sure, her aesthetic sense is weird, but so what? John and Yoko always seemed like the quintessential rock 'n roll romance.
John shows the relationship as one-sided and dysfunctional. Again, you have to consider the source, but I've seen this view backed up by other sources as well. John's nickname for Yoko--"Mother"--says a lot.
The person who I felt the worst for in this book was Julian Lennon, who, in turn, wound up being abandoned by John and did not see him for several years. Feuds over money and visitation are recounted in painful detail. The most poignant quote in the book came from Julian as a child: "Why does Daddy tell people to love each other when he doesn't love me?"
John is slanted, but it represents a human reality of an artist who, I'm sure, was himself annoyed at (and ultimately died because of) his canonization. I imagine he's somewhere saying, "Well, Cyn, you got me."
Friday, January 30, 2009
And in the end...
Somebody at Jamsbio.com named JBev has a lot more time on his hands than I do.
He actually rated all 185 original compositions performed by The Beatles as a group and posted them on the site, with an explanation for each that goes far beyond “cool” or “sucks.”
The list stretches for 20 web pages, and will be excruciating reading for many (although it doesn’t seem half as long as watching the movie Across The Universe), but a delight for some Beatles fans. If you don’t really care about the nuances of “Tell Me Why” or “The Night Before,” you may want to skip to the summary on the last page.
I dug it, of course.
As with all such lists, there are bound to be arguments. Perhaps the least controversial entry is the first—“Revolution 9” at number 185. As groundbreaking as John Lennon thought it was, it just didn’t work (although I still prefer it to Celine Dion’s best song).
My first “Aw, come on!’ moment came a stride out of the gate with “Honey Pie” at number 184. Maybe it’s because I used to dance around the house with a cane and an old sport coat singing the song when I was seven. But it’s not a bad song. Among Paul’s “granny” songs, I would rank it behind “When I’m Sixty-Four” and in front of “Your Mother Should Know.”
That’s one problem with the list. Maybe I’m a blind fan, but I submit that The Beatles never made a bad song. (Their solo efforts don’t count for these purposes. Neither does Yoko.) Some were just more significant than others. JBev is more attuned to the Fab Four’s subtleties, as those songs near the bottom represent some of their extremes—the most upbeat (“Good Day Sunshine”) and downbeat (“Yer Blues”) songs in their catalog, as well as their attempts to be headbangers (“I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”) and lounge lizards (“Ask Me Why”).
There are arguments along the way, as there are bound to be. Not much love for “Day Tripper” or “Julia,” way too much for “I Am The Walrus” (number two?) and “Dear Prudence” (the highest-rated White Album track at number 11?), and cheers for the lofty placement of some underrated gems such as “Yes It Is” or "If I Fell."
After showing so much guts along the way, JBev gives us the most predictable number one—“A Day in the Life.” It’s certainly a pop music landmark, and it’s the correct left-brained choice, but is it the song that any Beatles fan really enjoys the most?
Two more interesting possibilities for the top spot came in at numbers four and five. Number four is “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End” (rated as one song here). The Beatles had done everything thought possible in pop music, and more, and they couldn’t have gone out more eloquently than they did on that Abbey Road medley. Number five is “Hey Jude”—their biggest hit and certainly one of the most uplifting songs ever, ending with the best vamp (no, not the kind Cher used to sing about on her TV show) in pop music history.
There are other reasons to pick a favorite. “Something”—number nine on the list—has gained a special place in my heart in recent years. My wife and I danced to it on the weekend we met, and it was the first song we danced to at our wedding. It seems heretical to put a George Harrison song at the top of the list, but it now has a spot that goes beyond any list.
The ‘60s are over, and new generations have held The Beatles’ music up to a scrutiny that wasn’t possible during the full fervor of Beatlemania. The band’s legacy has proven that the music is strong enough to withstand that scrutiny.
P.S. You might also want to check out the comments at the bottom of the page. As I write this, the last comment appears to be from Julian Lennon.
He actually rated all 185 original compositions performed by The Beatles as a group and posted them on the site, with an explanation for each that goes far beyond “cool” or “sucks.”
The list stretches for 20 web pages, and will be excruciating reading for many (although it doesn’t seem half as long as watching the movie Across The Universe), but a delight for some Beatles fans. If you don’t really care about the nuances of “Tell Me Why” or “The Night Before,” you may want to skip to the summary on the last page.
I dug it, of course.
As with all such lists, there are bound to be arguments. Perhaps the least controversial entry is the first—“Revolution 9” at number 185. As groundbreaking as John Lennon thought it was, it just didn’t work (although I still prefer it to Celine Dion’s best song).
My first “Aw, come on!’ moment came a stride out of the gate with “Honey Pie” at number 184. Maybe it’s because I used to dance around the house with a cane and an old sport coat singing the song when I was seven. But it’s not a bad song. Among Paul’s “granny” songs, I would rank it behind “When I’m Sixty-Four” and in front of “Your Mother Should Know.”
That’s one problem with the list. Maybe I’m a blind fan, but I submit that The Beatles never made a bad song. (Their solo efforts don’t count for these purposes. Neither does Yoko.) Some were just more significant than others. JBev is more attuned to the Fab Four’s subtleties, as those songs near the bottom represent some of their extremes—the most upbeat (“Good Day Sunshine”) and downbeat (“Yer Blues”) songs in their catalog, as well as their attempts to be headbangers (“I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”) and lounge lizards (“Ask Me Why”).
There are arguments along the way, as there are bound to be. Not much love for “Day Tripper” or “Julia,” way too much for “I Am The Walrus” (number two?) and “Dear Prudence” (the highest-rated White Album track at number 11?), and cheers for the lofty placement of some underrated gems such as “Yes It Is” or "If I Fell."
After showing so much guts along the way, JBev gives us the most predictable number one—“A Day in the Life.” It’s certainly a pop music landmark, and it’s the correct left-brained choice, but is it the song that any Beatles fan really enjoys the most?
Two more interesting possibilities for the top spot came in at numbers four and five. Number four is “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End” (rated as one song here). The Beatles had done everything thought possible in pop music, and more, and they couldn’t have gone out more eloquently than they did on that Abbey Road medley. Number five is “Hey Jude”—their biggest hit and certainly one of the most uplifting songs ever, ending with the best vamp (no, not the kind Cher used to sing about on her TV show) in pop music history.
There are other reasons to pick a favorite. “Something”—number nine on the list—has gained a special place in my heart in recent years. My wife and I danced to it on the weekend we met, and it was the first song we danced to at our wedding. It seems heretical to put a George Harrison song at the top of the list, but it now has a spot that goes beyond any list.
The ‘60s are over, and new generations have held The Beatles’ music up to a scrutiny that wasn’t possible during the full fervor of Beatlemania. The band’s legacy has proven that the music is strong enough to withstand that scrutiny.
P.S. You might also want to check out the comments at the bottom of the page. As I write this, the last comment appears to be from Julian Lennon.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Mondegreen of the Week
WRONG: I'm coming down fast with a lighthouse above you
RIGHT: I'm coming down fast, but I'm miles above you
"Helter Skelter," The Beatles
RIGHT: I'm coming down fast, but I'm miles above you
"Helter Skelter," The Beatles
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