What's kooky karaoke?
{ Sound }
When you read this graphic panel…you’ll see song lyrics that seem familiar but just don’t seem to be quite right. Can you work out the correct lyric and its song?!
Have you ever embarrassed yourself by singing a song with gusto…but sang the wrong lyrics?
‘Misheard’ song lyrics or ‘Mondegreens’ usually happen when the lyrics aren’t enunciated very clearly.
Usually your brain patches up any fuzzy words and lyrics using the phonemic restoration effect.
This allows you to make assumptions and best guesses about what the words may be.
Just make sure you’ve got the lyrics correct before you front up to a karaoke night somewhere!
Listed below are the Mondegreens mentioned in the Perception Deception exhibition and the song/artist that the Mondegreens were inspired by.
- So you think you can stuff me with spinach pie
Bohemian Rhapsody sung by Queen
- Hold me close, young Tony Danza
Tiny Dancer sung by Elton John
- Whoaaaa, whooaaaa, my ears are alight
Israelites sung by Marvin Gaye
- Doughnuts make my brown eyes blue
Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue sung by Crystal Gayle
- Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it like a polar bear ninja
Hey Ya sung by OutKast
- Bald-headed woman. Bald-headed woman with me
More Than a Woman sung by The Bee Gees
- Gimme, gimme, gimme an elephant midwife
Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight) sung by Abba
- Australians all are ostriches
Advance Australia Fair (Australia’s National Anthem)
- Cheap wine and a three legged goat
Cheap Wine sung by Cold Chisel
- We built this city on the wrong damn road
We Built This City sung by Starship
- Caribbean Queen, now we're sharing dysentery
Caribbean Queen sung by Billy Ocean
- But it's only me and I wore cologne. I wore cologne, I wore cologne
Boulevard of Broken Dreams sung by Green Day
- Obama’s elf, don’t wanna be, Obama’s elf, anymore
All By Myself sung by Eric Carmen