Mondegreen

Mondegreen is a term in semi-jocular linguistics. It is similar to eggcorn (q.v.).

A mondegreen is a mis-spelling derived from the faulty analysis of something heard in poetry, song lyrics etc, usually by breaking a word or phrase into different boundaries than the writer intended. This leads to mis-identifying the words concerned, and constructing a meaning. Mondegreens are often the result of childish misunderstanding of texts that may be above their sophistication. This is very close to an eggcorn, and indeed mondegreens may best be thought of as a sub-set of eggcorns, their distinguishing feature being that they are derived from a given song lyric or poem.

Mondegreen is derived from S. Wright's anecdote in Harper's Magazine of 4th November 1954 (cited OED): "When I was a child, my mother used to read aloud to me from Percy's Reliques, and one of my favorite poems began, as I remember: Ye Highlands and ye Lowlands, Oh, where hae ye been? They hae slain the Earl Amurray, And Lady Mondegreen." The right reading is

Ye Highlands and ye Lowlands,

Oh, whaur ha'e ye been?

They ha'e slain the Earl o' Murray,

And laid him on the green.

Other mondegreens include the child's belief that God is called 'Harold', from the (Christian) Lord's Prayer, which begins "Our Father, which art in Heaven; hallowed be Thy name", and the mis-analysis of a supposed Christian hymn with the line "Gladly The Cross I'd bear" (such a hymn has not been identified) as the description of a named pet, or stuffed animal toy, with a visual defect and an unusual name: "Gladly, the cross-eyed bear".

See also Eggcorn