"Unintelligible at any speed"

Back in 1964, I played drums in my first band called “The Changin' Tyde."  Pop music was in a state of “renaissance” and bands were popping up like thunderstorms on a summer day in Nebraska. One of the early classics and a staple of any self-respecting garage band was the song Louie Louie by the Kingsmen. The allure of this song was the cool, repetitive guitar/organ lick and the unintelligible lyrics, which then everyone thought must be “suggestive”. The song was originally written by Richard (no relation to Chuck) Berry and recorded in 1957 by Richard Berry and the Pharaohs.  After the Kingsman made the song a hit, the FBI did an investigation to determine if the lyrics were indeed, “pornographic.”  They played the song at 78 rpm’s and at 33 rpm’s and determined it was “unintelligible at any speed.”  

Here's an except from the website www.history.com:

“Based on outcry from parents who bought into what may have started as an idle rumor, the FBI launched a formal investigation in 1964 into the supposedly pornographic lyrics of the song "Louie, Louie." That investigation finally neared its conclusion on this day in 1965, when the FBI Laboratory declared the lyrics of "Louie Louie" to be officially unintelligible.”

Pop music flourished featuring songs with often unintelligible or indistinguishable lyrics. Back in “our day”, before Karaoke,  we did not have the luxury or instant gratification of Google to ascertain actual lyrics. We had to do some heavy and repeated listening attempting to glean the words to our favorite contemporary hits.  Was Johnny Rivers singing;  “I got a rock in my ammonia and the boogie woogie flute?”  There was no question that Johnny was singing about a  “Secret Asian Man!”

Little did I know but there is an actual term for these bastardized lyrics; it’s called a “mondegreen.” Here’s the description from Wikipedia:

“A mondegreen is the mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase as a result of near-homophony, in a way that gives it a new meaning.”

The phrase was coined by Silvia Wright when she recalled as a girl, “mishearing” the last line of a 17^th century poem;  “They hae slain the Earl o' Moray, and Lady Mondegreen” became; “ And laid him on the green.”

Jimi Hendrix realized how his own “mondegreen” had "gone viral". You can see a video of him having a laugh at his own expense while performing Purple Haze as he pointed to his bass player and sang;  “s'cuse me while I kiss this guy.”  John Fogerty also famously paid homage to his own creation by singing the following “mondegreen”; "There's a bathroom on the right."  Arguably, one of the most “misheard” lyrics of the last decade was written by Bruce Springsteen and made a hit by Manfred Mann.  Who knew he was saying; “revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night?” (Wrapped up like a what?!)

I recall talking to a guy once who loved the Elton John song, Rocket Man.  We both laughed at his interpretation of the line, “burnin’ out his fuse up here alone,” which he had been singing as “burning off the trees on every lawn”.  E.J. may just be the “king of mondegreens.”  How about Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters where he sings; “some with cankers, some with goiters?” (“sons of bankers, sons of lawyers.”) I’ve always wondered why old Elton, with his English inflection was singing about the star of  “Who’s the Boss”, “Hold me closer, Tony Danza” (count the head lice on the highway?) or about B-b-b- Betty in a Dress (electric boobs and mohair too?)  It all makes sense to me now.

Here are some of my favorite “mondegreens” for your listening pleasure.  (Feel free to sing along.)

From the classic Billy Joel tune, You may be Right: “You made the rice, I made the gravy.”  (A tasty variation.)

Van Morrison sings the opening line of Brown Eyed Girl:  “Hey there, Amigo.”  (For his Latino audience.)

The Monkees:  “Then I saw her face, now I’m gonna leave her.”  (I couldn’t believe her if I tried?)

Fleetwood Mac:  “When the rainbow shaves you clean, you’ll know.”  (Yes, you will know.)

Neil Diamond:   "Reverend blue jeans.” (How hip thou art!)

The Beatles:  “She’s got a tick in her eye, she’s got a tick in her eye-I –I.” That can’t be right, it must be; “She’s got a chicken to ride."  (And she don’t care!)

"The girl with colitis goes by."  (That would be poor Lucy)

Madonna: “Gonna dress you up in nylons.”  (Appropriate lyric for the “material girl”.) 

J. Geils Band: “My angel is a xenophobe. “ (Don’t be afraid if this sounds a little foreign.)

The Rascals:   “You and me and Leslie.”  (Groovin’ threesome.)

Dobie Gray: “Give me the Beach Boys and free my soul..” (You get the drift.)

The Eagles:  “What a nice surprise, when you’re out of ice.”  (“Relax, says the nice man, we are programmed to deceive.")

Well, I guess Huey Lewis was right when he said the Heart of Rock’n’Roll is in “Cleveland” and as the Kingsmen said; “Loueye Loueye, oh bebe, we gotta go now, I said we gotta go now, Let’s Go!!”

Steve E, Reno