Billy Bragg mondegreen

Mondegreens, for the uninitiated, are misheard lyrics--e.g., hearing "'scuse me while I kiss this guy" in "Purple Haze." I was spinning the great Mermaid Avenue CD the other day, on which Billy Bragg and Wilco set rediscovered Woody Guthrie lyrics to music, and I was reminded of how I first heard Billy Bragg sing one of the tracks in his thick Cockney accent: "Way over yonder in the monarchy."

The lyric is "Way over yonder in the minor key"...but I still like the monarchy version. Sounds like a song Bragg should write.

Check out Wikipedia's list of mondegreens here.

Listen to my NPR review of the recent Billy Bragg box set here.