| Author | Message | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 1782 Registered: 8-2001 |
A mondegreen is a mishearing that leads to a new meaning, most commonly in song lyrics. This one dates from when I was but a wee Ves but it’s a favorite family story to embarrass me. I loved the song, but it never seemed like the game would be much fun for the melons. | ||
| Balin (Balin)
New member Username: Balin Post Number: 14342 Registered: 4-2010 |
Game: a sport? Something commonly played by kids? Melons: the fruit? Song: rock? Rap? Classical? Hymn? Salsa? Screamo? Metal? Pop? Jazz? | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 1785 Registered: 8-2001 |
Balin Game: a sport? Yes Something commonly played by kids? Yes Melons: the fruit? Yes Song: rock? Rap? Classical? Hymn? Salsa? Screamo? Metal? Pop? Jazz? None of these. | ||
| Doriana (Doriana)
New member Username: Doriana Post Number: 1849 Registered: 12-2010 |
Is the song a children's song? folk song? a lullaby? | ||
| Ixoye724 (Ixoye724)
New member Username: Ixoye724 Post Number: 3422 Registered: 1-2001 |
So you thought a portion of the lyrics referred to melons being used in a game? Or melons participating in a game, as if they were people? Or melons being abused or treated harshly in a game? Melons being used as bowling balls? Melons being smashed? Dropped? Kicked? Hit? Thrown? | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 1788 Registered: 8-2001 |
Doriana Is the song a children's song? A little of this... folk song? And a little of this. It would be most commonly referred to as another, yet to be determined, category. a lullaby? No Ixoye724 So you thought a portion of the lyrics referred to melons being used in a game? Yes, in my interpretation of the song. Or melons participating in a game, as if they were people? Yes, this is what I thought the song literally said. Or melons being abused or treated harshly in a game? In my imaginings, yes. Melons being used as bowling balls? No Melons being smashed? No Dropped? No Kicked? Yes, I imagined. Hit? No Thrown? No | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2804 Registered: 7-2009 |
Is a specific type of melons relevant? If so, cantaloupe? honeydew? watermelon? Since you said yes to "kicked," is the game soccer? kickball? | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 1790 Registered: 8-2001 |
Is a specific type of melons relevant? Yes! If so, cantaloupe? YES! honeydew? No watermelon? No Since you said yes to "kicked," is the game soccer? Yes, soccer or football (in the non-US usage). kickball? No | ||
| Balin (Balin)
New member Username: Balin Post Number: 14343 Registered: 4-2010 |
So playing soccer with cantaloupes... Did the mondegreen include the word "soccer"? "Football"? "Kick" (or a variant)? "Cantaloupe"? Is the song widely known? Is it sung at holidays? At a special occasion? | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 1794 Registered: 8-2001 |
So playing soccer with cantaloupes...Quite the visual, right? Probably why it's such a family favorite story... Did the mondegreen include the word "soccer"? No "Football"? No "Kick" (or a variant)? No "Cantaloupe"? Yes Is the song widely known? Yes Is it sung at holidays? No At a special occasion? No | ||
| Noel (Noel)
New member Username: Noel Post Number: 2806 Registered: 7-2009 |
Did the mondegreen include some sort of slang word for soccer? | ||
| Doriana (Doriana)
New member Username: Doriana Post Number: 1853 Registered: 12-2010 |
Is the song from a TV series? commercial? movie? musical? | ||
| Balin (Balin)
New member Username: Balin Post Number: 14352 Registered: 4-2010 |
Shot in the dark: Did you hear "Polly put the kettle on" as "Polly punt the cantaloupe"? | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 1796 Registered: 8-2001 |
Noel Did the mondegreen include some sort of slang word for soccer? No. See clarification. Doriana Is the song from a TV series? No commercial? It may have been used in a commerical... movie? Ditto for a movie... musical? Not that I know of. It's a VERY common song dating from well before the 1950s, which may explain why some of these questions are tough. I am sure artists have recorded it and it's been used in various media. Balin Shot in the dark: Did you hear "Polly put the kettle on" as "Polly punt the cantaloupe"? Great shot, but missed by a mile. Nope. CLARIFICATION: There are two issues here - the mondegreen itself and what I imagined the song was talking about based on the mondegreen. The cantaloupes relate to the mondegreen. The reference to soccer relates to what I imagined based on my mishearing. Hope that helps a bit. This is a silly little puzzle, but hopefully fun. Hooray Cantaloupes! | ||
| Balin (Balin)
New member Username: Balin Post Number: 14361 Registered: 4-2010 |
Oh, is it a jingle? Does the song mention a brand name? | ||
| Whirligig (Whirligig)
New member Username: Whirligig Post Number: 1019 Registered: 8-2010 |
Is any other game/sport relevant? Songs sung at sporting events? | ||
| Galfisk (Galfisk)
New member Username: Galfisk Post Number: 4139 Registered: 9-2009 |
Did the "cant" in "cantaloupe" come from "can't"? "Can't elope" ? | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 1591 Registered: 2-2011 |
is the song a nursery rhyme? a hymn? a Christmas Carol? not "Home on the range, where the deer and the canteloupe play"? | ||
| Vesica (Vesica)
New member Username: Vesica Post Number: 1805 Registered: 8-2001 |
Balin Oh, is it a jingle? No Does the song mention a brand name? No Whirligig Is any other game/sport relevant? No Songs sung at sporting events? No Galfisk Did the "cant" in "cantaloupe" come from "can't"? No "Can't elope" ? No Shez is the song a nursery rhyme? No a hymn? No a Christmas Carol? No not "Home on the range, where the deer and the canteloupe play"? It IS! Clever Shez! ****** SPOILER ****** Before I started attending school, my grandparents watched me during the day and my grandmother would sing to me at nap time. She knew oodles of old hymns, state songs, and sort of western songs (like “Home on the Range” and “Don’t Fence Me In”). Sometimes she’d let me make requests and one day I asked for “The Cantaloupe Song”. She was a bit baffled but after some questions she determined I meant the one that says “Where the deer and the cantaloupe play”. After all, I was three. I had no idea what an antelope was, but I knew about canteloupes –we ate them all the time. That being said, the song had never made sense to me because in my mind I saw the deer playing soccer with the cantaloupe, which didn’t seem like it would be much fun for the melons. I guess I couldn’t think of many other ways that deer and cantaloupe could play together. Congrats to Shez for the solve and thanks to all who played!! | ||
| Ixoye724 (Ixoye724)
New member Username: Ixoye724 Post Number: 3423 Registered: 1-2001 |
Great puzzle - the mind's eye is a funny thing! | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 1600 Registered: 2-2011 |
excellent! it came to me at work and I couldn't stop laughing all afternoon! | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 3565 Registered: 1-2007 |
Late to the party here, but just wanted to say that this really made me laugh out loud. As funny a mondegreen as I've heard in ages. Nice of you to share this. |
