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My bunny lies over the ocean Trivia Quiz

Mondegreens (misheard lyrics) can be really embarrassing when sung at the top of your voice. My funny friend, Fenella, frequently finds herself in lyric limbo at karaoke. Can you help out her with the correct lyrics?

A multiple-choice quiz by VegemiteKid. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
VegemiteKid

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
344,338

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Easy

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
1756

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

Last 3 plays: PARTS1 (10/10), Guest 72 (10/10), jessa90 (7/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Fenella is not the only one to get this wrong, Bugs Bunny managed to, too! What word did both Fenella and Bugs get wrong in the line: 'My bunny lies over the ocean'? Hint

My - it should be 'Thy'

Ocean - it should be 'Lotion'

Lies - it should be 'Flies'

Bunny - it should be 'Bonnie'

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. "I got no towel, I hung it up again." Poor Fenella, she's not sure if she has the words right. Can you tell her...did she sing the correct lyrics to the 'Tubthumping Song' by Chumbawumba?

Yes

3. Fenella was watching "The Big Bang Theory" the other day and was singing along with Barenaked Ladies, but she sang 'The artichokes began to drool'. When I stopped laughing, what word did I tell her she needed to sing instead of artichokes? Hint

Autotrophs

Autobahn

Autumn leaf

Antidotes

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. "Ye Highlands and ye Lowlands,
Oh, where hae ye been?
They have slain the Earl of Murray,
And Lady Mondegreen."

This is where the term 'mondegreen' originated. What should the last line really have been? Hint

And laid him on the green

And went and called the Dean

And wrapped him in sateen

And ate bread with margarine

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. I have to admit, it's not just Fenella who gets the words wrong. When I was in school learning French, we sang "Frere Jacques (Brother John)". In the third line I used to sing 'Sunny lemon teenas' - what should I have been singing? It's 'Sonnez les' - what? Hint

matilda

matines

martinis

maracas

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. Fenella loves John Denver and his song 'Calypso' is a favourite. It describes the boat 'Calypso' searching for understanding of the silent world of the sea. In place of the incorrect word 'orphan' below, what should she sing?

"Like the orphan who guides you, you bring us beside you"?

Answer: (an aquatic animal)

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. Fenella loves "Gilligan's Island" re-runs, but sings the wrong last line to this verse of the theme song:
So this is the tale of the castaways,
They're here for a long, long time,
They'll have to make the best of things,
It's ....

What line should she sing? Hint

an uphill climb

a five and dime

enough decline

hard to make it rhyme

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. Fenella keeps right up-to-date with the songs she sings the wrong words to! In this case, she's singing Kelly Clarkson's 'Stronger'.
"You heard that I was starting over with someone new
But told you I was moving on over you
You didn't think that I'd come back
I'd come back ..."
Not 'singing', as Fenella sang. What is the correct lyric? Hint

spinning

sweeping

sinking

swinging

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. Fenella and I went carolling the other night and I was just a little embarrassed when she sang, at the top of her voice:
'Get dressed ye married gentlemen,
Let nothing through this May...'
Well, at least she was in tune. What words should she have sung for the first line? Hint

God rest ye merry, gentlemen

Get blessed and marry, gentlemen

Go rest you, Mary, gently then

GED test and curry, Ben and Jen

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. The last song that poor Fenella got wrong was the Beatles' song, 'I Saw Her Standing There'. She sang...
'Whoa, we danced through the night,
And we held each other tight,
And before too long I fell in love with her.
Now I'll never dance with 'her mother', (ouch, wrong word!)
Since I saw her standing there.'

Oh dear, what should she have sung? Hint

my lover

her brother

another

Dan Rather

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Most Recent Scores

Oct 16 2024 : PARTS1: 10/10
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Oct 10 2024 : jessa90: 7/10
Oct 09 2024 : Guest 166: 9/10
Oct 09 2024 : Guest 94: 8/10
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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Fenella is not the only one to get this wrong, Bugs Bunny managed to, too! What word did both Fenella and Bugs get wrong in the line: 'My bunny lies over the ocean'?

Answer: Bunny - it should be 'Bonnie'

These are the words in the chorus:
"My bonnie lies over the ocean,
My bonnie lies over the sea,
My bonnie lies over the ocean,
O bring back my bonnie to me."

While the origin of the song is not certain, it is speculated that the 'Bonnie' referred to may be the exiled Bonnie Prince Charlie, (Charles Edward Louis Philip Casimir Stuart, also known as the Young Pretender, a claimant to the English throne). The person wanting her bonnie returned to her was probably Flora McDonald, a Jacobite supporter and friend of Bonnie Prince Charlie.

2. "I got no towel, I hung it up again." Poor Fenella, she's not sure if she has the words right. Can you tell her...did she sing the correct lyrics to the 'Tubthumping Song' by Chumbawumba?

Answer: No

The correct words are: 'I get knocked down, but I get up again'. It's a song about someone drinking all night and singing songs that remind him of the good (and best) times. It's quite a well-known mondegreen. It seems some songs are more prone to misinterpretation than others!

Answer: Autotrophs

Whatever your views of the origins of the universe, it's a funny show! The correct words are below:

"Our whole universe was in a hot dense state,
Then nearly fourteen billion years ago expansion started. Wait...
The Earth began to cool,
The autotrophs began to drool,
Neanderthals developed tools,
We built a wall (we built the pyramids),
Math, science, history, unravelling the mysteries,
That all started with the big bang!"

4. "Ye Highlands and ye Lowlands, Oh, where hae ye been? They have slain the Earl of Murray, And Lady Mondegreen." This is where the term 'mondegreen' originated. What should the last line really have been?

Answer: And laid him on the green

The poem that gave mondegreens their name was 'The Bonny Earl O'Moray'. The Earl of Murray was suspected of plotting against King James VI, and was being hunted in order to bring him to trial. However, he was killed when the King's men were attempting to apprehend him.

In 1954 Sylvia Wright explained how she has misheard the lyrics and so coined the phrase 'mondegreen'.

Answer: matines

There are many English versions of this song; some try to make it rhyme better, some try to make the words fit better and others try to translate it exactly. I didn't think of that when I was a child singing it, I just enjoyed singing it in a round. I have no idea what I thought 'teenas' were, I thought it was just something French!

6. Fenella loves John Denver and his song 'Calypso' is a favourite. It describes the boat 'Calypso' searching for understanding of the silent world of the sea. In place of the incorrect word 'orphan' below, what should she sing? "Like the orphan who guides you, you bring us beside you"?

Answer: dolphin

Dolphins have acutely developed senses of touch, hearing and sight. They appear to have an instinctive understanding in their interactions with humans. Scientists, as Jacques Cousteau used to do, observe their behaviour in an endeavour to learn more about the oceans and dolphins themselves.

7. Fenella loves "Gilligan's Island" re-runs, but sings the wrong last line to this verse of the theme song: So this is the tale of the castaways, They're here for a long, long time, They'll have to make the best of things, It's .... What line should she sing?

Answer: an uphill climb

During the first season of the show, instead of "The Professor and Mary Ann" being sung, the words "and the rest" were sung.

I don't know where it started, but a few years ago a friend told me it's possible to sing the words of the Australian National Anthem to the tune of the "Gilligan's Island" theme. It's true!

8. Fenella keeps right up-to-date with the songs she sings the wrong words to! In this case, she's singing Kelly Clarkson's 'Stronger'. "You heard that I was starting over with someone new But told you I was moving on over you You didn't think that I'd come back I'd come back ..." Not 'singing', as Fenella sang. What is the correct lyric?

Answer: swinging

Kelly Clarkson was born in Fort Worth in Texas. She won the inaugural season of "American Idol" in 2002, and has since become one of the most successful female artists of all time.

9. Fenella and I went carolling the other night and I was just a little embarrassed when she sang, at the top of her voice: 'Get dressed ye married gentlemen, Let nothing through this May...' Well, at least she was in tune. What words should she have sung for the first line?

Answer: God rest ye merry, gentlemen

"God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen", was first published in 1833, and its words seek to remind the gentlemen listening that Christmas is a season of 'comfort and joy' because Christ was born to 'save us all from Satan's power, when we had gone astray'.

10. The last song that poor Fenella got wrong was the Beatles' song, 'I Saw Her Standing There'. She sang... 'Whoa, we danced through the night, And we held each other tight, And before too long I fell in love with her. Now I'll never dance with 'her mother', (ouch, wrong word!) Since I saw her standing there.' Oh dear, what should she have sung?

Answer: another

'I Saw Her Standing There' was the opening song on the Beatles' debut album, and it's in the Rolling Stones magazine's list of top 500 songs of all time (placed at number 139).

Source: Author VegemiteKid

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