If we're being picky about grammar, I'm always bothered by
"Strange weather for you and I".
If we're being picky about grammar, I'm always bothered by
"Strange weather for you and I".
OK then. I need my American friends to enlighten me about the peculiar pronunciation of the word 'twenty' as 'twONNY' in Hi Roller Baby ('you say you're old & you're twenty-five) & to a lesser extent in Long Hot Summer (the line 'twenty-four hours a day'). The classic example of the word being pronounced this way is in John Mellencamp's Livin' In Miami where he even sings 'livin' as 'livON' before asserting that 'I know you're nowhere near TWONNY'.
Why? I don't wish to offend anyone but I don't get it. I'm not talking about the t eliding into an n; that's fair enough. I'm talking about the complete change in the vowel sound from e to o.
Lol FP! While I was unable to find a YouTube video of Livin' In Miami or Hi Roller Baby, I was curious enough to go listen to Hi Roller Baby on my iPod. You're right, although I would say the e is being changed to a soft u, as in 'twunny'. I think as Americans we have gotten so used to sloppy English that we're not even phased by it anymore, and in fact sometimes we purposely use bad grammar for effect, not that I think that's the case in these songs.
I always remember a story a friend told me about when she and her husband moved from Illinois to Maine. A guy was talking to her and referred to his shoes as 'sneakers'. My friend found this very funny, as we don't use that word here in the Midwest, and she quickly took the opportunity to tease him.
"Sneakers? Sneakers?", she said. "What do you do, sneak around in them?"
"Well, what do you call them?", he asked.
"Tennashoes.", she replied.
"Why?", he said, "Do you play tennis in them?"
My friend replied "Not tennis! TENNA-SHOES!"
She honestly didn't know that they were actually called tennis shoes!
~ Cathy ~
And I dream I'm on vacation 'Cause I like the way that sounds,
It's a perfect occupation for me.
This one isn't 'misheard' but I have to remind myself sometimes. The chorus of "Already Gone" is 'I will sing this victory song' and the word victory is very clear but for some reason I always want to sing 'whiskey'. Maybe it's because I associate the song with their earlier days when partying was more the norm, before they 'grew up'.
I just need a little downtime.........
Cynd, I'm thinking that maybe you're the party girl and that's why it's 'whiskey' for you?
PM, I call them sneakers, too! I grew up calling them tennis shoes, but when I moved to the DC area, everyone called them sneakers, so I did too.
FP, I often say twunny instead of twenty. I think most say twenny, but I've heard twonny, too. I can tell you very few people pronounce the second 't' on a regular basis. How I pronounce things depends on who I'm talking to, I guess. When I'm getting my country on, all rules go out the window!
VK
You can't change the world but you can change yourself.
Just regarding that; in Smuggler's Blues he sings 'twenty'. By the time of Love In The 21st Century it sounds more like 'twonny' or 'twunny'.
(and those shoes were sneakers until I met my husband who calls them trainers & that's what I call them now).
There are probably a lot more examples of American pronunciation & slang used in their songs which might strike me as odd but obviously woudn't to Americans.
I shouldn't stray too far away from the misheard idea, but in LROOE, in the last verse I wonder if 'the road to empire is a bloody stupid waste' literally bloody in the way he refers to 'bloody deeds' in The Last Resort or could there be a hint of the way the expression is used in the UK (and Australia) as in 'bloody hell'? After all we know that Don has some fondness for British slang in his use of the word 'snogging' in FGOTBP & 'bloody stupid' is a common expression.
Knowing Don, it's both slang and literal!
VK
You can't change the world but you can change yourself.
Thanks VA, I'm flattered - but I'm not a party girl at all, LOL. Those two Bloody Mary's in Omaha is the most alcohol I've had in one sitting in years! I did have a beer and chat with other concert-goers when I got back to the hotel after the show but I really am a lightweight in that regard. 'Whiskey' just fits in that spot even if it doesn't make any sense!
As for the shoe issue, I think it tends to be regional. Thru the years I've heard them called tennis shoes, tennies, tennipumps or commuters (it was a 'Bahston' thing), sneakers, and trainers. There are also those who refer to them by brand, i.e., Keds, Nikes, Pumas.
And on the 'twenty' discussion, I've lived in Boston, Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit and L.A. - and every region has it's own way of saying it. I will note, however, that a lot of southerners tend to speak with a 'lazy jaw' (no offense intended, I have many dear friends in the South and love them!) and slip into that pattern myself if I'm speaking with someone who has even a trace of a southern drawl. Likewise when I'm back east my speech patterns adapt to the New England accent (cah, yad, Havahd). My ear sends it to my brain and my mouth makes the adjustment!
I just need a little downtime.........
Are we sure it's not Twitchy Woman?
VK
You can't change the world but you can change yourself.
In my History of the English Language class, we were going over the different permutations of English pronunciation as they developed across the globe. There is no such thing as a "correct" accent in theory, although many British people would vehemently disagree since over there, accents have traditionally been a marker of class (see My Fair Lady). Accepted, "proper" pronunciation is a social construct that develops and changes over time and varies with region. Tuh-may-toe, tuh-mah-toe, they're both "correct."
That "Life in the Fast Lane" lyric, whether it's "heavily" or "heavenly", continues to annoy me due to its awkwardness more than its grammatical purity.