Ever wondered what Mozart operas are on about? Rainer Hersch has provided a helpful translation of the aria Come scoglio from Cosi fan tutte, in the tradition of the mondegreen/soramimi:
His lyrics are almost haikuesque. Some highlights:
Comely scone
Immobile Vespa [cf. Monteverdi]
Tasteless goatee
And mattress tester
Pussy Galore, Trusthouse Forte
Chicken Korma, Onion Bhaji [cf. Berlioz]
Yamamoto’s vest
Tasteless goatee and mattress tester
Leprechauns are very naughty
I’m not waiting for Basil Fawlty
Now this opera’s nearly over
Can’t spin in out any more
No inferno
No veranda
For an even more fantastical story inspired by anagrams of Cosi fan tutte, see Cite not Faust.
EXCELLENT. I love.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have always thought that Mountweazels were evidence of some thought or imagination, but Mondegreens were generally evidence of laziness.
LikeLike
Well, I just read the Lapham Quarterly article on Mountweazels, and it provides a different view than my first acquaintance with the term, the Danish entries in the New Grove. It’s a contest of two types of silliness. I guess it’s just my stench of humus.
LikeLiked by 1 person