It’s been a werewolf kind of week.
It started with my eight year old daughter telling me about some song lyrics that she had misheard. This in itself is not unusual; she is notorious for mishearing lyrics. They’re called mondegreens, apparently. Other famous-in-our-family efforts include the “Tears are gonna fall” line in “Rolling in the Deep” transmuting into “Cheesy Fart A Pops”, and the Foo Fighter’s chart-topping Chicken Tender Song.
Anyway, this mondegreen came from a Katy Perry song, which some might argue is horrific enough in itself. The original lyrics are “Throw your sticks and stones/Throw your bombs and blows” , which she managed to interpret as “Throw your sticks and stones/and your lycanthropes”.
Upon hearing this news, I frowned. “Do you even know what ‘lycanthrope’ means?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said in a “doesn’t everyone?” tone. “It means ‘werewolf’.”
“Where did you read that?”
“In ‘Monsterology’.”
Oh. Of course. As you do.
The second lycanthropic occurrence was my being challenged by Pierre Mare to write a werewolf-themed villanelle. I can’t say it was my best work, but it was a liberating experience to write something purely for the enjoyment of playing with words. You can see the results here:
And then there was the advertisement I came across while flicking through a magazine (Better Homes and Gardens, if you must know). It featured on a lurid red background, the words “No. 1 Killer of Women” and an exhortation to visit the website www.goredforwomen.org.au for more information.
Gored For Women. What the…? Exactly what was this ad trying to tell me?
On closer inspection, the ad was about heart disease, and the website was about registering for something called the Healthy Heart Challenge. “Go Red For Women” was the tagline. Not “Gored For Women” at all. Although now I’m thinking about a story about a high profile public service ad campaign warning of the dangers of walking alone under a full moon.
Just goes to show that horror is never far from my mind.
I love both that your daighter knows her technical names for mythical creatures and the unfortunate way that URL ran the letters together. I remember seeing a web address once that made it seem as if it was a website for raping women in taxis (wish I could remember the actual website address) when it was actually a charity of some sort.
I have my kids well trained!
And yes, I feel the Heart Foundation could have put just a smidgeon more thought into that campaign…
I’ve tried a sestina. But a clogyrnach…off to google that one…
It’s a lot of fun!
I rather like your villanelle, Tracie… I’ve only ever written two and neither were anything to shout about.
John
They’re not easy to write, that’s for sure.
No, they aren’t. Have you ever tried a sestina? I rather like them. Or a clogyrnach… they’re fun!