“The Village Blacksmith”
(1839) A poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow about a village blacksmith in New England. It begins: “Under the spreading chestnut tree / The village smithy stands.”
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Kids Sing The Darndest ThingsRemember when you finally learned that the Red Hot Chili Peppers weren't singing “with a butter shed this lonely view” but “with the bird I’ll share this lonely view”? Right?! We do, too. Misheard utterances (usually in the form of song lyrics) are called mondegreens and we’ve got a whole article explaining how they work. Hearing things incorrectly starts pretty much the moment you have ears. Children’s misheard lyrics are especially cute because kids are so ridiculously innocent—even if what they mishear sometimes isn’t! Take a look.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
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