I was browsing Youtube earlier and I came across a video called O Fortuna Misheard Lyrics. 30 seconds into the video I was laughing with complete abandon. I was openly weeping it was so funny. If you've never heard the song (although I'm sure you have, you just may not know it's name), it's a medieval Latin poem addressed to the character of fortune or luck. The video is part of a meme culture called misheard lyrics. Basically, you take a song in another language and write down the English words it sounds like the song is saying. For example:
O fortuna, velut luna (O fortune, just as the moon) Gopher tuna, bring more tuna
Satur variabilis (Full of change) --> Statue of big dog with fleas
Semper crisis (Always waxing) Some men like cheese
Aut decrescis (Or waning) Hot temperate cheese
You see the comedic potential. My favorite line is on the huge sudden crescendo where the choir is actually singing "Sors salutis et vir tutis" (Fate is against me in health) but the lyrics on the video are "Salsa cookies, windmill cookies".
Part of what makes the video so great is the animations that go along with it. The characters actually look like they're singing the misheard lyrics, which makes the video even funnier. But another part of the humor comes from the fact that O Fortuna is such an epic song, especially when sung by a full choir, and the idea that an entire choir would be belting out the line "Salsa cookies", combined with the animated character from the video, dissolves me into fits of giggles.
Looking back, this video has been exactly what I needed because it got me focused back on schoolwork after I'd been messing around on the internet too long. I blogged about the video, and now I'm going to work on other stuff I desperately need to get done. Other than that, though, I can thing of no other redeeming value this video possesses.
Here's the link if you want to watch it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIwrgAnx6Q8
So, I took your advice and watched the video for myself. Though the animation is not quite to my taste of humor, the misheard lyrics are absolutely hilarious. I totally agree about the crescendo being the most humorous section of the piece, and the part about forcing an octopus into boots was the cherry on top for me!
ReplyDeleteI found that video to be extremely funny. The lyrics matched up so well and provided ridiculous humor. The animations were funny as well. I have loved this music for a long time and I have never seen anything like this, so I found it extremely funny. This shows that something this dumb can still be funny. I have watched most of your YouTube recommendations throughout the year and have yet to be disappointed!
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