Vol. 07 · Misheard ·1879
"Gladly, the cross-eyed bear."
That isn't the lyric.
What you hear
"Gladly, the cross-eyed bear."
What's actually sung
"Gladly, the cross I'd bear." Keep Thou My Way (alternate) — Fanny Crosby (1879)
Why the ear defaults
Sylvia Wright cited this in her 1954 *Harper's* essay that coined the term "mondegreen" (after her own mishearing of "laid him on the green" as "Lady Mondegreen").
Hear another line wrong?
Play the misheard duel — pick the real lyric, round by round.