Vol. 07 · Misheard ·1700
"While shepherds washed their socks by night."
That isn't the lyric.
What you hear
"While shepherds washed their socks by night."
What's actually sung
"While shepherds watched their flocks by night." While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks — Nahum Tate (1700)
Why the ear defaults
A deliberate parody that spread via British primary-school playgrounds. Widely quoted in 20th-century newspapers as the archetypal kids' hymn mondegreen.
Hear another line wrong?
Play the misheard duel — pick the real lyric, round by round.