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Double negative

Posted by Henry on July 27, 2004

In Reply to: Phrases in the King's songs posted by sphinx on July 27, 2004

: Do you like Elvis' songs? What about the lyrics?

: 1.Mean Woman Blues
: "I got a woman as mean as she can be." I've heard this phrase "as adj. as one can be" a lot. What does that mean?

: 2.King Creole
: "Well, he sings a song about a crowded hole
: He sings a song about a jelly roll
: He sings a song about meat and greens
: He wails some blues about new orleans"

: Could you tell me what're a crowded hole and "meat and greens"?

: 3.Trouble
: "My daddy was a green-eyed mountain jack"
: Who could be a "mountain jack"?

: "I don't take no orders From no kind of man"
: What does this "not-no-no" sentence want to say?

: Thanks!

Not, no. This is a double negative - each no just adds emphasis to the not. "I don't take orders from anyone." English is not the same as arithmetic where two minuses make a plus!

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