Date:  Thu, 4 May 1995 21:22:15 -0400

From:  Stewart Mason <masons[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ZIAVMS.ENMU.EDU>

Subject: Re: Business/[bIdnIs]



>On Thu, 4 May 1995, Beth Lee Simon wrote:

>

>> The C&W duo, Brooks & Dunn, from Texas, wrote a tune, "I'm A Hard-Workin'

>> Man," in which they sing, quite distinctly,

>>

>> "Come Monday mornin' I'm the first to arrive [=at a work place where he

>>wields

>> a hammer and also paints]

>> I ain't nothin' but [bIdnIs] y'all from nine to five.

>> I'm a hard-workin' man."

>>

>> In an interview, about the time this album/cd came out, the one of them

>> who is the lead singer said, several times, "I love this [bIznIs]."

>> and "The music [bIznIs] is the only thing I ever wanted to do."

>>

>> nothing but [bIdnIs] = serious, hard-working

>> business       = business

>>

>> beth

>>

>

>I wonder if this is a legitimate attestation of the meaning distinction

>between the two forms, or if it is rather an example of dialect

>switching, using one for the song and another for an interview. I.e., would

>the singer also use "ain't nothin'" in an interview, and would he use

>"hard-workin'" or would he switch to "hard-working"?

>

I agree. Pop music lyricists often use constructions and idioms in songs

that they would never use in conversation or other written communications,

often as a way to quickly identify the song's characters in the listener's

mind. Using [bIdnIs], "ain't nothin'" and "hard-workin'" is a shorthand

way of letting the listener know that the character is just folks.



Also, as an amateur lyricist, I noticed that [bIdnIs] takes slightly but

noticeably less time to say or sing than [bIznIs]; shorter words are much

easier to fit into a vocal melody.



Stewart



_______________________________________________

Stewart Allensworth Mason

PO Box 4056

Portales NM 88130



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