rocks and stones

[Laurence Horn]

At 2:12 PM -0500 11/18/03, Beverly Flanigan wrote:
>I've never heard that Eastern and urban people prefer 'stones' over
>'rocks'.  What's bumpkin about rocks???

That's why we effete types always, but always, order our single-malt
scotch on the stones.   (Seriously, i was also going to say the Dolly
Parton line was an allusion to the stones that people who live in
glass houses shouldn't throw, but I was beaten to the catapult.)

larry

>
>At 07:45 AM 11/18/2003 -0800, you wrote:
>>Never heard the song but my guess is that, rather than
>>there being a cultural reason for the change, Dolly
>>prefers the the sound of "stones" over "rocks".
>>
>>Certainly there must be an on-line discussion covering
>>of every nuance of Dolly's life and music.
>>
>>
>>--- Orin Hargraves <orinkh at CARR.ORG> wrote:
>>>  Here's something that's been bugging me: Dolly
>>>  Parton released a song in
>>>  1980, "Shattered Image," with a recurring line,
>>>  "shatter my image with the
>>>  rocks you throw." It is recorded in a new version on
>>>  her relatively recent
>>>  (2002) album  "Halos and Horns," but the word
>>>  "rocks" is systematically
>>>  changed to "stones" throughout. What's that about?
>>>  "Rocks" is certainly the
>>>  word I would have chosen in the context, but
>>>  somewhere along the line I got
>>>  a notion that "stones" would be the choice for an E
>>>  coast or urban speaker.
>>>  She has always touted rather than tried to disguise
>>>  her bumpkin origins, so
>>>  I wonder what the vocab makeover was about. Any
>>>  ideas or inside info?
>>>
>>>  Orin Hargraves
>>>  (at one time neither E coast nor urban)
>>
>>
>>=====
>>James D. SMITH                 |If history teaches anything
>>South SLC, UT                  |it is that we will be sued
>>jsmithjamessmith at yahoo.com     |whether we act quickly and decisively
>>                                |or slowly and cautiously.
>>
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