Contraction in comparatives

[Ed Keer]

Wilson,

I have the exact same judgements, so at least it
confirms that I am not losing it.

It doesn't sound like the Everly Bros. need to fit the
line to the meter. FWIW Johnny Cash also sings it this
way on his posthumous Unearthed boxed set.
The song is originally by Jimmie Rodgers, but I have
not been able to find out if the lyric I'm interested
in is in his version.

Ed
--- Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:

> FWIW, example (2) is the only one good ffor me. Of
> the other exx., (1)
> is just word-salad and (3) seems to imply that, if I
> suddenly became
> short, I wouldn't buy a pistol, after all.
>
> Maybe the Everlys had a problem matching the words
> to the rhythm.
>
> -Wilson
>
> On 6/19/06, Ed Keer <edkeer at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail
> header -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society
> <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Ed Keer <edkeer at YAHOO.COM>
> > Subject:      Contraction in comparatives
> >
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > I find the following pretty bad.
> >
> > 1. This pistol is as long as I'm tall.
> >
> > Especially compared to the non-contracted version.
> >
> > 2. This pistol is as long as I am tall.
> >
> > I'm not sure of my judgement in this case, so I'd
> love
> > to hear opinions. Also, are there dialects where
> (1)
> > is acceptable (if it's not good for others)?
> >
> > I'm trying to figure out why this sentence:
> >
> > 3. I'm gonna buy me a pistol just as long as I'm
> tall.
> >
> > from the Everly Brother's version of 'T for Texas'
> > bothers me. I think it' the contraction, but I'm
> not
> > sure.
> >
> > Ed
> >
> > watchmesleep.blogspot.com
> >
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