English Language & Usage Asked by Mihcael M. on February 23, 2021
In the highly racist and despicable, although humorous, song "Alabama n-word", apparently from the 1960s in the Southern USA, at 1:30 into the song, the lyrics go like this:
I’m glad this tune came along; we done wore out one n-word song.
(All instances of "n-word" in this question is actually the offensive word itself.)
Is this meant to refer to them having previously only sung/played the same one song about n-words, thus happy that they now came up with a new tune for a new song?
Or does it mean (as I always assumed until today) that they refer to having created so many songs about n-word that they are happy that this new tune came along, them finally gaining some inspiration after the "artistic block"?
Basically, is the "one" used as part of an expression/filler word, or does it refer to literally one (song)?
PS: I can’t tell who made/sung the song; I believe it’s miss-attributed to "Johnny Rebel".
Insertion of the word "done" before the main verb of a simple past is a common part of some southern dialects. The meaning isn't changed - it's simply an intensifier.
So "We done wore out one song" means the same as "we wore out one song", except more emphatically.
Answered by DJClayworth on February 23, 2021
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