Double negative in a song. "It's not unusual".

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"It's not unusual to be loved by anyone. It's not unusual to have fun with anyone."

English teachers say double negatives should never be used, but if you say "it's not unusual" they won't bat an eyelash.

Maybe it's a question of what is meant by a 'double negative'. The most common objection to them in English seems to be when they are used incorrectly, as in 'He hasn't done no work yet' when the speaker obviously means 'he hasn't done any work yet'. The first phrase quoted would be technically correct in the sense of 'he has done some work', but it clearly doesn't sound right.

I think that the negative 'not' in combination with a negative form of an adjective or adverb is fine though, and can provide subtle nuances of difference or emphasis. 'It's not unusual' is in some circumstances a better phrase than 'it is usual'. Not everyone would agree with this however....

That line from that song is NOT a "double negative". Not in the grammar sense.

"I aint got nobody" IS a grammatical double negative.

"I cant get no satisfaction" (the Stones hit) IS a double negative.

Tons of other songs in the blues, folk, and rock, canon, are chocked full of double negatives.

An English teacher would slam you for writing the phrase "I cant get no satisfaction" on a term paper. But there is no reason for a teacher to do so if you wrote "its not unusual to...".

The reason for the difference is that a grammatical double negative contradicts itself. If you "aint got nobody" then that would mean that you aint [do not] got [have] "no body". you don't have NO body. Which means you HAVE somebody- which is the opposite of what the singer means.

But if you're saying that "to go out with anyone" is ...'not unusual' then you are saying that going out with someone IS usual. Is the norm. And that is exactly what Tom Jones means in the song. So its not self contradictory. It conveys what it means. So its not a grammatical double negative.

Who cares what English teachers think? They make grammar errors all the time themselves, they just pretend not to in class.

Anyway, I've been told that I speak very well. Where I live people mispronounce words all the time because we're supposed to all have a quaint Irish or Scottish accent.

English is always changing as the times & area does. I heard on Adam Ruins Everything that the improper English was originally used by the upper class. Then the lower class started using improper English to emulate the upper class so then the upper class started using proper English to keep themselves distinct from the lower class.

Well...whether you care or not, the OP is confused as to what the English teachers are telling him in the first place.
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But it is true that double negatives are only "incorrect" in two dialects of English, but the two that were elevated to being the standard.: those being standard American English, and the equivalent "received pronunciation" dialect of the UK.

The dialects from which all of those rock, blues, reggae, calypso, folk, and country, songs came from used double negatives.

The rational for banning double negatives is that theyre supposedly "illogical". If you say "I aint got nuthin'" its like multiplying two negative numbers - you get a positive number. So "I aint got nuthin;" means "you have something" which is the opposite of what most folks mean when they say it. But other dialects are not being "illogical". They are just using a different logic: that you have to balance the negative start of the sentence with a negative ending. And indeed in standard Spanish the same rule applies: "No tengo nada" literally means "I don't have nothing", and its a perfectly ok way to say "I don't have anything" in Spanish.

Huh?

So...originally..both aristocrats and commoners spoke proper English? And THEN the upper class INVENTED improper English? And then the lower class imitated the upper class by adopting improper English...which prompted the upper class to...go back to speaking proper English?

That scenario doesn't make any sense.

Two negatives equal a positive if you emphasize the "no".

"I don't have NOTHING" means "I have something."

"I don't have NO friends" means "I have some friends."

Double negatives are often used in songs for meter effect even by singers who wouldn't use them in ordinary speech, same with using "don't" for "doesn't".

Naturalplastic, I am so glad you gave the grammar lesson. I was thinking it.

I get very confused when someone uses more than two double negatives in a row like this

I already said that above.

Tangent - using this thread if you don't mind. I saw a traffic warning: "delays may be possible". I would prefer "delays are possible". The sign's "may be" paired with "possible" seems like double uncertainty. Certainly made me squeamish. Thankfully I feel more better today.

I read about an interview in which the reporter asked "So...you're saying that it's time to take a 'wait and see' attitude?" to which the person replied "No. It's too SOON to take a 'wait and see attitude'".

Its like whoever wrote that sign. Enough just wasn't enough!

It can mean "he has done some work" if you put emphasis on the "no".

"He hasn't done no work yet." = "He hasn't done any work yet."

"He hasn't done NO work yet. = "He has done some work."

Very true - good point.