The word ‘ain’t‘ is a contraction for am not, is not, are not, has not, and have not in the common English language vernacular. In some dialects ain’t is also used as a contraction of do not, does not, and did not. The development of ain’t for the various forms of to be not, to have not, and to do not occurred independently, at different times. The usage of ain’t for the forms of to be not was established by the mid-18th century, and for the forms of to have not by the early 19th century. The usage of ain’t is a continuing subject of controversy in English. Ain’t is commonly used by many speakers in oral and informal settings, especially in certain regions and dialects. Its usage is often highly stigmatized, and it can be used by the general public as a marker of low socio-economic or regional status or education level. Its use is generally considered non-standard by dictionaries and style guides except when used for rhetorical effect. It has also found it’s way into numerous song titles and lyrics over the years. So, today we are going to celebrate the best of these ‘Ain’t’ songs.
Perhaps the earliest appearance of the word in a song, is surprisingly to be found in the the opening song ‘If you want to know who we are” from the Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan which was first performed in 1885. The lyric is as follows “We figure in lively paint: Our attitude’s queer and quaint—You’re wrong if you think it ain’t.”
George and Ira Gershwin employ the word in the title of a song from the great American musical Porgy and Bess (1935). The libretto of Porgy and Bess tells the story of Porgy, a disabled black street beggar living in the slums of Charleston. It deals with his attempts to rescue Bess from the clutches of Crown, her violent and possessive lover, and Sportin’ Life, her drug dealer. “It Ain’t Necessarily So” is sung by Sportin’ Life, who expresses his doubt about several statements in the Bible. The song’s melody also functions as a theme for Sportin’ Life’s character.
‘Ain’t That A Shame’ was Fats Domino’s first hit song that was not recorded in New Orleans, where the singer lived. He recorded it in March 1955 in a Hollywood studio when he was on tour in Los Angeles. Imperial Records had the engineers compress Fats’ vocals and speed up the song a bit to make the song sound less bluesy and give it more mainstream appeal. This also made it more difficult for other artists to cover the song. This is a heartache song about a breakup that was the other partner’s fault. Domino wrote it with Dave Bartholomew, who worked on most of Domino’s hits.
In 1964 Bob Dylan the greatest of the 1960’s folk song writers employed the term in the title of his 1964 song ‘It Ain’t Me Babe’ that originally appeared on his fourth album Another Side of Bob Dylan. It has been covered by many artists over the years. Here we see an impromptu rendition by Dylan and Joan Baez the leading lady of folk. You can hear them discussing which song to seen and Baez saying that it is the only song of which she knows the words.
The original 1967 version of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” was written by Ashford and Simpson and became a top twenty hit for Marvin gaye and Tammy Terrell. According to record producers, Terrell was a little nervous and intimidated during the recording sessions because she did not rehearse the lyrics. Terrell recorded her vocals alone with producers Harvey Fugua and Johnny Bristol, who added Gaye’s vocal at a later date. “Ain’t No Mountain” peaked at number nineteen on the Billboard pop charts, and went to number three on the R&B charts.
“He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” is a ballad written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell. Originally recorded by Kelly Gordon in 1969, the song became a worldwide hit for the Hollies later that year. The Hollies’ version was re-released in 1988 and again was a major hit in the UK. James Wells, Moderator of the United Free Church of Scotland, tells the story of a little girl carrying a big baby boy in his 1884 book The Parables of Jesus. Seeing her struggling, someone asked if she wasn’t tired. With surprise she replied: “No, he’s not heavy; he’s my brother. In the 1940s, the words, adapted as “He ain’t heavy, Father, he’s my brother”, were taken as a slogan for Boys Town children’s home by founder Father Edward Flanagan. According to the Boys Town website, the phrase as used by Boys Town was said to Fr. Flanagan in 1918 by one of the residents while carrying another up a set of stairs. The boy being carried is said to have had polio and worn leg braces.
“Ain’t No Sunshine” is a song by Bill Withers from his 1971 album Just As I Am, produced byBooker T Jones. The record featured musicians Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn on bass guitar, Al Jackson Jr. on drums and Stephen Stills on guitar. The song was a breakthrough hit for Withers, reaching number six on the R&B chart and number three on the Billboard. Billboard ranked it as the No. 23 song for 1971.
“You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” is a song written by Randy Bachman and first performed by Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) for the album Not Fragile (1974). It was released as a single in the same year with an instrumental track “Free Wheelin'” as the B-side. It reached the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and the Canadian RPM chart the week of November 9, 1974, as well as earning the band their only major hit single in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.
“Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)” is a song by Italian electronic music producer Spiller featuring vocals from British singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Various versions of the single were later featured on the German reissue and some UK editions of Ellis-Bextor’s debut solo album, Read My Lips. The single was released in August 2000. In addition to receiving critical acclaim, it became a hit in Europe and Australia, peaking at number one in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Ireland, and Australia, and it reached number three on the US Billboard chart. There are plenty more goodexamples which I may highlight on another occasion.
