Attention! The Songfacts grammar class is now in session. Unsheathe your red pens and prepare to do battle with the
Billboard charts. We'll no longer tolerate double negatives, erroneous apostrophes, problematic pronouns, and that pesky proliferation of ain'ts. Motown will have to make do with "There Isn't Any Mountain High Enough." By the time we're done, every poetic license will be revoked. Some of our favorite songs will sound terrible, but hey, they'll be error free. (I see that dirty look. Report to Mr. Yankovic in "
Word Crimes," and explain yourself.)
Not all grammar guides agree on what should be considered hard-and-fast rules (
The Chicago Manual of Style decided ending a sentence with a preposition is A-okay). Go with the strictest sense of a rule, and we'll explain some possible exceptions or refutations in the answer.