Every time I hear the song Don’t Speak by No Doubt I think of the importance of punctuation. Specifically, take this line:
Don’t tell me cause it hurts
The meaning is actually ambiguous in my mind without some punctuation.
Consider it a rebuttal to some previous comment:
Don’t tell me “cause it hurts”
Or what about if it was actually an order:
Don’t; tell me: “cause it hurts”
Or maybe it is being spoken by someone who is a bit masochistic:
Don’t. Tell me cause it hurts
And yes, these are the things I think about when I’m at the gym and this song comes on :)
