Buzz
Sufjan Stevens recently joined the trend of writing 'open letters to Miley Cyrus,' humorously critiquing her grammar in the song 'Get It Right.' He specifically highlights the line 'I been laying in this bed all night long,' pointing out that the verb 'lay' should be used only when there is an object—such as 'I been laying my tired booty in this bed all night long.'
So far, so good. To put it simply, 'lay' is used when something is placed by someone—'I lay the papers on the desk,' 'Lay down your weapons.' However, when something is just in a stationary position, the verb is the intransitive 'lie'—'Now the papers lie there in a pile,' 'Now the weapons lie on the ground.'
Sufjan is also correct in telling Cyrus not to fret, reminding her that 'we all make mistakes.' The distinction between 'lay' and 'lie' is one of those grammar rules that even the most meticulous grammarians sometimes struggle with. Sufjan reassures her by adding, 'even Faulkner messed it up.'
But did he? The comment refers to a blog post from the AMA Manual of Style discussing Faulkner’s use of 'lay.' While at first, it might seem like the title of Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying is incorrect (what could be more intransitive than someone lying there dying?), the blog explains that in this case, 'lay' is the proper past tense of 'lie.' (I know, could these rules get any more convoluted?) Therefore, the title is perfectly fine.
What the article criticizes is a sentence from the novel: 'you lay you down and rest you.' Clearly, this is written in a vernacular style and shouldn't be seen as textbook grammar. Yes, 'the correct version would use the intransitive verb: 'You lie down.'' However, within the context of this informal dialect, Faulkner still follows the rule. The verb 'lay' is used with an object ('you'), much like 'now I lay me down to sleep,' which even the most precise grammarians would accept without hesitation.
So, let's leave Faulkner out of this. If you'd like, you can challenge Bob Dylan ('Lay Lady Lay') or Eric Clapton ('Lay Down Sally'). But it's probably about time we all just laid our tired bootys down and started thinking about more pressing questions, like, what exactly is the proper plural of 'booty'?
