But I won't lose no sleep on that

[Yang]

Rule #14
Rule #14
Of that I'm sure.
Rule #14
She was with another man.
But I won't lose no sleep on that,
'Cause I've got a plan.
--James Blunt - You're Beautiful

1.) 'lose sleep over something' means 'to worry about something'.
Then, 'I won't lose no sleep on that.' means 'I definitely won't worry about that.' or 'I definitely will worry about that.'?
I've got confused. No sleep = none of any sleep = not any sleep ?


2.) Does 'Of that I'm sure.' mean 'I'm sure of that = I'm sure that I saw an angel' ?

Any opinions would be appreciated.

<Mod edit - to restrict to four sentences>

 

[kuleshov]

It means that you'll sleep well that night, so you won't worry about it at all. This expression has been used a lot recently in Europe about avian flu. Experts on TV keep telling us that we don't have to lose sleep over avian flu, meaning if you sleep 8 hours a day you have to continue sleeping 8 hours a day. When you lose sleep over something you sleep only 3 or 4 hours and the remaining hours you just can't go to sleep because you are thinking "Oh my God we are all gonna die!

 

[Yang]

Oh, thank you, kuleshov, for such an interesting and funny explanation.

 

[ElaineG]

1.) 'lose sleep over something' means 'to worry about something'.
Then, 'I won't lose no sleep on that.' means 'I definitely won't worry about that.' or 'I definitely will worry about that.'? Kuleshov said it all
I've gotten confused. No sleep = none of any sleep = not any sleep ? In the song he's using a grammatically incorrect double negative (which songwriters are of course allowed to do). Normally, you'd say, "I won't lose any sleep over it."


2.) Does 'Of that I'm sure.' mean 'I'm sure of that = I'm sure that I saw an angel' ?

 

[Yang]

ElaineG, thank you for your detailed and clear explanations.
Oh, and the correction, thank you.
Now you have helped me out of this question.

 

[E-J]

I've gotten confused.

... "got" is acceptable here in British English.

 

[Yang]

... "got" is acceptable here in British English.

Thank you, E-J.
Actually, it's quite often that I'm not sure whether what I have written is right or not.

 

[panjandrum]

... "got" is acceptable here in British English.

... but not everywhere in BE.
I've got confused would not be acceptable here, except in casual speech.

 

[nycphotography]

1.) 'lose sleep over something' means 'to worry about something'.

To worry excessively to the point of not being able to sleep.

Then, 'I won't lose no sleep on that.' means 'I definitely won't worry about that.' or 'I definitely will worry about that.'?
I've got confused. No sleep = none of any sleep = not any sleep ?

There is a grammatically incorrect double negative in there that confuses non-native speakers. What we HEAR is "I won't lose ANY sleep about that" because we know from context that he's not worried about it.

I don't hear no noise! = I don't hear ANY noise.


Now imagine our frustration trying to read Spanish or Portuguese with all the grammatically CORRECT double negatives. Or the grammatically correct uses of a single negatives to sarcastically or emphatically mean the positive.

 

[Yang]

To worry excessively to the point of not being able to sleep.

What we HEAR is "I won't lose ANY sleep about that" because we know from context that he's not worried about it.
I don't hear no noise! = I don't hear ANY noise.

nycphotography, thank you for providing some more good explanations.
The empathetic remarks is great.