But it won't forget

[Vronsky]

Hi,
These lines are from the song "Heart-Shaped Glasses" by Marilyn Manson.

She said kiss me
It'll heal
But it won't forget​

It looks like the verb forget here is an ergative one (as well as the verb heal). Like,

You won't forget it.
It won't forget.​

But I haven't seen examples of such usage in any dictionaries. Does this line "But it won't forget" make sense?
Thanks.

 

[Edinburgher]

Does this line "But it won't forget" make sense?

Not in general, no. But here in this context it seems to mean that the singer is suffering from a painful memory, and the girl invites him to kiss her.
This act of kissing will help to heal his metaphorical wound, it will temporarily make his pain disappear, but it won't make the painful memory itself go away.
He must do the forgetting himself, the kiss won't do it for him.

 

[Trochfa]

Does this line "But it won't forget" make sense?

Yes. [It does to me, anyway...in my weird world! ]

She said kiss me

Presumably they then kiss.

It'll heal

The scar on his soul/heart from kissing her will heal. [Traditionally love wounds/hurts].

But it won't forget

But the scar on his soul/heart won't forget the kiss.

[Cross-posted]

 

[Vronsky]

Very interesting. Edinburgher, Trochfa, thank you very much.

 

[PaulQ]

It looks like the verb forget here is an ergative one

Forget is not an ergative verb it is unergative* - it is a transitive verb that can be used as an absolute, i.e. an object can always be implied. It is not possible to forget if you do not forget something. It is similar to "to eat"; "to read"; "to know."

*also known as 'agentive'

 

[Vronsky]

Forget is not an ergative verb it is unergative* - it is a transitive verb that can be used as an absolute, i.e. an object can always be implied. It is not possible to forget if you do not forget something. It is similar to "to eat"; "to read"; "to know."

*also known as 'agentive'

Thanks, Paul for the new information.
But, actually, the verb read is ergative. From the Longman Dictionary:

"if something reads well, badly etc, it has been written well, badly etc:
I think in general the report reads well."​

Here, there is no implied object. I thought the verb forget could work in that way.

 

[PaulQ]

actually, the verb read is ergative.

Bad example by me...