"ain't nothing but..." = "is not nothing but..." (bad form) = "it isn't anything but..." (correct) "ain't" is considered bad English and means "am not" or "is not or "have not" There is no reason for it to be considered wrong - it has been around since the 1600, but is still today considered "street" language and bad English. "I ain't got no pencil" = "I haven't got a pencil" Translation of the verse: Your heart has been broken, but you must consider it as a cold night that brings in a new day (in other words, it seems bad now, but will get better)

Best translation here would simple be either of these two: It's just (only) a cold night, bringing home a new day. It's nothing more than a cold night, bringing home a new day For example, a mother might say to her scared child: "Don't be afraid. Ain't nothing but the wind." -> Don't be afraid. It's just the wind. The double-negative is common in slang, btw. And grammatically wrong, of course. As that famous saying goes: "In English, the double-negative is a definite no-no!" :)

Hi no wonder you are confused. The word 'ain't' is rarely used nowadays, unless it's in a song or in some American states.

Yes, it's still considered slang, amazingly! I see it as a messy contraction of 'are'+'is'+'not' = "ain't". The -n't at the end of the word is a very common negative contraction. This might give you a clue: if the word is unfamiliar, at least you know it's the negative form.

There's a phrase that I'm sure all native English speakers have heard in their lifetime, "Ain't ain't a word!" ain't means "am not" as in "I ain't going" it can also mean "is not" ,or "are not", etc It is considered bad grammar to use ain't. But in the southern USA, where I am from, it is very common in casual conversation. I try not to use it myself. so "ain't nothing but a cold night" is saying "Is not nothing but a cold night" which is bad grammar on several levels. The correct way to say this would be "It isn't anything but a cold night" or "it is nothing but a cold night"