meaning of "and there is nothing short a' dying":from Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down Lyrics, Jhony Cash
dear all,
I've searched for the meaning of "a' " mentions in these lyrics but found no answer, does it mean of??

Question

meaning of "and there is nothing short a' dying":from Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down Lyrics, Jhony Cash
dear all, 
I've searched for the meaning of "a' " mentions in these lyrics but found no answer, does it mean of??

Answer

Yes, it means 'of'. It's a phonetic contraction, similar to the slang word "sorta", meaning "sort of".