In the song "Blue Jay Way" from the Beatles, we've got the following lyrics :
Please don't be long
Please don't you be very long
I'm (obviously) not a native English speaker but the first sentence seems right to me but the second one seems pretty weird because of the subject of the imperative sentence being explicitly given.
Is the second one just as right as the first one? Is it just a songwriter trick to get the good number of syllables? Is it something specific to the scouse?
Does having an explicit "you" change anything in the meaning? Which one is the most usual?
(Also, one can find the same king of difference in "Don't ever change" :
So please don't ever change
Now don't you ever change
)
Answer
Adding "you" to such a request simply adds an extra measure of personal emphasis. It's in effect saying, "Hey, look at me. I'm telling you not to be very long." The speaker may feel the emphasis is needed in case the listener is not paying close enough attention. It's common to use such constructions with children.
Don't you ever touch Mommy's pills again. You could get very sick.
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