What is 忘れなと a contraction of?


In Meiko Kaji's song "Jeans Blues" there is a verse containing the 忘れなと
phrase:

> 場末の陽気な男達  
>  私の涙にもらい泣き  
>  酒でもあおって **忘れなと**  
>  財布はたいて飲みあかし

I think, it can be neither a contraction of 忘れない + と nor using the な for
emphasis. The translation I found is " _Drinking to forget it all_ ", but I do
not see how this can relate to 酒でもあおって忘れなと, unless it is very loose
translation. Of course, song texts are often very poetic and thus far away
from typical speech, but the rest of the songtext is rather straightforward...




It is not (necessarily) a contraction, but な meaning imperative (cf.
[な](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/en/%E3%81%AA/#je-55709) #2)+ と meaning
quote.

It describes what 場末の陽気な男達 says to the writer. Though the connection to the
rest of the texts is a bit awkward, it literally says _(saying that) 'Forget
by drinking some alcohol'_.




It is not (necessarily) a contraction, but な meaning imperative (cf.
[な](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/en/%E3%81%AA/#je-55709) #2)+ と meaning
quote.

It describes what 場末の陽気な男達 says to the writer. Though the connection to the
rest of the texts is a bit awkward, it literally says _(saying that) 'Forget
by drinking some alcohol'_.

