Post by FilmFlaneur on Apr 16, 2024 23:31:03 GMT
It Ain't Necessarily So - George Gershwin
It ain't necessarily so
It ain't necessarily so
The t'ings dat yo' li'ble
To read in de Bible
It ain't necessarily so
Li'l David was small, but oh my !
Li'l David was small, but oh my !
He fought Big Goliath
Who lay down an' dieth !
Li'l David was small, but oh my !
Wadoo, zim bam boodle-oo
Hoodle ah da wa da
Scatty wah !
Oh yeah !
Oh Jonah, he lived in de whale
Oh Jonah, he lived in de whale
Fo' he made his home in
Dat fish's abdomen
Oh Jonah, he lived in de whale
Li'l Moses was found in a stream
Li'l Moses was found in a stream
He floated on water
Till Ol' Pharaoh's daughter
She fished him, she said, from dat stream
Wadoo, zim bam boodle-oo
Hoodle ah da wa da
Scatty wah !
Oh yeah !
Well, it ain't necessarily so
Well, it ain't necessarily so
Dey tells all you chillun
De debble's a villun
But it ain't necessarily so !
To get into Hebben
Don' snap for a sebben !
Live clean ! Don' have no fault !
Oh, I takes dat gospel
Whenever it's pos'ble
But wid a grain of salt
Methus'lah lived nine hundred years
Methus'lah lived nine hundred years
But who calls dat livin'
When no gal will give in
To no man what's nine hundred years ?
I'm preachin' dis sermon to show
It ain't nessa, ain't nessa
Ain't nessa, ain't nessa
Ain't necessarily so !
Atheism (or is it agnosticism?) hidden in plain sight, Gershwin's sceptical song (which first appeared in Porgy & Bess) is an irreverent aria, which although intended to be comic in effect remains nonetheless cynical with regards to gospel yarns, a few choice examples being offered up. Gershwin : "I decided that troublemaker Sportin' Life, being among a group of religious … picnickers, might try to startle them with a cynical and irreligious attitude. And what would horrify his auditors would be his saying that some accounts in the Bible weren’t necessarily so." He might have added that potential offence is defused by placing controversial sentiments in the mouth of such a character.
It ain't necessarily so
It ain't necessarily so
The t'ings dat yo' li'ble
To read in de Bible
It ain't necessarily so
Li'l David was small, but oh my !
Li'l David was small, but oh my !
He fought Big Goliath
Who lay down an' dieth !
Li'l David was small, but oh my !
Wadoo, zim bam boodle-oo
Hoodle ah da wa da
Scatty wah !
Oh yeah !
Oh Jonah, he lived in de whale
Oh Jonah, he lived in de whale
Fo' he made his home in
Dat fish's abdomen
Oh Jonah, he lived in de whale
Li'l Moses was found in a stream
Li'l Moses was found in a stream
He floated on water
Till Ol' Pharaoh's daughter
She fished him, she said, from dat stream
Wadoo, zim bam boodle-oo
Hoodle ah da wa da
Scatty wah !
Oh yeah !
Well, it ain't necessarily so
Well, it ain't necessarily so
Dey tells all you chillun
De debble's a villun
But it ain't necessarily so !
To get into Hebben
Don' snap for a sebben !
Live clean ! Don' have no fault !
Oh, I takes dat gospel
Whenever it's pos'ble
But wid a grain of salt
Methus'lah lived nine hundred years
Methus'lah lived nine hundred years
But who calls dat livin'
When no gal will give in
To no man what's nine hundred years ?
I'm preachin' dis sermon to show
It ain't nessa, ain't nessa
Ain't nessa, ain't nessa
Ain't necessarily so !
Atheism (or is it agnosticism?) hidden in plain sight, Gershwin's sceptical song (which first appeared in Porgy & Bess) is an irreverent aria, which although intended to be comic in effect remains nonetheless cynical with regards to gospel yarns, a few choice examples being offered up. Gershwin : "I decided that troublemaker Sportin' Life, being among a group of religious … picnickers, might try to startle them with a cynical and irreligious attitude. And what would horrify his auditors would be his saying that some accounts in the Bible weren’t necessarily so." He might have added that potential offence is defused by placing controversial sentiments in the mouth of such a character.