Song by George and Ira Gershwin from Porgy and Bess
"It Ain't Necessarily So" is a popular song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by his brother Ira Gershwin. The song comes from the Gershwins' opera Porgy and Bess (1935) where it is sung by the character Sportin' Life, a drug dealer, who expresses his doubt about several statements in the Bible. The song's melody also functions as a theme for Sportin' Life's character.[1]
Controversy
The song is controversial for casting doubt on the veracity of the Bible in its central lyrics: "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."[citation needed]
The song was criticized by the composer Hall Johnson for depicting African Americans as unfaithful.[2]
Influence of Jewish blessings
The first and most direct example of influence occurs at the start of the song; the melody and phrasing is nearly identical to the blessing incanted before reading from the Torah. The words "It ain't necessarily so" stand in place of Bar'chu et adonai ham'vorach, meaning Bless Adonai, who is blessed. This motif repeats multiple times in both, and both include a response from a congregation. While the phrasing of the melody in the blessing varies, it remains strictly in triplets in Gershwin's tune.[3] The song also seems to draw from the tonality of the Jewish prayer mode Adonai malakh (God is King) by emphasizing the minor tenth, the major third, and the minor seventh.[4]
Versions
The tap-dancer John W. Bubbles playing Sportin' Life in 1935
It was covered a number of times during the rock and roll era. The Honeycombs released a cover of it on their debut album, The Honeycombs in 1964. The next year, the song was a major Australian hit in 1965 for singer Normie Rowe, reaching number five on the Australian singles charts. Also in 1965, The Moody Blues covered the song for their album, The Magnificent Moodies. The Moody Blues' version is notable for the fact that it was their first recording with band member Ray Thomas singing the lead vocals.[citation needed]
Violin virtuoso Jascha Heifetz, close friend of George Gershwin, transcribed the song for violin in 1944.[8] He recorded this version on September 15, 1970, in ORTF Studio 102, Paris,[9] first appearing on the Heifetz on Television album from 1971.[10]
Mad magazine's 1967 race issue featured a parody version with Martin Luther King Jr. singing, "It's not necessarily Stoke! It's not necessarily Stoke! No, him you can't trust in, Just ask Bayard Rustin. Oh it's not necessarily Stoke!", in reference to the civil-rights organiser Stokely Carmichael.[2]
American musician Larry Adler used the song as the title of his 1984 autobiography.[15]
^Schneider, Wayne Joseph (1999). The Gershwin style : New Looks at the Music of George Gershwin. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN9780195358155. OCLC252640072.[page needed]
^Kick, Russ; Barton, Dorie; Coster, Nicolas; Summers, Nick (2008), Everything you know about God is wrong : the disinformation guide to religion (audio book), Phoenix Audio, ISBN9781597772136, OCLC260590088[time needed]