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The Beatles - Mother Nature's Son

The Beatles - Mother Nature's Son Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The White Album
Released: 1968

Mother Nature's Son Lyrics

Born a poor young country boy
Mother Nature's Son
All day long I'm sitting singing songs for everyone.

Sit beside a mountain stream
See her waters rise
Listen to the pretty sound of music as she flies.

Find me in my field of grass
Mother Nature's son
Swaying daisies sing a lazy song beneath the sun.

Mother Nature's son.

Writer/s: LENNON, JOHN WINSTON / MCCARTNEY, PAUL JAMES
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Mother Nature's Son Song Chart

Paul McCartney wrote this in India after the Maharishi gave a speech about nature. The 4 Beatles were attending the camp to learn transcendental meditation, but were not impressed with the results. John Lennon's demo "Child of Nature," which he later re-worked into "Jealous Guy," was similarly inspired by Maharishi's lecture.

McCartney recorded this by himself after the other Beatles had left the studio.

Paul McCartney told Mojo magazine October 2008 that Nat King Cole's 1948 standard "Nature Boy" influenced this gentle pastoral, "because that's a song I love." He added: "At that time I considered myself a guy leaning towards the countryside. But I would have to tip a wink to Nature Boy. Though, when you think about it, the only thing they have in common is the word 'nature'- the rest of the link is pretty tenuous."

John Denver recorded this in 1972. He was going to name his album after this song, but changed it when he came up with the song "Rocky Mountain High."

The song's bongo-style percussion sound was achieved by miking up the drums in the Abbey Road corridor.

Devon Allman's Honeytribe - Could Get Dangerous

Devon Allman's Honeytribe - Could Get Dangerous Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Space Age Blues
Released: 2010

Could Get Dangerous Lyrics

Could Get Dangerous Song Chart

This is the first track from Space Age Blues, the second album from Devon Allman's band Honeytribe. A devastating earthquake hit Haiti while they were recording the album; that event dominated the news and gave Allman the idea for this song. "Between that and the Twin Towers, that whole decade, all of a sudden everybody was walking on eggshells," he said in our interview . "School shootings and everything seemed to escalate and I thought it was time to address it in a way. It's tough 'cause you don't want to get political but you want to touch upon it. So I think it's kind of a thing that anybody can relate to: things are getting dangerous, and hey, we're in this shit together."

Huey Lewis played harmonica on this track. This was a spontaneous collaboration, as Lewis was recording at the same studio (Ardent Studios in Memphis) when he heard what Allman was recording and asked if he could play on it. Allman is a big Huey Lewis fan and was thrilled to have him participate. He says Lewis "played his ass off" on the track.

The Beatles - Birthday

The Beatles - Birthday Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The White Album
Released: 1968

Birthday Lyrics

You say it's your Birthday
It's my birthday too--yeah
They say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you.

Yes we're going to a party party
Yes we're going to a party party
Yes we're going to a party party.

I would like you to dance--Birthday
Take a cha-cha-cha-chance-Birthday
I would like you to dance--Birthday
Dance

You say it's your birthday
Well it's my birthday too--yeah
You say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you.

Writer/s: LENNON, JOHN / MCCARTNEY, PAUL
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Birthday Song Chart

According to Q magazine May 2008, the Beatles were in a rush to get to Paul McCartney's house in time to catch the rock 'n' roll movie The Girl Can't Help It. Consequently they played around with a simple Blues track rather than record anything too involved. Duly inspired after watching the movie, they completed the song back in studio that night.

Paul McCartney told Mojo magazine October 2008 the story of this song: "With 'Birthday' we had a few friends around and it was one of our party's birthday, can't remember who. Pattie Boyd was there, Terry Dolan, just a few mates. Normally we didn't have friends around to sessions so it was very unusual. We didn't know what song to do so we decided to make one up. We did what Roy Orbison had done with 'Pretty Woman' and Little Richard had started with 'Lucille,' do-do do-do do-do do-do; Roy Orbison goes, do-do do-do DO-DO DO-DO- he just changes the end a little bit. We changed basically the same riff of Lucille and Pretty Woman into Birthday- do-do do-do do-do do-do…'You say it's your birthday.'"

This was one of the last songs John Lennon and Paul McCartney collaborated on. Even though all of their songs were credited to Lennon/McCartney, many of their later songs were written separately.

The unique sound of this song was not supplied by an organ or any kind of keyboard. It came from running a guitar through a Leslie speaker. Such speakers are commonly found in keyboard instruments. The speaker rotates, which is what provides the different sound. (thanks, don - rapid city, SD)

There is a rumor that McCartney owns the rights to the song "Happy Birthday." McCartney does own publishing rights to a lot of songs, but not that one.

McCartney played an upright piano that was rigged to sound like a harpsichord.

Pattie Harrison and Yoko Ono sang in the chorus.

Paul Weller covered the song to celebrate McCartney turning 70. His version was made available for download on Sir Paul's actual birthday (June 18th, 2012) for one day only and it entered the UK Singles chart at #64. Proceeds from the cover went to the War Child charity.

Paul played the lead guitar on this with John, as well as the piano, which was cleverly miked and fed into a Vox Defiant, a solid state amp, which featured a unique mid-range booster. You can hear the settings change throughout. (thanks, Eli - Melrose Park, PA)

Aaron Watson - Fence Post

Aaron Watson - Fence Post Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Underdog
Released: 2015

Fence Post Lyrics

Now this is a true story for the most part
That occurred on the top floor of this
Bigwig record executive's office in Nashville, Tennessee
Now understand I'm not poking any fun or disrespecting anybody
God knows I love country music with all my heart and soul
And I love the Grand Ole Opry
But I do have a problem with someone who
Can't even play a D chord on a guitar
Telling someone with a dream that they won't get far
So this song is dedicated to all those underdogs like me
Out there running around
Don't get discouraged if you have a dream
Don't be afraid to chase it down
It's how it goes

He said, "Son, don't get offended by what I'm about to say
I can see you have a passion
For the songs you write and play
But you lack what we all call commercial appeal
And you just don't have what it takes
To make it here in Nashville"

Ouch

Well my heart felt like a train wreck
But I wore a smile on my face
I said, "Thank you for your time, sir"
Put my guitar back in its case
Our little conversation was like a revelation
Redirecting my dreams
'Cause God knows I'd never sell my soul to rock 'n' roll
Or rap or wear those tight skinny jeans

'Cause you know I'd rather sing my own songs
Than be a puppet on a string
I'll wear what I want to wear
I'm gonna sing what I wanna sing
Heaven knows all I need
Is my faith, my fans, my friends and my family
Besides I'd rather be an old Fence Post in Texas
Than the king of Tennessee

So I loaded up my old pickup truck
And I drove back home to Amarillo
Got a gig off old route 66
At this ballroom called The Armadillo
And for the first thousand shows or so
Not a soul showed up
I thought about quitting every other day
But I just kept on kicking that cup

Yeah, I kept kicking that can surrounded by
Blood, sweat, and beers
And wouldn't you know I became an overnight sensation
In just over ten years
And now I'm packing out all the dance halls
And the rodeos every night
I got a pretty wife, a ranch, a band, a bus, a boat
I'd say I'm doing alright

And you know I'd rather sing my own songs
Than be a puppet on a string
I'll wear what I want to wear
I'm gonna sing what I wanna sing
Heaven knows all I need
Is my faith, my fans, my friends and my family
Besides I'd rather be an old fence post in Texas
Than the king of Tennessee

Oh, how 'bout a little front porch picking, boys

Well, wouldn't you know that old record man
Showed up one night at this honky tonking bar
After my show he said,
"Son, I believe you might be the next big country star"
He said, "We like how you keep it raw
We like how you keeping it real
And I think you may just have what
We all like to call commercial appeal"
Huh, ain't that something
Well, sir

I'd rather sing my own songs
Than be a puppet on a string
I'll wear what I want to wear
And I'm gonna sing what I wanna sing
Heaven knows all I need
Is my faith, my fans, my friends and my family
Besides I'd rather be an old fence post in Texas
Than the king of Tennessee
God bless Tennessee
But I'd rather be just an old fence post in Texas
Than sell my soul to rock 'n' roll
Or rap or wear those tight skinny jeans

Writer/s: AARON WATSON
Publisher: ME GUSTA MUSIC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Fence Post Song Chart

This autobiographical cut finds Aaron Watson recalling some of the events that have happened during his career as a country music singer. "That song is kind of like a declaration of independence, but with no sour grapes involved. It's not a jab at Nashville," he told Billboard magazine. "We have lots of allies there, and my booking agent has been there for the last decade. My distribution company is based there, we're playing the Ryman and the Grand Ole Opry in the next few months, so the song is not really about a region in particular, although I do say I would rather be a fence post in Texas than the king of Tennessee. That was actually a saying that Sam Houston had said, and it kind of inspired me to write a song about my experiences in the music industry."

"It is a true story," Watson added. "I had a guy at a major label on Music Row pretty much slam the door in my face and tell me I wasn't going to amount to too much. That hurt my feelings, I'm not going to lie. I grew up listening to George Strait, Merle Haggard, Alan Jackson, Keith Whitley and a lot of the great records that came out of Nashville. Having that experience of being told that you don't have what it takes will do two things: It will stop you in your tracks, or you can use that to fuel your passion. I decided at that point that it might not have turned out like I was hoping, but I was going to go back to Texas, and we're going to write the best songs we can write and record the best albums we can record. We're going to work our butts off and just do things the old-fashioned way - earn it one honky-tonk at a time. I feel like we've developed a solid fanbase that grows year after year."

When The Underdog debuted at #1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, Aaron Watson made history. He was the first solo male artist to land at the top spot with a self-released and independently distributed and promoted album in the record's debut week.

The Beatles - I Will

The Beatles - I Will Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The White Album
Released: 1968

I Will Lyrics

Who knows how long I've loved you
You know I love you still
Will I wait a lonely lifetime
If you want me to-- I Will.

For if I ever saw you
I didn't catch your name
But it never really mattered
I will always feel the same.

Love you forever and forever
Love you with all my heart
Love you whenever we're together
Love you when we're apart.

And when at last I find you
Your song will fill the air
Sing it loud so I can hear you
Make it easy to be near you
For the things you do endear you to me
You know I will
I will.

Writer/s: LENNON, JOHN WINSTON / MCCARTNEY, PAUL JAMES
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

I Will Song Chart

In the televised documentary The Beatles Anthology, Paul, George and Ringo are shown relaxing on a blanket outside. Ringo asks Paul what he wrote in India and Paul answers, "I Will." Then George begins playing the song on his ukulele while he and Paul harmonize with it.

McCartney had the tune for a long time. While in India he made an unsuccessful attempt, together with psychedelic singer-songwriter Donovan, to pen a lyric to go with it, months before coming up with the elusive lyric on his own. (thanks, Adrian - Wilmington, DE)

Recorded at the end of The White Album sessions, the song has some unusual instrumentation. McCartney played acoustic guitar and vocalized the bass (you can hear him going "bom, bom" in parts). John Lennon and Ringo Starr both added percussion using various instruments; George Harrison didn't play on it at all.

67 takes were recorded. The 65th was used.

In 1995, this was recorded by the 18-year-old singer/songwriter/guitarist Ben Taylor, the son of Carly Simon and James Taylor. Ben Taylor's version was featured in the movie Bye Bye Love, starring Paul Reiser, and is also featured as part of the movie's soundtrack album. (thanks, Annabelle - Eugene, OR)

Maureen McGovern covered this song for her 1992 album Baby I'm Yours.

In the mind of Charles Manson, this song was a message from the Beatles that they were looking for him:

For if at last I find you
Your song will fill the air
Manson took to mean that he should release an album. This along with many others were part of his deranged Helter Skelter plan. (thanks, Breanna - Henderson, NV)

All Time Low - Something's Gotta Give

All Time Low - Something's Gotta Give Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Future Hearts
Released: 2015

Something's Gotta Give Lyrics

I woke up in a stranger's bed
With pins and needles in my head
And the clock ticking off the wall
Oh, yeah, oh, yeah

I don't even know myself
I wish I could be someone else
But I don't have a clue at all
Oh, yeah

I'm sinking
You're wading
I'm thinking Something's Gotta Give

Oh
Wake me up
Say enough is enough
I'm dying to live
Something's gotta give (Oh)
Pull me out
Of this sinking town
I'm dying to live
Something's gotta give

Maybe I'm a fucking waste
Filling up the empty space
I've been here way too long
Oh, yeah, oh, yeah

I'm feeling like a nervous wreck
Living on my last paycheck
I'm a cliché in a song
And everybody's singing along

I'm sinking
You're wading
I'm thinking something's gotta give

Oh
Wake me up
Say enough is enough
I'm dying to live
Something's gotta give
Oh
Pull me out
Of this sinking town
I'm dying to live
Something's gotta give

Someone please come pull me out
From the shadow of my doubt
Wake me up
I'm falling

Oh
Wake me up
Say enough is enough
I'm dying to live
Something's gotta give (Oh)
Pull me out
Of this sinking town
I'm dying to live (Dying to live)
Something's gotta give

I'm sinking (I'm sinking)
You're wading (You're wading)
I'm thinking something's gotta give

(Oh)
Pull me out
Of this sinking town
I'm dying to live (Dying to live)
Something's gotta give

Writer/s: GOLDSTEIN, ANDREW / GASKARTH, ALEXANDER / MISOUL, ALEXEI CONSTANTINE / BOOK, DAN STEVEN
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Something's Gotta Give Song Chart

The zombie-themed visual for this song was directed by Chris Marrs Piliero. Guitarist Jack Barakat told Radio.com why they hooked up with the American director: "We loved the videos that the director, Chris Marrs Piliero, has done in the past. He's done so many great videos for The Black Keys, Britney, and we were so excited that he wanted to work with us so we asked him to write a treatment. The thing that stuck out to him about the song was the lyric 'dying to live.' He's like, 'What if we do a funny play on zombies?'"

"His concept was Alex is a zombie but he doesn't realize it," Barakat added. "And, he's chasing this girl and you think that he's running from a dude wearing a french fry costume working outside a burger place… but she's actually running away because he's a zombie. And once he realizes it, he has a flashback and sees himself eating all of us, who then turn into zombies. I think it's a pretty fun video."

The first single from Future Hearts, "Something's Gotta Give" was premiered on BBC Radio 1 on January 12, 2015. Frontman Alex Gaskarth told Kerrang!: "This explores what I was feeling when we wrote 'Weightless,' when you feel like you're stuck without a paddle. When you're thinking, 'I'm really screwed and there's nothing I can do,' rather than getting down (about it), you can apply yourself and drag yourself out by your boot straps."

by The Beatles - Don't Pass Me

by The Beatles - Don't Pass Me Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The White Album
Released: 1968

Don't Pass Me Lyrics

I listen for your footsteps
Coming up the drive.
Listen for your footsteps
But they don't arrive.
Waiting for your knock, dear
On my old front door.
I don't hear it,
Does it mean you don't love me anymore?

I hear the clock a'ticking,
On the mantel shelf.
See the hands a'moving,
But I'm by myself.
I wonder where you are tonight,
And why I'm by myself.
I don't see you,
Does it mean you don't love me anymore?

Don't Pass Me by, don't make me cry, don't make me blue.
'Cause you know darling, I love only you.
You'll never know it hurt me so,
I hate to see you go.
Don't pass me by, don't make me cry.

I'm sorry that I doubted you,
I was so unfair.
You were in a car crash,
And you lost your hair.
You said that you would be late
About an hour or two.
I said, "That's alright, I'm waiting here,
Just waiting to hear from you".

Don't pass me by, don't make me cry, don't make me blue.
'Cause you know darling, I love only you.
You'll never know it hurt me so,
I hate to see you go.
Don't pass me by, don't make me cry.

Don't pass me by, don't make me cry, don't make me blue.
'Cause you know darling, I love only you.
You'll never know it hurt me so,
I hate to see you go.
Don't pass me by, don't make me cry.

Writer/s: RICHARD STARKEY
Publisher: STARTLING MUSIC LTD C/O BRUCE V. GRAKAL
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Don't Pass Me Song Chart

Ringo Starr wrote this and sang lead. It was the first Beatles song he wrote by himself.

Ringo wrote this song in 1963. In an interview for a New Zealand radio station during their 1964 tour of Australia, Ringo is heard in the background saying "sing the song I've written, just for a plug." Then, Paul says "Ringo has written a song called 'Don't Pass Me By.' A beautiful melody. This is Ringo's first attempt at songwriting." At this point, Paul and John actually sing a verse of it and Ringo says, "It was written as a country western, but Paul and John singing it with that blues feeling has knocked me out. Are the Beatles going to record it? I don't know. I don't think so, actually. I keep trying to push it on them every time we make an album." Paul then states, "Unfortunately, there's never enough time to fit Ringo's song on an album. He never finished it." Ringo put the finishing touches on it while in Rishikesh, India.

The original title was "Some Kind of Friendly."

This was #1 hit in Scandinavia.

Bethel Music - Ever Be

Bethel Music - Ever Be Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: We Will Not Be Shaken
Released: 2015

Ever Be Lyrics

Ever Be Song Chart

Redding, California based Bethel Church is a non-denominational place of worship with a vibrant music ministry. They have a division devoted to professional music production and have released a series of worship albums through its Bethel Music label.

This is a track from We Will Not Be Shaken, a collection of eleven original songs by different worship leaders recorded in late summer 2014 on a mountaintop north of Redding. The tunes were written from a place of reflecting on what it means to have unshakable faith in God with the intention of leading listeners to that place also. The record proved popular among the Christian community reaching the Top 10 of the mainstream US album chart.

This track was written and performed by Kalley Heiligenthal. She told the story of the song to NewReleaseTuesday : "The chorus of this song came first. I was in a prayer room setting for a two hour time frame, and after about an hour and a half we ran out of songs. I thought in that moment about finding a hook that was repeatable, and that's where the chorus came from. The bridge came with relative ease."

"The verses are where you'll find a lot of personal diving into my heart to set the stage for the rest of the song. The beautiful aspect of this song is that I was being coached on how to write the verses based on the question why to the statement 'Your praise will ever be on my lips.' For me, it was a beautiful process of learning what the answers were."

"Most of us have many examples of God's faithfulness, His character, His nature and goodness to draw from. For me, it is highly emotional and very deep, but I didn't know how to put it into words and express it. The journey of writing the song was teasing it out and finding out what was inside of me, which involved me creating my story in the song."

"I joke that I have an "Ever Be" journal which is a full notebook of me processing out why I have this call to constant worship and why is He worthy. We all know why, but I was allowing it to get fiercely personal, and the words and the story and my history with God gripped my heart and caused me to try to describe our infinite God with my finite words."

This was covered by Natalie Grant for her Be One album. Grant's version of the worship song features vocals from her three daughters: 8-year-old twins Grace and Bella and 4-year-old Sadie.

The Beatles - Piggies

The Beatles - Piggies Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The White Album
Released: 1968

Piggies Lyrics

Piggies Song Chart

George Harrison wrote this song as a takedown of the upper crust, who he felt could be greedy and slovenly. The Beatles were already rich and famous, but came from very humble beginnings - Harrison grew up in a working-class family in Liverpool.

Harrison intended this as social commentary, but many people interpreted it as an anti-police anthem. Charles Manson, in his very disturbed mind, thought the term "damn good whacking" meant against the American police. During the murders of Sharon Tate, the LaBianca's and others, knives and forks were used to stab them because these utensils were mentioned in the song. The words "pig and piggy," were written with the victims' blood on the walls. Harrison was horrified when he learned his song took on another meaning. (thanks, Dominic - Pittsburgh, PA)

John Lennon did not play on this, but he improved this slightly with the line, "Clutching forks and knives they eat their bacon" - adding a touch of cannibalism to the proceedings. This replaced the line, "Clutching forks and knives to cut their pork chops" which can be heard on Anthology 3. The pig noises were his idea. (thanks, Mike - Mountlake Terrace, WA. U.S.A)

This keeps the animal theme between "Blackbird" and "Rocky Raccoon" on The White Album.

There was an extra verse that wasn't included on the song. It goes:
"Everywhere there's lots of piggies playing piggie pranks
You can see them on their trotters
At the piggy banks
Paying piggy thanks
To thee pig brother." (thanks, James - Ashland, OR)

Harrison's mother Louise contributed the line: "What they need is a damn good whacking."

Father John Misty - Chateau Lobby

Father John Misty - Chateau Lobby Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: I Love You, Honeybear
Released: 2015

Chateau Lobby Lyrics

Chateau Lobby Song Chart
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The Beatles - I'm So Tired

The Beatles - I'm So Tired Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The White Album
Released: 1968

I'm So Tired Lyrics

I'm So Tired, I haven't slept a wink
I'm so tired, my mind is on the blink
I wonder should I get up and fix myself a drink
No, no, no.

I'm so tired, I don't know what to do
I'm so tired, my mind is set on you
I wonder should I call you but I know what you would do

You'd say I'm putting you on
But it's no joke, it's doing me harm
You know I can't sleep, I can't stop my brain
You know it's three weeks, I'm going insane
You know I'd give you everything I've got
For a little peace of mind.

I'm so tired, I'm feeling so upset
Although I'm so tired, I'll have another cigarette
And curse Sir Walter Raleigh
He was such a stupid get.

You'd say I'm putting you on
But it's no joke, it's doing me harm
You know I can't sleep, I can't stop my brain
You know it's three weeks, I'm going insane
You know I'd give you everything I've got
For a little peace of mind.

Give you everything I've got
For a little peace of mind.

I'd give you everything I've got
For a little peace of mind.

Writer/s: LENNON, JOHN WINSTON / MCCARTNEY, PAUL JAMES
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

I'm So Tired Song Chart

John Lennon wrote this at a transcendental meditation camp in India when he couldn't sleep. He was meditating day and night, and after three weeks of meditation and lectures by Indian gurus he missed his soon-to-be wife, Yoko Ono, and came up with the song. The Beatles went on the retreat to study with the Maharishi. When it was over, Lennon thought it was a crock, but he wrote some good songs while he was there. (thanks, Vicky - LA, CA)

The voice at the end sounds like, "Paul is dead man, miss him," when played backward. This helped fuel rumors that McCartney was dead and replaced by an actor that looked like him.

The line "When I hold you in my arms, and feel my finger on your trigger" from "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" appears in bootlegged, unreleased versions of this song as "When I hold you in your arms, when you show each one of your charms, I wonder should I get up and go to the funny farm." (thanks, Conrad - Los Angeles, CA)

The word "get" as used in this song is a well-known term as a quite mild insult that is still commonly used on Merseyside. Lennon is cursing Sir Walter Raleigh (who is credited with introducing tobacco to Britain from America in the 16th century) for indirectly getting him hooked on cigarettes.

George Gershwin - It Ain't Necessarily So

George Gershwin - It Ain't Necessarily So Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Porgy and Bess
Released: 1935

It Ain't Necessarily So 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.

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 boddle-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...
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 nece-ain't nece
Ain't nece-ain't nece
Ain't necessarily...so!

Writer/s: GERSHWIN, IRA / HEYWARD, DU BOSE / HEYWARD, DOROTHY / GERSHWIN, GEORGE
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., IMAGEM U.S. LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

It Ain't Necessarily So Song Chart

This song comes from the Gershwin brothers' 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. Ira Gershwin's bible-doubting lyrics are sung by the sleazy dope-dealing character Sportin' Life.

The role of Sportin' Life was first performed by John W. Bubbles in the inaugural 124 date run of Porgy and Bess at New York's Alvin Theater in 1935. Bubbles was a dancer and couldn't read music. He had to be taught the aria through his feet, dancing the accents of the song structure.

George Gershwin's life work culminated in the three act opera Porgy and Bess, which was based on the 1926 novel Porgy by DuBose Heyward. A jazzy fusion of classical opera and Broadway musical, the work is set in the fictional all-black slum dwelling of Catfish Row in Charleston, South Carolina. The opera tells of the disabled beggar Porgy's desperate attempts to rescue the beautiful Bess from her twin dependency upon her violent and possessive lover Crown and the aforementioned Sportin' Life.

The song has been covered a number of times including notably by UK band Bronski Beat, who reached #16 on the UK singles charts. Their version was recorded with a 20-piece gay choir, The Pink Singers. Other versions include ones by:

The Moody Blues for their 1965 album, The Magnificent Moodies. Their version is notable for the fact that it was their first recording with band member Ray Thomas singing the lead vocals.

Aretha Franklin and Bobby Darin on the latter's 1959 album That's All. Aretha also recorded the tune for her Aretha (with the Ray Bryant Combo) record.

Sarah Vaughan sung this on her 1982 album Gershwin Live!, for which she won Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female at the 1983 Grammy Awards.

George Gershwin originally wanted the Metropolitan Opera to perform Porgy and Bess, until they stipulated they would only use white opera singers in blackface. Michael Feinstein, a pianist and singer who worked as an archivist for Ira Gershwin in the '80s, explained in an NPR Fresh Air interview: "There was no way [George] was going to allow Porgy and Bess performed by whites in blackface, because he felt it was demeaning to the race, demeaning to the subject of the opera, and he felt that it would become a caricature, even though he loved the voice of Lawrence Tibbett.

And Lawrence Tibbett actually made the first commercial recordings of Porgy and Bess, supervised by George. And there was even talk later on, after George's death, of Tibbett doing it in blackface. But the family - Ira actually put a stop to that.

The point is that George had a very special feeling for Porgy and Bess, and he felt that it was his great masterwork. And he wanted to depict these characters in a way that was taken very seriously at a time when many people didn't want to know or see a work that consisted entirely of an all African-American cast."

Porgy and Bess seemed destined to fail as George faced opposition from all sides. Feinstein continued:

"It's a very volatile period in our history, because it's 1935. It's the Depression. And when George undertook the writing of Porgy and Bess, everybody was against him. He was considered by some to be a Tin Pan Alley guy, and how could he have the nerve to try and write an opera? The classical world said, oh, this is absurd. Who does he think he is?

The Jewish community was agog. Of course, the black community said our own people should be writing about our race. Who is this guy to do it? I mean, everybody was against him. Except he had this vision and he had to fulfill it. And he absolutely believed in what he knew was inside of him. And that's what's so extraordinary.

And even after it opened and it was financially a failure, he still maintained that it would one day be regarded as his greatest work. And, of course, he was right."