She Didn't Say Yes

1931 song

"She Didn't Say Yes" is a 1931 song composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics by Otto Harbach.

It was written for the show The Cat and the Fiddle (1931) and introduced by Bettina Hall.^[1] A popular recording in 1932 was by Leo Reisman & His Orchestra (vocal by Frank Luther).^[2] Other 1931/1932 recordings were by Chick Bullock, Smith Ballew and Ben Selvin.^[3]

The Cat and the Fiddle was filmed in 1934 and "She Didn't Say Yes" was performed in the film by Jeanette MacDonald.^[4]

Other notable recordings

Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook (1963)
Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gormé - for their album Cozy (1961).^[5]
Peggy Lee - recorded September 23, 1946, for Capitol Records.^[6]
Margaret Whiting - Margaret Whiting Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook (1960)
Harold Macmillan - In 1962, the British prime minister quoted several lines from the song in his conference speech, mocking the supposed indecisiveness of a political opponent. The satirical magazine Private Eye took a recording of his words, put a backing track to it, and published it as a disc.^[7]
Al Bowlly

Notes

^ "Internet Broadway Database". ibdb.com. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 364. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
^ "Honking Duck". honkingduck.com. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
^ "Internet Movie Database". imdb.com. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
^ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. August 3, 1961. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
^ "Peggy Lee Discography". peggyleediscography.com. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
^ "Richard Ingrams", Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4. Retrieved February 5, 2012.