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{{short description|Song by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, from the 1927 musical play Show Boat}}
"'''Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man'''" with music by [[Jerome Kern]], and lyrics by [[Oscar Hammerstein II]], is one of the most famous songs from their classic [[1927]] [[musical play]] ''[[Show Boat]]'', adapted from [[Edna Ferber]]'s 1926 novel.

Its musical composition entered the public ___domain on January 1, 2023.<ref>[https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2023/ Public Domain Day 2023]</ref>

__TOC__

The song, written in a [[blues]] tempo, is sung in the show by several characters, but is most closely associated with the character Julie, the [[mulatto]] leading lady of the showboat "Cotton Blossom". It is Julie who is first heard singing the song - to Magnolia, the daughter of Cap'n Andy, owner of the show boat. In the musical's plot, the number is supposed to be a song familiar to African-Americans for years, and this provides one of the most dramatic moments in the show. When Queenie, the black cook, comments that it is strange that light-skinned Julie knows the song because only black people sing it, Julie becomes visibly uncomfortable. Later, we learn that this is because Julie is "passing" as white - she and her white husband are guilty of [[miscegenation]] under the state's law.

==Context==

[[File:TillCloudsRollBy01.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Lena Horne]] as Julie Laverne singing the song in a mini-production of ''[[Show Boat]]'' in ''[[Till the Clouds Roll By]]'' (1946), a fictionalized biography of composer [[Jerome Kern]]. ]]

The song, written in a [[blues]] tempo, is sung in the show by several characters, but is most closely associated with the character [[Julie Dozier|Julie]], the [[mulatto]]biracial leading lady of the showboat "''Cotton Blossom"''. It is Julie who is first heard singing the song -– to Magnolia, the daughter of Cap'n Andy Hawks and his wife Parthenia (Parthy), ownerowners of the show boatshowboat. In the musical's plot, the number is supposed to be a song familiar to African-Americans for years, and this provides one of the most dramatic moments in the show. When Queenie, the black cook, comments that it is strange that light-skinned Julie knows the song because only black people sing it, Julie becomes visibly uncomfortable. Later, we learn that this is because Julie is "[[Passing (racial identity)|passing]]" as white -– she and her white husband are guilty of [[miscegenation]] under the state's law.

AfterImmediately after Julie sings the song through once, Queenie chimes in with her own lyrics to it, and she is joined by her husband Joe, the black [[stevedore]] who sings ''[[Ol' Man River]]'' inon the showboat. This is followed by Julie, Queenie, Magnolia, Joe, and the black chorus all performing a song-and-dance to the number.

==Repeated during ''Show Boat''==

After Julie sings the song through once, Queenie chimes in with her own lyrics to it, and she is joined by her husband Joe, the black [[stevedore]] who sings ''[[Ol' Man River]]'' in the show. This is followed by Julie, Queenie, Magnolia, Joe, and the black chorus all performing a song-and-dance to the number.

The last refrain of the song is briefly reprised at the end of the first act by the [[ensemble cast|ensemble]], as Magnolia and riverboat gambler Gaylord Ravenal enter a local church to get married.

The song makes one last appearance in Act II of the show, when Magnolia uses it as an audition piece while trying to get a job as a singer in the Trocadero nightclub after Ravenal has deserted her. From backstage, Julie, now the featured star there after having been forced to leave the show boat by the local sheriff, hears Magnolia sing the song. Now an alcoholic as a result of having been abandoned by her own husband, Julie secretly quits her job so that the manager, in dire need of a singer for New Year's Eve, will have no choice but to hire Magnolia.

==History of performances==

"Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" was extremely associated with [[1920s]] [[torch singer]] [[Helen Morgan]], who played Julie in the original [[1927]] stage production of ''Show Boat'', as well as the 1932 revival and the [[1936]] film version. While Morgan was alive, she "owned" the song as much as [[Judy Garland]] owned "[[Over the Rainbow]]" (from ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]''). However, Morgan died prematurely in [[1941]], her recordings are seldom played or reissued today, and the 1936 film version of ''Show Boat'' was taken completely out of circulation in 1942 to make way for [[MGM]]'s 1951 [[remake]] which featured [[Ava Gardner]] as Julie (with singing dubbed by Annette Warren). Therefore, modern audiences unfamiliar with the 1936 film have most likely never heard Helen Morgan's performance of the song. Another singer who had a big hit with it was [[Lena Horne]], who sang it in the [[Jerome Kern]] biopic ''[[Till the Clouds Roll By]]'', and could have easily played Julie in [[MGM]]'s ''Show Boat'' had the studio not been nervous about casting her in the role.

"Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" was strongly associated with 1920s [[torch singer]] [[Helen Morgan (singer)|Helen Morgan]], who played Julie in the original 1927 stage production of ''Show Boat'', as well as the 1932 revival and [[Show Boat (1936 film)|the 1936 film version]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028249/fullcredits|title=Show Boat (1936) |website=IMDb.com|access-date=16 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0604709/bio|title=Helen Morgan|website=IMDb.com|access-date=16 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/shows/Show-Boat-7131/cast|title=Show Boat Original Broadway Cast 1932 &#124; Broadway World|website=Broadwayworld.com|access-date=16 December 2021}}</ref> While Morgan was alive, she "owned" the song as much as [[Judy Garland]] owned "[[Over the Rainbow]]" (from ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]''). However, Morgan died prematurely in 1941. Her recordings are seldom played or reissued today and her films are infrequently seen. Finally, the 1936 film version of ''Show Boat'' was taken completely out of circulation in 1942<ref>Warner's has recently reissued this version, remastered; initial production will be manufactured DVDs, thereafter it will become a made-on-demand DVD-R.</ref> to make way for [[MGM]]'s 1951 [[remake]], which featured [[Ava Gardner]] as Julie (with singing dubbed by [[Annette Warren]]). Therefore, modern audiences unfamiliar with the 1936 film have most likely never heard Helen Morgan's performance of the song, though various recordings of her singing it are available online.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG8R8oB4eaY |title=Helen Morgan - Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man 1928 - YouTube |website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=2017-03-02 |archive-date=2017-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405160043/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG8R8oB4eaY |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vakcYAKtqas |title=Helen Morgan, Victor Young and the Brunswick Orchestra - Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man (1932) - YouTube |website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=2017-03-02 |archive-date=2017-04-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406084905/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vakcYAKtqas |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPR3X9AjhaU|title=Show Boat - 1936|date=10 February 2010 |access-date=16 December 2021|via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref>

The song was performed as a song and [[Tap dance|soft shoe dance]] by actress, singer and dancer [[Jessica Lange]] and actress and dancer [[Drew Barrymore]], accompanied on piano by actor, singer and pianist [[Malcolm Gets]], playing the roles of "Big Edie" [[Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale|Edith Bouvier Beale]] and her daughter "Little Edie" [[Edith Bouvier Beale]] and piano accompanist George Gould Strong, in HBO's 2009 dramatization ''[[Grey Gardens (2009 film)|Grey Gardens]]''<ref>{{cite web|title=''Grey Gardens''|website=IMDb.com|url=https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0758751/|access-date=20 May 2021}}</ref> based on the 1975 documentary ''[[Grey Gardens]]''.

==Love song lyrics==

The lyrics are under copyright, but limited portions can be repeated for critical analysis (''see source for entire song'').

Famous composer and "King of Satire" Tom Lehrer parodied the first two lines of the song in the 1959 song "She's My Girl", with the opening lines: "Sharks gotta swim, and bats gotta fly; / I gotta love one woman till I die". In 1965, as part of the album ''[[That Was the Year That Was|That Was the Year that Was]]'', later, he quoted those lines in the song "Pollution": "Fish gotta swim, and birds gotta fly, / But they don't last long if they try".

<ref name="LyricsT">

"Show Boat Soundtrack Lyrics: 'Can't Help Lovin Dat Man' lyrics",

==LovePartial song lyrics==

www.lyricstime.com, 2007, webpage:

The lyrics are under copyright, but limited portions can be repeated for critical analysis (''see educational source for entire song''). The words of the song emphasize an intense love, regardless of his money or accomplishment, as a force of nature likened to fish born to swim, or birds driven to {{nowrap|fly.<ref name=LyricsT/> }} Within the play, the song is introduced as mixed along with the dialog: <ref name=LyricsT/>

[http://www.lyricstime.com/show-boat-soundtrack-cant-help-lovin-dat-man-lyrics.html LyricsTime-Can't-Help-Lovin].

</ref>

The words of the song emphasize an intense love, regardless of his money or accomplishment, as a force of nature likened to fish born to swim, or birds driven to fly.<ref name=LyricsT/> Within the play, the song is introduced as mixed along with the dialog: <ref name=LyricsT/>

::(JULIE sings...)

::''Fish got to swim, birds got to fly, ''

::''I got togotta love one man till I die,''

::''Can't help lovin' dat man of mine.''

::(MAGNOLIA recognizes the song):

::''That's it...''

::(QUEENIE, re-entering, stops in her tracks and looksappears puzzled.)

::(JULIE continues singing...)

::''Tell me he's lazy, tell me he's slow, ''

::''Tell me I'm crazy (maybe I know)''

::''Can't help lovin' dat man of mine.''

::(QUEENIE questions whyhow would white people know the song):

::''How come y'all know dat song? <ref name=LyricsT/>''

:: (...remainder omitted due to copyright restrictions...)

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==Controversy==

In its own way, the song is almost as controversial as the song "[[Ol' Man River]]" (also from ''Show Boat'') because of some phrases, (though its lyrics have caused less of an uproar because the "offensive" portion is sung not by Julie but by Queenie), and is therefore not usually heard outside the show. In her section of the song, Queenie hassings theabout lyricJoe:<br>

::''My man is shiftless,''

::''An' good for nothin', too.''

::''He's my man just the same.''

::''He's never 'round here''

::''When there is work to do,''

::''He's never 'round here when there's workin' to do.''

This lyric was included in every production of ''Show Boat'' up until [[1966]], except for the 1951 film version, in which this section of the song was simply omitted. In the 1966 [[Lincoln Center]] production of the show, produced during the height of the [[Civil Rights]] era, this part of the lyric was completely rewritten by an uncredited writer to avoid any controversy, and it has remained that way ever since -– except in the now-famous [[EMI]] 3-CD album set of ''Show Boat'', released in [[1988]]. The revised lyric went:

::''My man's a dreamer,<br>''

::''He don't have much to say <br>''

::''He's my man just the same<br>''

::''Instead o' workin,<br>''

::''He sits and dreams all day, <br>''

::''Instead o' workin', he'll be dreamin' all day.<br>''

The 1951 film version of ''Show Boat'' went even one step further than the 1966 stage revival in "smoothing out" any "edginess" about the song, by omitting all reference to it as one sung for years by [[African-Americans]], and thereby omitting the section in which Queenie remarks that it is strange for Julie to know the song. In the 1951 film, the song is simply a love song Julie sings about her husband Steve, not a folk tune. Lena Horne also sings it this way in ''Till the Clouds Roll By''.

==See also==

* Other songs from ''[[Show Boat]]'': &nbsp;"[[Bill (Show Boat)|Bill]]", "[[Ol' Man River]]''"

==Notes==<!--some notes here refer to "References" below-->

{{Reflist}}

==Additional references==

* Kreuger, Miles ''[[Show Boat: The Story of a Classic American Musical]]'', Oxford, 1977.

{{Show Boat}}

==Notes==

<references/>

{{authority control}}

==References==

Kreuger, Miles ''[[Show Boat: The Story of a Classic American Musical]]'' Oxford, 1977.

[[Category:Songs from Show Boat]]

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[[Category:Songs with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II]]

[[Category:Songs with music by Jerome Kern]]

[[Category:Torch songs]]

[[Category:Lena Horne songs]]

[[Category:1920s jazz standards]]

[[Category:1927 songs]]