"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