It Ain't Necessarily So

${ \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"alto sax" \key bes \major \time 4/4 \partial 8 g'8 | \times 2/3 {d''4 des''g'}\times 2/3 {c''4 ces'' g'} | bes'2~ bes'4 } \addlyrics { It ain't ne -- ces -- sa -- ri -- ly so }$

"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]

^ Hyland, William G. (2003). George Gershwin : A New Biography. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. ISBN 978-0275981112. OCLC 51861983.^{[page needed]}

[1] Hyland, William G. (2003). George Gershwin : A New Biography. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. ISBN 978-0275981112. OCLC 51861983.^{[page needed]}

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