"I Got Plenty o' Nuttin " is a song composed in 1934 by George Gershwin for the 1935 "folk-opera" '' Porgy and Bess'' (1934). The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel ''

Porgy Porgy may refer to: * ''Porgy'' (novel), a 1925 novel by DuBose Heyward * ''Porgy'' (play), a 1927 play by Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward, based upon his 1925 novel * Porgy (fish), a common name for fishes in the family Sparidae * Porgy Key, ...

'' on which the opera was based, and

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...

. It is one of the most famous songs from the opera (along with " Summertime", "

It Ain't Necessarily 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, ...

", and "

Bess, You Is My Woman Now "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" is a duet with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. This song comes from the Gershwins' opera ''Porgy and Bess'' (1935) where it is sung by the main character Porgy and his beloved Bes ...

") and it has been recorded by hundreds of singers and music groups. The song expresses a cheerful acceptance of poverty as freedom from worldly cares. The singer says he has the most important things in life, " 'Cause de things dat I prize, / Like de stars in de skies / All are free". Most of all, he's "got my gal, got my Lord, got my song".

''Porgy and Bess''

Porgy sings the song in Act 2 after he and Bess have been living together, expressing his new happiness.Patrick M. Liebergen, "I Got Plenty of Nuttin' ", ''Singer's Library of Arias'', Alfred Music, 2008, pp. 22ff. Like several other arias in the opera, it is implied that it is being ''performed'' by the singer to the other characters, in this case as a banjo song. As elsewhere in the opera, other characters join in to create communal engagement with song. In the view of

Joseph Horowitz Joseph Horowitz (born 1948 in New York City) is an American cultural historian whose seven books mainly deal with the institutional history of classical music in the United States. As a producer of concerts, he has played a pioneering role in ...

, Gershwin made "a banjo song with choral interjections, a community moment".

Horowitz, Joseph Joseph Horowitz (born 1948 in New York City) is an American cultural historian whose seven books mainly deal with the institutional history of classical music in the United States. As a producer of concerts, he has played a pioneering role in ...

, ''"On My Way": The Untold Story of Rouben Mamoulian, George Gershwin, and Porgy and Bess'', W. W. Norton & Company, 2013, pp. 6–7; 130. There is a short reprise of the song at the end of the act, as Porgy sings cheerfully to himself after Bess has left on her fateful trip to Kittiwah Island. The principal musical phrase also appears later in the score as a

leitmotif A leitmotif or leitmotiv () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is an anglici ...

signifying Porgy's joyful feelings, most extensively when Porgy returns after being released from prison. At the very end, a fragment of the principal phrase appears at the beginning of the final aria, "Oh Lawd, I'm on my way", to signal Porgy's renewed optimism and potential happiness as he sets out to find Bess.

Creation

The song originated from Gershwin's suggestion that a light moment was needed at that point in the second act. Unusually, he sketched the tune before the lyrics were written, playing a rough version on the piano at a meeting with the opera's lyricists, his brother

and DuBose Heyward. Ira came up with the title "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin' ". Heyward then asked Ira if he could draft out the song, as he had never written words to an existing tune before.James M. Hutchisson, ''Dubose Heyward'', University Press of Mississippi, 200, pp. 149–50 A 'dummy' lyric was created by Ira and Heywood's wife Dorothy—with nonsense words to help him remember the required rhythm for the tune. Furia, Philip, ''Ira Gershwin'', Oxford University Press, 1996, p. 110. Heywood sent his rough draft to Ira, which Ira thought "had many useable lines", but was "awkward when sung". Ira polished it into a more singable form, while George perfected the music. Ira considered the lyrics to be a "50–50 collaborative effort". The original orchestration introduced a banjo, which was used for "lightly sounding the vamp-like chords against the tuneful and exhuberant melody of the soloist". It has been noted that both the tune and the lyrics bear a significant resemblance to the Gershwin brothers' earlier hit " I Got Rhythm".

Versions

The song has been covered by many musicians, from its first performance by Todd Duncan. Some of the most notable performers included

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

(recorded March 29, 1936), Aaron Bridgers (1950), Ella Fitzgerald and

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

(1957),

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

(1957),

Pearl Bailey Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in '' St. Louis Woman'' in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the title role i ...

(1959),

Carol Kidd Carol Kidd MBE (born 19 October 1945) is a Scottish jazz singer. Kidd was born in Glasgow, Scotland. She came to prominence in the mid-1970s, as the vocalist in the band led by vibraphonist / saxophonist Jimmy Feighan. In 1990, she released he ...

(1994). In 1998 it was performed by

Michael Franti and Spearhead Michael Franti (born April 21, 1966) is an American rapper, musician, poet, activist, documentarian, and singer-songwriter, known for his participation in many musical projects, most with a political and social emphasis, including the Beatnigs ...

. The official spelling of the title is not used in many of the cover versions. It is varied in numerous different ways, including "Oh, I Got Plenty o' Nuttin" ( Monica Zetterlund, 1959), "I Got Plenty of Nothin' " (

Diahann Carroll Diahann Carroll (; born Carol Diann Johnson; July 17, 1935 – October 4, 2019) was an American actress, singer, model, and activist. She rose to prominence in some of the earliest major studio films to feature black casts, including ''Car ...

, 1959), and the fully standard English "I've Got Plenty of Nothing" ( Julia Migenes, 1989).

References

External links

*, Willard White, from ''Porgy and Bess'' (Glyndebourne album, 1989) {{authority control Songs from Porgy and Bess Songs with lyrics by DuBose Heyward Songs with lyrics by Ira Gershwin 1930s jazz standards 1935 songs Pop standards