"She's Funny That Way" or "He's Funny That Way" is a popular song, composed by

Neil Moret Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. A ...

, with lyrics by Richard Whiting. It was composed for the short film ''Gems of MGM'' in 1929 for

Marion Harris Marion Harris (born Mary Ellen Harrison; April 4, 1896 – April 23, 1944) was an American popular singer who was most successful in the late 1910s and the 1920s. She was the first widely known white singer to sing jazz and blues songs.Ward, Elij ...

, but the film was not released until 1931. Harris sang it as "I'm Funny That Way". A

torch song A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affecte ...

, according to

Philip Furia Philip George Furia (November 15, 1943 – April 3, 2019) was an American author and English literature professor. His books focus on the lyricists of the Tin Pan Alley era. Biography Furia was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Ethel Rose Sz ...

and Michael Lasser, the "song begins self-deprecatingly—'I'm not much to look at, I'm nothing to see'—but "at the end of each chorus, it affirms the lover's good fortune: 'I've got a woman crazy 'bout me, she's funny that way. They state that it is unusual as the song was written from a man's point of view, whereas most torch songs are written from the female perspective about a man who betrayed or abused the woman. Ted Lewis's recording was popular in 1929. The song has generally been more covered by female artists as "He's Funny That Way".

Thelma Carpenter Thelma Carpenter (January 15, 1922 – May 14, 1997) was an American jazz singer and actress, best known as "Miss One", the Good Witch of the North in the movie ''The Wiz''. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, the only child of Fred and Mary C ...

recorded it in the 1930s at the age of 19, "handling the vocal like a seasoned veteran" according to Dave Oliphant, but it is most associated with

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

, who first recorded it in 1937. Holiday later featured it on her 1953 album ''

An Evening with Billie Holiday ''An Evening with Billie Holiday'' (MG C-144) is the second 10-inch LP studio album by jazz singer Billie Holiday, released by Clef Records in 1953. In 1956, when the 10-inch format was phased out, the album was reissued by Clef with the ...

''.

References

{{Authority control 1929 songs 1920s jazz standards Billie Holiday songs Torch songs