"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.
The tap-dancer John W. Bubbles playing Sportin' Life in 1935
Porgy and Bess is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play Porgy, itself an adaptation of DuBose Heyward's 1925 novel Porgy.
Ruby Elzy as Serena in the original Broadway production of Porgy and Bess (1935)
John W. Bubbles as Sportin' Life in the original Broadway production of Porgy and Bess (1935)
Leontyne Price as Bess
Poster for the 1959 film version