This is one of those great songs that seems both lost in time and timeless at the same time. The sentiment behind the song is eternal, and while it does have a style that places it squarely in the 1940’s, it’s still timeless.
From Wikipedia
It was co-written by Jordan and Billy Austin. Austin (March 6, 1896 - July 24, 1964)[1] was a songwriter and author, born in Denver, Colorado. The phrase “Is you is or is you ain’t” is dialect, apparently first recorded in a 1921 story by Octavus Roy Cohen, a Jewish writer from South Carolina who wrote humorous black dialect fiction[2].
In 1946 the song was sung by Tom in the Tom and Jerry cartoon “Solid Serenade”.
And of course, the lyrics:
I got a gal that’s always late
Every time we have a date
But I love her
Yes I love her
I’m gonna walk right up to her gate
And see if I can get it straight
Cause I want her I’m gonna ask her
Is you is or is you ain’t my baby?
The way you’re actin’ lately makes me doubt
Yous is still my baby-baby
Seems my flame in your heart’s done gone out
A woman is a creature that has always been strange
Just when you’re sure of one
You find she’s gone and made a change
Is you is or is you ain’t my baby
Maybe baby’s found somebody new
Or is my baby still my baby true?
Is you is or is you ain’t my baby?
The way you’re actin’ lately makes me doubt
Yous is still my baby-baby
Seems my flame in your heart’s done gone out
A woman is a creature that has always been strange
Just when you’re sure of one
You find she’s gone and made a change
Is you is or is you ain’t my baby
Maybe baby’s found somebody new
Or is my baby still my baby true?
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