Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man

The last refrain of the song is briefly reprised at the end of the first act by the ensemble, as Magnolia and riverboat gambler Gaylord Ravenal enter a local church to get married.

Now an alcoholic as a result of having been abandoned by her own husband, Julie secretly quits her job so that the manager, in dire need of a singer for New Year's Eve, will have no choice but to hire Magnolia.

"Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" was strongly associated with 1920s torch singer Helen Morgan, who played Julie in the original 1927 stage production of Show Boat, as well as the 1932 revival and the 1936 film version.

Finally, the 1936 film version of Show Boat was taken completely out of circulation in 1942[5] to make way for MGM's 1951 remake, which featured Ava Gardner as Julie (with singing dubbed by Annette Warren).

[6][7][8] The song was performed as a song and soft shoe dance by actress, singer and dancer Jessica Lange and actress and dancer Drew Barrymore, accompanied on piano by actor, singer and pianist Malcolm Gets, playing the roles of "Big Edie" Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter "Little Edie" Edith Bouvier Beale and piano accompanist George Gould Strong, in HBO's 2009 dramatization Grey Gardens[9] based on the 1975 documentary Grey Gardens.

The words of the song emphasize an intense love, regardless of his money or accomplishment, as a force of nature likened to fish born to swim, or birds driven to fly.