It was originally performed by Betty Hutton for the 1947 Paramount Pictures film The Perils of Pauline, and was made famous by Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra, who reached number 2 with the song in the United States, and number 1 in Canada.

[1] The song is about how the narrator wishes he did not love his significant other, whose affection to him is "torture," and he wants to move on with someone else, but can not, because "something in [his] heart says no."

Hutton's version, backed by Joe Lilley, was nominated for Best Original Song at the 20th Academy Awards, losing to "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" by James Baskett.

[2] It was negatively reviewed by Billboard, as an "unfortunate attempt at ballad styling [that] should serve to discourage future desires for sweet warbling,"[3] while Cashbox called it "sensational and beautiful," "of the kind that romancers love to get up close to," and "one of the biggest events of the year.

[5] As previously mentioned, the biggest-selling version of the song was performed by Vaughn Monroe.