"'Tain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)" is a song written by jazz musicians Melvin "Sy" Oliver and James "Trummy" Young.

It was first recorded in 1939 by Jimmie Lunceford, Harry James, and Ella Fitzgerald,[1] and again the same year by Nat Gonella and His Georgians.

The jazz tune was transformed into a pop/new wave song with ska elements in 1982.

With the title slightly altered to It Ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It) (and shown on the single sleeve as It Ain't What You Do....), it was recorded by Fun Boy Three and Bananarama, and it was included on the former's self-titled debut album, but it was not available on a Bananarama album until 1988's Greatest Hits Collection.

Terry Hall of Fun Boy Three owned a copy of Bananarama's previous single "Aie a Mwana", and, after seeing an article about the trio in The Face, he decided he wanted them to sing background vocals on the song, solely based on the fact that he liked their look.