"I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist David Zippel for Disney's animated film Hercules (1997). Released on May 27, 1997 as part of the film's soundtrack, the song was recorded by American actress and singer Susan Egan in her role as Meg, Hercules' love interest, while singers Cheryl Freeman, Lillias White, Vaneese Thomas, LaChanze, and Roz Ryan provided background vocals as the Muses. The songwriters wrote "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" to replace "I Can't Believe My Heart", a slower ballad that had been deemed too soft for Meg's personality. Menken ba
"I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist David Zippel for Disney's animated film Hercules (1997). Released on May 27, 1997 as part of the film's soundtrack, the song was recorded by American actress and singer Susan Egan in her role as Meg, Hercules' love interest, while singers Cheryl Freeman, Lillias White, Vaneese Thomas, LaChanze, and Roz Ryan provided background vocals as the Muses. The songwriters wrote "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" to replace "I Can't Believe My Heart", a slower ballad that had been deemed too soft for Meg's personality. Menken ba
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"I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist David Zippel for Disney's animated film Hercules (1997). Released on May 27, 1997 as part of the film's soundtrack, the song was recorded by American actress and singer Susan Egan in her role as Meg, Hercules' love interest, while singers Cheryl Freeman, Lillias White, Vaneese Thomas, LaChanze, and Roz Ryan provided background vocals as the Muses. The songwriters wrote "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" to replace "I Can't Believe My Heart", a slower ballad that had been deemed too soft for Meg's personality. Menken based "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" on songs he had written for the stage musical Little Shop of Horrors (1982).
A stylistic departure from Disney ballads of the time period, "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" is a mid-tempo doo-wop, R&B, and pop song reminiscent of 1960s music that incorporates elements of Motown and gospel, similar to the works of girl groups such as the Ronettes and the Supremes. Its lyrics are about denying having feelings for someone in an effort to avoid romantic clichés. In the Hercules musical sequence, Meg refuses to admit she is falling in love with the title character, while the Muses insist that she embrace her feelings for him instead.
"I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" has been positively reviewed by both film and music critics, many of whom deemed it the film's best song and praised its composition. Despite being ranked among some of Disney's best songs by some media publications, "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" has also developed a reputation as one of the studio's most underappreciated. Among notable covers, American singer Belinda Carlisle recorded a pop rock version for the film's soundtrack, and American girl group the Cheetah Girls covered the song in 2005.
Writing and recording
"I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" was written for Disney's animated film Hercules (1997) by composer Alan Menken and lyricist David Zippel. Menken originally wrote a "soaring" ballad entitled "I Can't Believe My Heart" for Meg, Hercules' love interest, which he had intended to show her realizing she is falling in love with the title character. Meg’s voice actress, , recorded the song, and animators began work on the sequence, only to discover that it was not working as they had intended. Creatives such as Meg's supervising animator, Ken Duncan, suggested that the character was "too tough" and "hardened by life" to perform such a delicate, emotional ballad. Menken agreed, and returned home to write a new song about denial, "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)", to replace "I Can't Believe My Heart". He based it on some of the girl group songs he had written for the stage musical Little Shop of Horrors (1982). Although Egan liked the original song, she agreed that "I Can't Believe My Heart" was "too straightforward and literal" for her character, whereas "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" expresses a similar sentiment, albeit "the way Meg would—without admitting any of it". Zippel described the final version as "a love song with a sense of humor" that embodies "the classic love song of ‘I’m not in love’ and we know she really is".
Use in Hercules
In Hercules, Meg is a double agent who works for Hades despite beginning to fall in love with his adversary, Hercules, against her better judgement. Audiences learn that Meg has been in love before, only for her boyfriend at the time to leave her to pursue another woman after she had sold her soul to Hades to save his life. Because falling in love quickly had been a negative experience for Meg, she is hesitant and in denial about her own feelings. Like most Disney heroines, she sings about falling in love with her film's hero, a revelation she is too proud to admit. Therefore, she tries to convince herself that she is not in love, although her attempts remain unconvincing.
"I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" expresses Meg's conflicting feelings about Hercules, who she insists she does not love, only for her claims to constantly be refuted by the Muses. Considered to be Meg's signature song, it explores the "misunderstood nature" of the character. Upon realizing she has in fact begun to develop feelings for Hercules, much to her chagrin, the song allows Meg to work through her denial, by "alternating between fantasizing about how delightful it would be to be loved by Herc, and stomping her foot in anger at the very thought". Resembling an "admonishing" exchange between Meg and the Muses, "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" is Meg's attempt to avoid the clichéd storylines of her predecessors as she berates herself for poor decision-making. The song takes place after Meg's date with Hercules in which she initially attempted to discover his weakness at the insistence of Hades, and is described by Alexandra Locke of Comic Book Resources as "an ode to he
Although Egan had fun recording "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)", she joked that she felt much "whiter" than usual recording with the five Black singers cast as the Muses (Cheryl Freeman, Lillias White, Vaneese Y. Thomas, LaChanze, and Roz Ryan), who provided the song's backup vocals. Already familiar with their work on Broadway, Egan felt intimidated by their powerful voices and riffing abilities. She recalled that while they were very comfortable improvising and ad-libbing per Menken's instruction, Egan would need to ask Menken to demonstrate her riffs on the piano note-by-note in order to replicate them, much to his disbelief. While it took Egan half an hour to solidify as few as one of her riffs, the other singers recorded multiple takes of their own within the same amount of time. Egan was greatly humbled by the experience, having never riffed in her previous singing roles. However, she said White in particular remained encouraging, reassuring her that "everybody has soul somewhere; we just need to find yours".
Menken also produced the track. Danny Troob arranged the song while Michael Kosarin conducted the orchestration. The song was released on May 27, 1997 as part of the film's soundtrack.
