What Part of No

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"What Part of No"

Single by Lorrie Morgan
from the album Watch Me
Released	1992
Format	single
Genre	country music
Writer(s)	Wayne Perry, Gerald Smith
Chart positions
#1 - Country Tracks chart

"What Part of No" is a hit country song by Wayne Perry and Gerald Smith. Lorrie Morgan's 1992 recording of the song held the top position on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts in February and March 1993 and was included in her album Watch Me, as well as on her 1995 greatest-hits album. Morgan performed the song on the live telecast of the 11th annual Music City News Country Songwriters Awards.^[1] The song has also been recorded by pop singer Deborah Gibson.

1 Story
2 Analyses
3 Notes
4 External links

[edit] Story

A woman in a social setting is approached repeatedly by a persistent man who sends over a rose, then a drink, asking her to dance, finally asking him, "What part of 'no' don't you understand?"

[edit] Analyses

The writer Sandy Carter cites "What Part of No" in an article on the politics of country music, giving it as an example of his argument, "Most significantly, the commercial appeal of the current generation of country women seems directly linked to a feminist oriented lyric." He argues that this song, together with Morgan's other hits "Watch Me" and "5 Minutes," sends a message that the singer "takes clear control of her relationships" and then discusses similar trends in songs by other artists.^[2] The song is also mentioned in the introduction to a legal article, "What Part of ‘No’ Don’t You Understand?", as "forcefully relat[ing] the anguish of a victim of sexual harassment." ^[3]