"Cheerful Little Earful" is a 1930 song composed by Harry Warren, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Billy Rose. It was written for the musical Sweet and Low (1930). Actress and singer Fanny Brice, who was married to Billy Rose at the time, starred in Sweet and Low, where she and George Jessel sang the song.The actress Hannah Williams was known in particular for the song, "Cheerful Little Earful" in which she also performed in the Broadway production of Sweet and Low.
As the last line of each stanza notes, the "cheerful little earful" is "the well known 'I love you.'"
The piece became popular outside of the show and was recorded in several forms.
Notable recordings
References
Cheerful Little Earful Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA