<P> Porgy sings the song in Act 2 after he and Bess have been living together, expressing his new happiness . Like several other arias in the opera, it is implied that it is being performed by the singer to the other characters, in this case as a banjo song . As elsewhere in the opera, other characters join in to create communal engagement with song . In the view of Joseph Horowitz, Gershwin made "a banjo song with choral interjections, a community moment". </P> <P> There is a short reprise of the song at the end of the act, as Porgy sings cheerfully to himself after Bess has left on her fateful trip to Kittiwah Island . </P> <P> The principal musical phrase also appears later in the score as a leitmotif signifying Porgy's joyful feelings, most extensively when Porgy returns after being released from prison . At the very end, a fragment of the principal phrase appears at the beginning of the final aria, "Oh Lawd I'm on my Way", to signal Porgy's renewed optimism and potential happiness as he sets out to find Bess . </P> <P> The song originated from Gershwin's suggestion that a light moment was needed at that point in the second act . Unusually, he sketched the tune before the lyrics were written, playing a rough version on the piano at a meeting with the opera's lyricists, his brother Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward . Ira came up with the title "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin"'. Heywood then asked Ira if he could draft out the song, as he had never written words to an existing tune before . A' dummy' lyric was created by Ira and Heywood's wife Dorothy--with nonsense words to help him remember the required rhythm for the tune . Heywood sent his rough draft to Ira, which Ira thought "had many useable lines", but was "awkward when sung". Ira polished it into a more singable form, while George perfected the music . Ira considered the lyrics to be a "50--50 collaborative effort". </P>

I've got plenty o nuttin lyrics porgy and bess