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Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)

song

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMar 1, 2026
Entity authorityQ6799161 ↗
Source-derived summary

"Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)" is a popular song that was written by Peggy Lee and her first husband Dave Barbour and published in 1947. Peggy Lee recorded the song on November 25, 1947, with Dave Barbour's orchestra as backing. Released by Capitol Records (catalog number 15022), it became her biggest chart hit. For the week ending January 23, 1948, the single entered Billboard's Best Sellers chart, where it spent 21 weeks, nine of those at number one.

Background

Mañana is Spanish for "tomorrow" (though it also means "morning"). The theme of the humorous song is the singer wanting to put off urgent tasks until the next day. The song is typically performed with stereotypical Hispanic accents, and with a Latin flavor to the backup band. Lee's autobiography emphasized that the song was her portrait of a single happy-go-lucky individual, written during a relaxing Mexican vacation, and she regretted that some listeners perceived it as cultural mockery.

Notable covers

The following artists have covered the song:

The Mills Brothers recorded the song on December 31, 1947 for Decca Records (catalog No. 24333) They recorded it again for their album Great Hits - Vol.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)” is song. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Mañana, Soon and Enough, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1947, 1948—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1947. For this dossier, Mañana, Soon and Enough is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “song” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6799161. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1947 and 1948.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me) primary sources, Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me) archive and Mañana research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.