Will You? Won’t You? Can’t I Coax You?

Suzanne in Tucson, Arizona, says her mother used to say the following to her quickly: Will you? Won’t you? Can’t I coax you? Aw, c’mon! You said you would! You think you might? You promised me! Won’t your mama let ya, huh? There have been many versions of this saying through the years, including the 1968 song “What a Bringdown” by Cream. A similar version was popularized by Anthony Trollope in his book Doctor Thorne (Bookshop|Amazon): Oh, oh! Mary; do you love me? Don’t you love me? Won’t you love me? Say you will. Oh, Mary, dearest Mary, will you? won’t you? Do you? Don’t you? Come now, you have a right to give a fellow an answer. This is part of a complete episode.