Don’t Explain is a jazz torch song written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr. It was recorded in New York on November 8, 1944 with Toots Camarata and His Orchestra and released in 1946 as a Decca single, with What Is This Thing Called Love? on the B-side. The tune is often regarded as Holiday’s final recording and draws on her real-life heartbreak after her husband’s infidelity, with the famous line Take a bath, man - don’t explain capturing its mood. The track runs about 2 minutes and 53 seconds and helped establish Holiday as a master of intimate, expressive vocal storytelling. It has since become a jazz standard and has been covered by artists such as John Coltrane, Nina Simone, Diana Ross, and Dinah Washington.
