This song was for Higgins. A song titled ”Why Can't the English?” had already been written when a song given the provisional title ”The English” was written during the extensive process of writing a satisfactory first song for Higgins (and the show). ”The English” started with the same verse as the most recent version of ”Why Can't the English?” but then departed from it. Lerner and Loewe then returned to ”Why Can't the English?” in the version they had been working on, but they contined to revise it. (We are indebted to Dominic McHugh's book Loverly: The Life and Times of My Fair Lady for this information.)
