 " Say Yes " is an uptempo gospel song with elements of pop music . The song was also noted for exploring elements of Contemporary Christian as well as electronic dance music . Jeff Benjamin of Fuse felt that the song contained a " zippy " , reggae @-@ dance beat . Its instrumentation includes percussion instruments , synths and horn stabs along with African beats . According to sheet music published on the website Musicnotes.com by Kobalt Music Publishing America , Inc . , " Say Yes " is written in the key of D ♭ major using common time . It contains a moderately fast tempo with a metronome of 120 beats per minute and the singers ' vocal elements range from the low note of A ♭ 3 to the high note of F5 . The song samples a popular Nigerian gospel tune originally titled " When Jesus Says Yes " . Chris Payne and Colin Stutz of Billboard magazine described it as a modern dance and contemporary electronic dance reworking of that song . Stutz also found elements of an " upbeat swing " of West African gospel . Regarding the composition of the song , Williams stated , " It is a song that came from Africa more than a hundred years ago . I don 't think anyone knows who wrote it or who started singing that chorus . When the song leaked last week , so many people from Africa and Nigeria were trying to let me know where it came from . " 
