
Western Song: Don’t Fence Me In
Don’t Fence Me In is another popular American song with music by Cole Porter and lyrics by Robert Fletcher and Cole Porter. The members of The Western Writers of America included this song in the Top 100 Western Songs of all time. The song was originally written in 1934 for Adios, Argentina, an unproduced 20th Century Fox film musical.
The song began as a cowboy poem that regretted entering city life, written by Robert Fletcher, a Montana engineer who was also a famous poet in the west. Cole Peter was asked to write a cowboy song for the 20th Century Fox musical. Porter found inspiration in the western poem Open Range by Robert Fletcher, who sold him the rights in 1934 for $250. He turned the ode to the western terrain into a cowboy song about the commitment-phobic Wildcat Kelly, which desperately wants to avoid being fenced off – whether in prison or marriage.
Porter was given sole credit despite the desire to list Fletcher as a fellow writer. He later re-negotiated to list the poet’s name in future publications and voluntarily gave him a portion of the royalties.
Table of Contents
Popular Versions
The song has been recorded by so many famous artists. The most popular versions of the song were recorded by:
- Frank Sinatra
- Gene Autry
- Roy Rogers and The Sons Of The Pioneers
- Willie Nelson
- The Killers
- Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters
- Ella Fitzgerald
- Asleep At The Wheel
Don’t Fence Me In Film Appearance
The song has been used and featured in the following movies:
- Hollywood Canteen
- Don’t Fence Me In
- Nancy Goes to Rio
- Return of the Texan
- Rising Sun
- The Bachelor
- Chopper
In Albums
The song has been released as well in different albums. Here is the list of albums where the song has been included in the tracklist.
- Swings Cole Porter
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook
- The World of Frankie Laine
- Red Hot + Blue
- Old Friends
- Singalong with Little Willie Littlefield
- Cowboy’s Sweetheart
- Don’t Fence Me In
- Death’s Dateless Night
- Saddle Up
- The Easter Tapes
- Rawhide’s Clint Eastwood Sings Cowboy Favorites
Listen (Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters Version)
Don’t Fence Me In Lyrics
Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above Don't fence me in Let me ride through the wide open country that I love Don't fence me in Let me be by myself in the evenin' breeze And listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees Send me off forever, but I ask you please Don't fence me in Just turn me loose Let me straddle my old saddle Underneath the Western skies On my Cayuse Let me wander over yonder Till I see the mountains rise I want to ride to the ridge where the West commences And gaze at the moon till I lose my senses And I can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences Don't fence me in Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above Don't fence me in Let me ride through the wide country that I love Don't fence me in Let me be by myself in the evenin' breeze And listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees Send me off forever but I ask you please Don't fence me in! Just turn me loose Let me straddle my old saddle Underneath the Western skies Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo On my Cayuse Let me wander over yonder Till I see the mountains rise Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba I want to ride to the ridge where the West commences And gaze at the moon 'til I lose my senses I can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences Don't fence me in No, Papa, don't you fence me in