
Western Song: Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a song written by the prolific songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. American singer-songwriter and musician Gene Pitney released the song in 1962 and became a Top 10 hit. The song ranked No. 36 on Western Writers of America’s list of the top 100 Western songs of all time, gathered from a survey of its members.
Many people believe that this is the theme song for the 1962 film with the same name. Although based on the film’s plotline, and everyone loved it, the film director, John Ford disliked it and kept it off in the soundtrack. According to Gene Pitney, for some strange reason, the song was never put in the soundtrack, even if it’s written for the film. The recording session of the song was paid for by Paramount as stated by Pitney. In the middle of the song recording session, he learned that the song would not be included in the film when one of the orchestra members told him that the film was released.
Table of Contents
Popular Recordings
Some of the notable versions of the song are recorded by the following artists:
- Pitney and Jimmie Rogers
- Jimmie Rogers
- The Greg Kihn Band
- James Taylor
- The Royal Guardsmen
- Regurgitator
Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Chat Performance
The song has been included in the top hits of the following charts:
- Billboard Hot 100 chart – spent 13 weeks, peaking at No. 4
- Canada – CHUM Hit Parade – No. 2
- New Zealand – Lever Hit Parade – No. 4
- Australia – No. 1
In Albums
The song has also been released in the tracklist of the following albums:
- Only Love Can Break a Heart
- Glass House Rock
- That’s Why I’m Here
- Snoopy vs. the Red Baron
- To Hal and Bacharach
Listen (Gene Pitney Version)
(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance Lyrics
When Liberty Valance rode to town The women folk would hide, they'd hide When Liberty Valance walked around The men would step aside Because the point of a gun Was the only law that Liberty understood When it came to shooting, straight and fast He was mighty good From out of the east a stranger came A law book in his hand, a man The kind of a man the West would need To tame a troubled land 'Cause the point of a gun Was the only law that Liberty understood When it came to shooting, straight and fast He was mighty good Many a man would face his gun and many a man would fall The man who shot Liberty Valance He shot Liberty Valance He was the bravest of them all The love of a girl can make a man Stay on when he should go, stay on Just trying to build a peaceful life Where love is free to grow But the point of a gun Was the only law that Liberty understood When the final showdown came to pass A law book was no good Alone and afraid she prayed that he'd Return that fateful night, ah, that night When nothing she said could keep Her man from going out to fight From the moment a girl gets to be full grown The very first thing she learns When two men go out to face each other Only one returns Everyone heard two shots ring out The shot made Liberty fall The man who shot Liberty Valance He shot Liberty Valance He was the bravest of them all The man who shot Liberty Valance He shot Liberty Valance He was the bravest of them all