Don't Fence Me In

"If I have to pretend-write one more song..."
Cole P. exhaled strongly through his nostrils; his exasperation was obvious.
"Now you know why I'm a closet homosexual and love lavish pool parties!"
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I don't know where I first heard this song, but it definitely wasn't the original. I can't find the original (because I honestly just don't care enough to track down the first recording of this song), but I'm guessing it sounded as white and as theatrical and as gay as the one below by Joe Loss.

This song has a pretty rich history:

"Don't Fence Me In" was written by Cole Porter and Robert Fletcher in 1934. It was Porter's least favorite song and does not have his usual signature.

Originally written for an unproduced 20th Century Fox film musical, Adios Argentina, in 1934, "Don't Fence Me In" was based on text by an engineer who was also a poet, Robert (Bob) Fletcher. Cole bought the poem from Bob Fletcher for $250 and adapted it. When the song was first published, Porter was credited with sole authorship, but he had essentially re-worked the poem written earlier by Fletcher. (Fletcher, who worked with the Department of Highways in Helena, Montana, also wrote the "roadside history" plaques that were displayed along Montana's highways until the 1980s.)

There are some great adaptations of this song, but all of them still sound really awkward and hard to sing, despite its addictive and catchy nature. Are there any singers out there that could comment on this? Even sweet, soft Willie has his moments where it sounds like he's singing this for the first time.

This song is like a geeky, gawky adolescent - the exact opposite of the untamed cowboy the song is supposed to be about. Then again, there's something eerily Brokeback about the this whole song anyway:

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 hovels and I can't stand fences
Don't fence me in, no
Pop, oh don't you fence me in

So? You like the song?

PLAY: Don't Fence Me In - Joe Loss
PLAY: Don't Fence Me In - Hein und Oss
PLAY: Don't Fence Me In - David Byrne
PLAY: Don't Fence Me In - Willie Nelson