Last week an old friend from home and one of my childhood idols, Dina King, sent me this David Byrne video of the 1934 Cole Porter and Robert Fletcher tune. It’s so clever. And mesmerizing. David recorded and released this version in 1990. The song has been voted into the list of top 100 songs of all time!
I kept watching the video over and over hoping to gain some poignancy from it; a valid All Good Things take away. I couldn’t wait to share it and write a blog with the song title.
The song has been recorded by so many famous artists: Willie Nelson, The Killers, The Andrews Sisters and Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, and the Texas swing band, Asleep At The Wheel. It’s most known as the ballad of the singing cowboy because of the popularity of Gene Autry and Roy Rogers and The Sons Of The Pioneers.
photo taken from amazon.com
As a rodeo kid from Missouri and musical theatre nerd, I was in heaven watching the 1944 film ‘Hollywood Canteen.’ What a mashup! Roy Rogers and Trigger + Joan Crawford and Eddie Cantor = My Personal Bliss.
Oh, give me land, lots of land, under starry skies above
Don't fence me in
Let me ride thru the wide-open country that I love
Don't fence me in
Let me be by myself in the evening breeze
Listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
Send me off forever, but I ask you please
Don't fence me in
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
Gaze at the moon until I lose my senses
I can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences
Don't fence me in
Don't fence me in...
A Missouri sunset from the wide open country that I love...
There are other versions that include verses about a fellow being sent to jail and he pleads, “Don’t fence me in.” And another with the singer’s girlfriend asking to be married and he shuts her down with a “Don’t fence me in.”
Interestingly enough, the famed composer Cole Porter bought a poem from the Cowboy Poet Robert Fletcher. He went on to turn the poem into the hit song “Don’t Fence Me In” never once crediting Fletcher! Mr. Fletcher eventually negotiated with Porter's estate to receive co-writing credit and a share of the royalties from the song.
photo taken from iceposter.com
More than anything, that story is a poignant takeaway. In today’s world, we sift through content. Social media newsfeeds, digital media, actual printed papers, and magazines. Most often it’s someone else’s idea or creation that originally belonged to someone else. And we’re reading the repurposed version. It can be confusing. (And frustrating if you are an actual content provider like me!)
In many instances, there are no new ideas. What makes something new is our individual take on something. The way we present the idea, our interpretation, from our point of view or our own experience. We often co-opt an idea for our own use, ignoring the original intent. But we must always acknowledge our source, our inspiration. We must tell the truth of something’s origin with respect and gratitude.
When looking at that song title Don’t Fence Me In, and the David Byrne video in 2018, maybe our thoughts go a bit heavy. They might go to walls keeping out the Dreamers or discriminatory calls against black women in tennis. Or controversies with knees, anthems, sports, and police brutality.
All of a sudden a lighthearted song from happier times gets weighty under the burden of today’s headlines, right?
Another biblical setting of the southwest Missouri sun!
When I think of the lyric “don’t fence me in”, it makes me think of boundaries. Boundaries can be a really healthy way to manage expectations and to feel safe. Sometimes we can actually experience freedom in setting and keeping boundaries.
Boundaries are meant to be inclusive, not exclusive. They help us maintain healthy relationships as we try to coexist with each other. We know how far we can take something. Boundaries are essentially relationship rules. It’s how we define our limits, especially the limits that feel most important and sensitive to us. So when we feel those rules and limits are being broken or abused, we might lash out, ask for an apology, stage a protest, or use our voices to be heard as we exercise free speech against people and things we don’t believe in.
Donkeys in the neighboring pasture next to my parents. These guys are most definitely fenced in!
Here's a recipe for the last of the summer cherries! This was made for me when I was under the starry skies of Washington State at Stoneridge Orchards's cherry harvest a few summers ago. The recipe comes from the Dorsing family who owns and operates the orchard. The family hosted a lunch for all the media guests of the harvest and this magnificent dessert was the grand finale!
DARK TART CHERRY CRISP
Pastry:
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup butter
Filling:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 cup tart cherry juice
- 4 cups pitted dark tart cherries
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Topping:
- 1-1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 5 Tablespoons butter, melted
Combine salt, sugar, and flour; cut in butter. Press into a 2 quart or 11X7 inch baking dish. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. For filling, combine sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Stir in juice. Cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly. Fold in cherries and almond extract. Pour over baked crust. Combine all topping ingredients; sprinkle over filling. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly around edges.
