(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
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
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
About
Genius Annotation
“The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” was recorded as the theme song for the John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart movie of the same name. Oddly, the song never appeared in the film.
When Pitney was recording the song in 1962, Burt Bacharach came in to announce that the film had already come out. Sure enough, the movie was playing at a theater down the street from the recording studio. Pitney later stated, “There was some screw-up between the publishing company Famous Music, and the parent company, Paramount Pictures, as to why it never was in the actual film.”
Both the movie and the song were hits, with the song peaking at #4 on the Billboard charts.
Q&A
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- 8.Tower Tall
- 9.(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance
Credits
Producers
Writers
Release Date
1962
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