THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE
From the film "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962)
(Burt Bacharach / Hal David)

Gene Pitney - 1962
John Otway - 1980
James Taylor - 1985


When Liberty Valance rode to town
The women folk would hide, they'd hide.
When Liberty Valance walked around
The men would step aside
Cause the point of a gun was the only law 
That Liberty understood.
When it came to shootin' 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 shootin' straight and fast,
He was mighty good.
When it came to shootin' 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 tryin' to build a peaceful live
Where love is free to grow;
But the point of a fun was the only law
That Liberty understood.
When the final showdown came at last
A law book was no good.

Alone and afraid she prayed that he'd
Return that fateful night, 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,
One shot made Liberty fall
The man who shot Liberty Valance,
He shot Liberty Valance,
He was the bravest of them all.