Burt Freeman Bacharach(May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American com… Read Full Bio ↴Burt Freeman Bacharach(May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, and musician who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music.

Bacharach studied music at McGill University and the Mannes School of Music. In the 1950s and the early 1960s he was the pianist, arranger and bandleader for Marlene Dietrich with whom he toured. He teamed with lyricist Hal David and others to write many popular songs in the 1960s and 1970s.

Bacharach's music has been sung by a number of popular singers including The Beatles,The Carpenters, Aretha Franklin, Jack Jones, Tom Jones, Dusty Springfield, Luther Vandross and The Drifters. He met Dionne Warwick, with whom he would form a famed collaboration. His songs are characterized by (1) the use of unexpected harmonic changes and (2) unusual rhythmic patterns and time signatures. He employs times such as 5/4 or 3/2, and frequently goes from one time signature to another in the same song, often after each measure. He also changes keys frequently. An excellent example of his style is "Promises, Promises", from his score to the musical of the same name. He has a total of 52 Top 40 hits. In addition, many of his songs were adapted by jazz artists of the time, such as Stan Getz and Wes Montgomery. The Bacharach-David composition "My Little Red Book", originally recorded by Manfred Mann for the film What's New, Pussycat, and promptly covered by Love in 1965, has become a rock standard. He composed and arranged the soundtrack of the 1967 film Casino Royale.

He has been married four times, to Paula Stewart (1953-1958), to actress Angie Dickinson (1965-1980), to lyricist Carole Bayer Sager (1982-1991) - with whom he collaborated on a number of pieces - and (since 1993) Jane Hanson. He has a total of four children, two girls and two boys.

In 1998 he collaborated on an album called Painted From Memory with singer/songwriter Elvis Costello. His 2005 album At This Time features collaborations with Costello, Rufus Wainwright, and Dr. Dre (who provides bass-and-drum loops).

Bacharach has had cameo roles in a number of Hollywood movies including all three Austin Powers movies. His music is also credited as providing inspiration for these movies.

During subsequent Burt Bacharach concert tours, each show would open with a very brief video clip from the movie Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, with Mike Myers (as Austin Powers) uttering "Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Burt Bacharach".

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Burt Bacharach Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

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.

Overall Meaning

Burt Bacharach's song, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, tells the story of a wild west town where a notorious outlaw, Liberty Valance, governed only by the might of his gun, terrorizes its citizens. Women were afraid of him, and men would step aside at his approach. However, a stranger, carrying a law book, comes into town bringing hope of a better future. He is the man the West needs to tame the troubled land. Liberty Valance resents the stranger and challenges him to a gun duel. The stranger ultimately kills Liberty and brings peace to the town, but at a personal cost. The stranger had to leave the love of his life behind and accept the reputation of a villain to maintain peace in the town.

The song reflects on the nature of the wild west and how it was governed by the mighty gun. It shows that even in the face of anarchy, the rule of law can bring order and civilization to a society. Additionally, the song talks about the role of women in the wild west, where they had to learn to be powerless in the face of men and the gun. They had to accept the reality of the situation and hope for a hero to save them. The song tells the tale of heroism and sacrifice, where the hero had to make difficult choices to bring about a better future for all.

Line by Line Meaning

When liberty valance rode to town
The arrival of Liberty Valance in town was a source of fear and horror for many.

The women folk would hide, they'd hide.
The women were so afraid of Liberty Valance that they would disappear and hide whenever he came around.

When liberty valance walked around
The mere presence of Liberty Valance was enough to strike fear in the hearts of those around him.

The men would step aside
The men were intimidated by Liberty Valance and would yield to his authority.

Cause the point of a gun was the only law That liberty understood.
Liberty Valance was a violent man who understood only the power of guns and violence, and he used that to assert his authority.

When it came to shootin' straight and fast, He was mighty good.
Liberty Valance was a skilled marksman who could shoot with impressive speed and accuracy.

From out of the east a stranger came, A law book in his hand, a man.
A stranger with a law book arrived from the east, as a symbol of hope for those seeking justice in the lawless west.

The kind of a man the west would need To tame a troubled land;
The people of the west needed a man like him to restore order and justice to their troubled land.

Many a man would face his gun And many a man would fall,
Liberty Valance was responsible for killing many men with his gun.

The man who shot liberty valance, He shot liberty valance, He was the bravest of them all.
The man who shot Liberty Valance was the bravest among all others because he stood up to Liberty Valance, putting his own life at risk, to bring peace and justice to the land.

The love of a girl can make a man Stay on when he should go, stay on.
Love can inspire a man to stay in a dangerous or difficult situation when he should really leave.

Just tryin' to build a peaceful live Where love is free to grow;
The stranger with the law book was trying to create a peaceful environment where love can grow and flourish without fear of violence and oppression.

But the point of a fun was the only law That liberty understood.
Regardless of the efforts of the stranger with the law book, Liberty Valance understood only the law of force and brutality.

When the final showdown came at last A law book was no good.
When a final confrontation was inevitable, the law book became obsolete, and only violence and guns could decide the outcome.

Alone and afraid she prayed that he'd Return that fateful night, that night.
The love interest of the man who shot Liberty Valance waited anxiously for him to return that fateful night.

When nothing she said could keep her man From going out to fight.
Despite her desperate pleas, the man who shot Liberty Valance felt obligated to confront Liberty Valance and put an end to his violence.

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.
In the violent and lawless world of the west, even a young girl learns that when two men confront each other, only one of them is likely to return alive.

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.
The final confrontation between the man who shot Liberty Valance and Liberty Valance resulted in two shots being fired, with only one of them hitting their mark which brought down Liberty Valance. The man who shot Liberty Valance was hailed as the bravest of them all for standing up against the violent tyranny of Liberty Valance.

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