David Byrne was born in Dumbarton, Scotland. Two years later, his parents moved to Hamilton, Ontario, and then to Arbutus, Maryland. Before high school, David Byrne already knew how to play the guitar, accordion, and violin. He was rejected from his middle school's choir because they claimed he was "off-key and too withdrawn." From a young age, he had a strong interest in music. His parents say that he would constantly play his phonograph from age three and he learned how to play the harmonica at age five. In his journals he says, "I was a peculiar young man — borderline Asperger's, I would guess." As revealed by Tina Weymouth in the commentary for the concert film Stop Making Sense, Byrne is left handed but plays guitar right handed.
He graduated from Lansdowne High School in southwest Baltimore County. Byrne started his musical career in a high school duo named Bizadi with Mark Kehoe. Their repertoire consisted mostly of songs such as "April Showers," "96 Tears," "Dancing On The Ceiling," and Frank Sinatra songs. Byrne then attended the Rhode Island School of Design (during the 1970–71 term) and the Maryland Institute College of Art (during the 1971–72 term) before dropping out and forming a band called "The Artistics" with fellow RISD student Chris Frantz. The band dissolved within a year, and the two moved to New York together with Frantz's girlfriend Tina Weymouth. Unable to find a bass player in New York, Frantz and Byrne persuaded Weymouth to learn to play the bass guitar.
After some practice and playing together they founded the group Talking Heads which had its first gig in 1975. Multi-instrumentalist Jerry Harrison joined the group in 1977. The band released 8 studio albums before going into hiatus in 1988. David Byrne desired to go solo, but it took 3 years to announce that the band was breaking up in 1991. A brief reunion for a single "Sax and Violins" in 1991 occurred before again dissolving. The band was inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, when they reunited to play 4 tracks.
During his time in the Talking Heads, Byrne took on outside projects, collaborating with Brian Eno during 1979 and 1981 on the album My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which attracted considerable critical acclaim due to its early use of analogue sampling and found sounds. Following this record, Byrne focused his attention on Talking Heads. My Life in the Bush of Ghosts was re-released for its 25th anniversary in early 2006, with new bonus tracks. In keeping with the spirit of the original album, two of the songs' component tracks were released under Creative Commons licenses and a remix contest site was launched.
Rei Momo (1989) was the first solo album by Byrne, after leaving Talking Heads, that features mainly Afro-Cuban, Afro-Hispanic, and Brazilian song styles including popular dances including merengue, Cuban Son, samba, mambo, cumbia, cha-cha-chá, bomba, and charanga. His third solo album Uh-Oh (1992) followed that featured a brass-section and was driven by catchy tracks such as "Girls on My Mind" and "The Cowboy Mambo (Hey Lookit Me Now)". His fourth solo album, titled davidenryb (1994), was a more proper rock record, with Byrne playing most of the instruments on it, leaving percussion for session musicians. "Angels" and "Back in the Box" were the two main singles released from the album. The first one entered the US Modern Rock Tracks chart, reaching #24. For his fifth studio effort the emotional Feelings (1997), Byrne employed a brass orchestra called Black Cat Orchestra. His sixth Look into the Eyeball (2001) continued the same musical exploration of Feelings, but was compiled of more upbeat tracks, like those found on Uh-Oh.
Grown Backwards (2004), released by Nonesuch Records, used orchestral string arrangements, and includes two operatic arias as well as a rework of X-Press 2 collaboration "Lazy". He also launched a North American and Australian tour with the Tosca Strings. This tour ended with Los Angeles, San Diego and New York shows in August 2005.
Byrne and Eno reunited for his eighth album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (2008).
He assembled a band to tour worldwide for the album for a six-month period from late 2008 through early 2009 on the Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno Tour.
In September 2012, Byrne and St. Vincent released a collaborative album, Love This Giant.
In 1981, Byrne partnered with choreographer Twyla Tharp, scoring music he wrote that appeared on his album, The Catherine Wheel for a ballet with the same name, prominently featuring unusual rhythms and lyrics. Productions of The Catherine Wheel appeared on Broadway that same year. In Spite of Wishing and Wanting is a soundscape David Byrne produced for the Belgian choreographer Wim Vandekeybus's dance company Ultima Vez.
In 1991, Byrne released a classical instrumental album The Forest, where some of the tracks were already featured as a score for 1988 Robert Wilson theatre piece of the same name.
His work has been extensively used in movie soundtracks, most notably in collaboration with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su on Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor, which won an Academy Award for Best Original Score. In 2004, Lead Us Not Into Temptation (music from the film "Young Adam") included tracks and musical experiments from his score to Young Adam. Byrne also wrote, directed, and starred in True Stories, a musical collage of discordant Americana released in 1986, as well as producing most of the film's music. Byrne also directed the documentary Île Aiye and the concert film of his 1992 Latin-tinged tour titled Between the Teeth. He was chiefly responsible for the stage design and choreography of Stop Making Sense in 1984. Byrne added "Loco de Amor" (Crazy for Love) with Celia Cruz to Jonathan Demme's 1986 film Something Wild.
Byrne wrote the Dirty Dozen Brass Band-inspired score for Robert Wilson's Opera The Knee Plays from The Civil Wars: A Tree Is Best Measured When It Is Down. Some of the music from Byrne's orchestral album The Forest was originally used in a Wilson-directed theatre piece with the same name. The Forest premiered at the Theater der Freien Volksbühne, Berlin in 1988. It received its New York premiere in December 1988 at BAM, the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The Forestry Maxi-single contained dance and industrial remixes of pieces from The Forest by Jack Dangers, Rudy Tambala, and Anthony Capel.
In late 2005 Byrne and Fatboy Slim began work on Here Lies Love, a disco opera or song cycle about the life of Imelda Marcos, the controversial former First Lady of the Philippines. Some music from this piece was debuted at Adelaide Festival of Arts in Australia in February 2006 and the following year at Carnegie Hall on February 3, 2007.
In 2008 Byrne released Big Love: Hymnal – his soundtrack to season two of Big Love. These two albums constituted the first releases on his personal independent record label Todo Mundo.
Byrne and Brian Eno provided the soundtrack for the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
Byrne has contributed songs to five AIDS benefit compilation albums produced by the Red Hot Organization: Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter, Red Hot + Rio, Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin, Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon, and Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip. Byrne appeared as a guest vocalist/guitarist for 10,000 Maniacs during their MTV Unplugged concert, though the songs in which he is featured were cut from their following album. One of them, "Let the Mystery Be", appeared as the fourth track on 10,000 Maniacs' CD single "Few and Far Between". Byrne worked with the "Queen of Tex-Mex", Tejano superstar Selena, writing, producing and singing a song ("God's Child (Baila Conmigo)"), included on Selena's last album, "Dreaming of You", before her death. Byrne was the host of Sessions at West 54th during its second of three seasons and collaborated with members of Devo and Morcheeba to record the album Feelings in 1997.
In 2001 a version of Byrne's single "Like Humans Do", edited to remove its drug reference, was selected by Microsoft as the sample music for Windows XP to demonstrate Windows Media Player (not included in SP2 installs).
In 2002, he co-wrote and provided vocals for a track, "Lazy" by X-Press 2, which reached number 2 in the United Kingdom and number 1 on the U.S. Dance Charts. Byrne said in an interview in BBC Four Sessions's coverage of his Union Chapel performance that "Lazy" was number 1 in Syria. The track later featured with orchestral arrangements on his Grown Backwards (2004) album.
In 2006, his singing was featured on "The Heart's a Lonely Hunter" on The Cosmic Game by Thievery Corporation.
He is featured on the tracks "Money" and "The People Tree", on N.A.S.A.'s 2009 album The Spirit of Apollo. Also in 2009, David Byrne appeared on HIV/AIDS charity album Dark Was the Night for Red Hot Organization. He collaborated with Dirty Projectors on the song "Knotty Pine". In the same year, Byrne performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. He also was a signator of a letter protesting the decision of the Toronto International Film Festival to choose Tel Aviv as the subject of its inaugural City-to-City Spotlight strand.
In 2007, David Byrne provided a cover of The Fiery Furnaces' song "Ex-Guru" for a compilation to celebrate the 15th birthday of Thrill Jockey, a Chicago-based label.
In 2008, Byrne and his production team turned the Battery Maritime Building, a 99-year-old ferry terminal in Manhattan, into a playable musical instrument. The structure was connected electronically to a pipe organ and made playable for a piece called "Playing the Building". This project was previously installed in Stockholm, Sweden in 2005, and later at the London Roundhouse in 2009. It bears similarities to a series of installations created by New Zealand and Detroit based artists Alastair Galbraith and Matt De Genaro, which were recorded on their 1998 record Wire Music and on the 2006 follow-up Long Wires in Dark Museums, Vol. 2. Byrne says that the point of the project was to allow people to experience art first hand, by creating music with the organ, rather than simply looking at it.
In April 2008, Byrne took part in the Paul Simon retrospective concert series at BAM performing "You Can Call Me Al" and "I Know What I Know" from Simon's Graceland album.
In 2008 Byrne collaborated with The Brighton Port Authority, composing the music and singing the lyrics for "Toe Jam".
In May 2011, Byrne contributed backing vocals to the Arcade Fire track "Speaking in Tongues" which appeared on the deluxe edition of their 2010 album The Suburbs.
In March 2013 he will debut a fully staged production of his 2010 concept album Here Lies Love at New York's Public Theater directed by Tony Award Nominee Alex Timbers following it's premiere at MoCA earlier in the year.
Byrne founded the world music record label Luaka Bop in 1990. It was originally created to release Latin American compilations, but it has grown to include music from Cuba, Africa, the Far East and beyond, releasing the work of artists such as Cornershop, Os Mutantes, Los De Abajo, Jim White, Zap Mama, Tom Zé, Los Amigos Invisibles and King Chango.
In 2005, Byrne initiated his own internet radio station, Radio David Byrne. Each month, Byrne posts a playlist of music he likes, linked by themes or genres. Byrne's playlists have included African popular music, country music classics, Vox Humana, classical opera, and film scores from Italian movies.
In 2006, Byrne released Arboretum, a sketchbook facsimile of his Tree Drawings, published by McSweeney's. Byrne is also a visual artist whose work has been shown in contemporary art galleries and museums around the world since the 1990s. Represented by the Pace/MacGill Gallery in New York, he has also created public art installations, many of them anonymously. In 2010 his original art work was in the exhibition The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.
While working on the film True Stories, Byrne met costume designer Adelle Lutz whom he married in 1987. They have a daughter, Malu Abeni Valentine Byrne, born in 1989. Byrne and Lutz divorced in 2004. Byrne had a relationship with the artist Cindy Sherman from 2007 to 2011.
Although a resident of the United States since childhood, Byrne is a British citizen,[26] and only recently[clarification needed] applied for U.S. citizenship. He lives in New York City.
Cycling [edit]
Byrne is known for his activism in support of increased cycling, and for having used a bike as his main means of transport for most of his life, especially cycling around New York. He has a regular cycling column in the New York Times, and does not own a car.
He says that he cycled when he was in high school and returned to it as an adult in the late 1970s. He likes the freedom and exhilarating feeling cycling gives him. He has written widely on cycling, including a 2009 book, Bicycle Diaries. In August 2009, he auctioned his Montague folding bike in order to raise money for the London Cycling Campaign.
In 2008, Byrne designed a series of bicycle parking racks in the form of image outlines corresponding to the areas in which they were located, such as a dollar sign for Wall Street and an electric guitar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Byrne worked with a manufacturer that would construct the racks in exchange for the chance to sell them later as artworks, and the racks remained on the streets for about a year.
His most recent release, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, is also his first collaboration with Brian Eno in 30 years. You can stream the full album or download an MP3 at EverythingThatHappens.com.
David maintains a frequently updated journal/blog. A detailed official bio and discography are available on his website.
His song "Like Humans Do" was featured in many installations of Microsoft Windows XP.
Don't Fence Me In
David Byrne Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't fence me in
Let me ride through 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
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 loose my senses
I can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences
Don't fence me in
Don't fence me in
Give me land, lots of land, under starry skies above
Don't fence me in
Let me ride through 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 loose my senses
I can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences
Don't fence me in
Don't fence me in
Don't fence me in
Don't fence me in
Don't fence me in
Don't fence me in
Don't fence me in
Don't fence me in
Don't fence me in
Don't fence me in
"Don't Fence Me In" is a song about freedom and the desire to be out in the great wide open. David Byrne's cover of the timeless classic is tinged with a playful sense of nostalgia and an appreciation for the beauty of the natural world. The opening lines of the song evoke a sense of wonder and awe at the vastness of the land and the sky, and the desire to be free to roam without the constraints of human-made barriers. The repeated refrain, "Don't fence me in," is a rallying cry for those who long to be unencumbered by the limitations of society, and who seek to find meaning and purpose in the natural world.
The second verse of the song adds an element of adventure and risk-taking to the narrative, as the singer seeks to explore the wild and untamed corners of the land. The imagery of the mountains rising in the distance and the moon casting its glow across the landscape conjures up a sense of excitement and possibility. The mention of hobbles and fences as being unbearable suggests that the singer sees these obstacles as impediments to his quest for freedom and fulfillment. The song ends with a final plea for freedom, and an indication that the desire for independence is a deeply ingrained part of the human spirit.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, give me land, lots of land, under starry skies above
The singer asks for a vast expanse of land that extends further than the eye can see, with the sky high above, filled with stars.
Don't fence me in
The singer does not want to be restricted or contained by any physical barriers.
Let me ride through the wide-open country that I love
The singer desires nothing more than to explore and travel through the unrestricted, uninhibited countryside that fills them with joy.
Let me be by myself in the evening breeze
The artist seeks solitude and the freedom to be alone, especially during twilight when the breeze is cool and soothing.
Listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
The artist wants to embrace the natural sounds of the world around them, as they listen in on the gentle rustling of the cottonwood trees.
Send me off forever, but I ask you please
The singer would prefer to be sent away from living society if it meant being free from limitations and constraints.
Just turn me loose
Without interfering or imposing any rules, the singer wishes to be left to their own devices, free to go wherever their heart desires without boundaries.
Let me straddle my old saddle underneath the western skies
The artist seeks to ride on their own horse, without limitations, whilst feeling the cool air cross their skin as they roam the Western skies.
On my cayuse
The artist is referring to one's own horse, that can take them anywhere they want to go, without any limits or interference.
Let me wander over yonder till I see the mountains rise
The artist seeks to explore the vast, open terrain of the countryside, unhindered by anything, till they see the mountains rise in the distance.
I want to ride to the ridge where the west commences
The singer wishes to travel great distances on horseback, as far as the edge of the country, where they can see and feel the breadth of the West itself.
Gaze at the moon until I loose my senses
The artist wishes to look up into the vast nothingness of space, contemplating the beauty of the moon until they are lost in its beauty, feeling its gravitational pull.
I can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences
The singer cannot accept the bindings of a physical fence that keeps them from roaming free.
Don't fence me in
The singer reiterates their desire to be free from all constraints, once again emphasizing their need to roam and be unrestricted.
Give me land, lots of land, under starry skies above
The singer reinforces their desire for vast amounts of land stretching towards the stars, with no boundaries or restrictions.
Don't fence me in
Once again, the artist divides their desire to be free, unrestricted, and free to roam without limitations.
Let me ride through the wide-open country that I love
The artist expresses their genuine love for the unrestricted countryside, and their desire to roam.
Let me be by myself in the evening breeze
Reiterating their need for solitude, the singer expresses their desire to be entirely alone, especially during a soothing and cool evening breeze.
Listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
The singer once again desires to listen in on the natural sounds of the world while they travel and explore, enjoying the gentle murmur of the cottonwood trees as they go.
Send me off forever, but I ask you please
Firmly asserting their desire to be free and without limitations, the artist again proclaims their willingness to leave everything behind just to be able to roam and wander.
Don't fence me in
Repeating the chorus yet again, the artist is steadfast in their plea for a life free from any physical barriers or bindings.
Don't fence me in
Still reiterating their theme, the artist emphasizes their plea one last time.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cole Porter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lilinathosar3275
Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above,
Don't fence me in.
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love,
Don't fence me in.
Let me be by myself in the evenin' breeze,
And listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees,
Send me off forever but I ask you please,
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
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.
Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies,
Don't fence me in.
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love,
Don't fence me in.
Let me be by myself in the evenin' breeze
And listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
Send me off forever but I ask you please,
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.
Ba boo ba ba boo.
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 hobbles and I can't stand fences
Don't fence me in.
No.
Poppa, don't you fence me in
@kikicloutman7182
David Byrne is just fascinating...
@gbtweenus
I haven't smiled at a video for a long, long time. Nor scene Roy Rogers singing along since I was a young'un. This was SO great to watch, and sing along to, and watch more closely...Thank you, to the powers that be who can do this stuff!!
@creamween
Woke up with this in my head this morning, Perfect!!!
@hancar
Can I just say that I love this version! And the video is terrific, thank you for uploading this gem, I'm so grateful!
@arnielias
This is just beautiful! It's not a privilage of the cowboys of the old days to have freedom. It happens to be the right of every living person :-)
@kikicloutman7182
Wonderful version. David Byrne is cool. He always will be.
@jerryspeer6537
this has always been my favorite song and has been something of a themesong for my life. great rendition.
@kikicloutman7182
This is just FANTASTIC!!!
@lilinathosar3275
Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above,
Don't fence me in.
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love,
Don't fence me in.
Let me be by myself in the evenin' breeze,
And listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees,
Send me off forever but I ask you please,
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
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.
Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies,
Don't fence me in.
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love,
Don't fence me in.
Let me be by myself in the evenin' breeze
And listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
Send me off forever but I ask you please,
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.
Ba boo ba ba boo.
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 hobbles and I can't stand fences
Don't fence me in.
No.
Poppa, don't you fence me in
@chrisperrien7055
1990 , even more subversion😎👌