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’ breezes
And listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
Send me off forever but I ask you please
Don’t fence me in.
– Robert Fletcher & Cole Porter
In today’s world, even in the wide open country that I love, being fenced out seems to be a bigger challenge than being fenced in.
Southern Arizona
Bisbee AZ
Bisbee AZ
Echoes of Roy Rogers and Ella Fitzgerald.
Different kind of times now, I guess.
Tom
Tom – While I understand those that keep people from falling into abandoned pit mines, I was surprised to see the fence that seemed to keep people in a rest stop from wandering out into desert (even just a few yards to take a vista photo unencumbered by fence). Private property on the other side? Maybe.
Yes, and Ian Tyson’s version of “Home on the Range”, which is by far the most nostalgic rendition of that old western song. To me at least.
Speaking of Ian…might I suggest him as a possible National Treasure, if you haven’t already included him?
Ian Tyson holds down #40 on this list. But get your suggestions in – we only have 19 spots still available.
Robert Frost’s poem about “Good fences do good neighbours make” doesn’t really promote fences, but questions their value. In our neighbourhood, the orchards and vineyards have all put up eight-foot fences to keep the deer out. Driving up the road to our house feels like entering a medium security prison. And they don’t keep the deer out, because someone always leaves a gate open-end then the deer are in, not out, and can’t get out, and would rather stay in anyway where they can browse on fresh green shoots…. I can’t help thinking about a White House that wants to build fences — he seems unable to comprehend that the same fence that would keep Mexicans out also serves (figuratively, at least) to keep Americans in.
Jim T
Jim T – Yes, I’m sometimes unsure who’s being kept in, and who out. But I sympathize with folks trying to control their borders. The “how” is another matter.