“Don’t Fence Me In” was written by Cole Porter in 1934 when 20th Century Fox studios commissioned him to "write a cowboy song" for a film musical it was producing. An Indiana native, Porter had never traveled west of the Mississippi in his life. He came across a poem written by a highway engineer from Montana named Robert Fletcher, and adapted the lyrics to pair with the now familiar melody. The original film for which it was intended was never released, but 10 years later, the song was resurrected when Roy Rogers sang it in a film called "Hollywood Canteen". The song was an immediate hit, so much so that a few years later, Rogers made another film entitled "Don't Fence Me In", and performed the title song along with Dale Evans and the Sons of the Pioneers. The list of artists who have since recorded it include Kate Smith, Bing Crosby, Gene Autry, Louis Armstrong, Willie Nelson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra. It has become one of the most recognizable "cowboy/western" songs in American pop culture