Was n't Born to Follow - wikipedia Was n't Born to Follow `` Was n't Born to Follow '' German single cover Single by The Byrds from the album The Notorious Byrd Brothers B - side `` Child of the Universe '' ( US ) Released September 26, 1969 Format 7 '' single Recorded November 30, 1967 Studio Columbia Studios, Hollywood, CA Genre folk rock Length 2 : 04 Label Columbia Songwriter ( s ) Gerry Goffin, Carole King Producer ( s ) Gary Usher The Byrds singles chronology `` Lay Lady Lay '' ( 1969 ) `` Was n't Born to Follow '' ( 1969 ) `` Ballad of Easy Rider '' ( 1969 ) `` Lay Lady Lay '' ( 1969 ) `` Was n't Born to Follow '' ( 1969 ) `` Ballad of Easy Rider '' ( 1969 ) `` I Was n't Born to Follow '' Song by The City from the album Now That Everything 's Been Said Released 1968 Recorded February 1969 Genre Soft rock Length 3 : 43 Label Ode Records Songwriter ( s ) Gerry Goffin, Carole King Producer ( s ) Lou Adler `` Was n't Born to Follow '', also known as `` I Was n't Born to Follow '', is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. Goffin wrote the lyrics and King provided the music. The song was first recorded by The Byrds on their 1968 album The Notorious Byrd Brothers and King 's short lived band The City also recorded the song on their 1968 album Now That Everything 's Been Said. It has also been covered by many other artists, including The Monkees, Dusty Springfield and a solo recording by King. The Byrds recording was featured in the 1969 film Easy Rider and was released as a single. Contents 1 Lyrics and music 2 The Byrds version 3 Other versions 4 References 5 External links Lyrics and music The lyrics of `` Was n't Born to Follow '' celebrate the freedom that hippies enjoyed in the late 1960s. They express the need for escape and independence. Music critic Johnny Rogan describes the lyrics as an `` evocation of pastoral freedom and the implicit desire to escape from the restrictions of conventional society. '' Music professor James E. Perone describes the singer as `` a rugged indivdualist at one with nature. '' The song uses a country rock melody, which Perone regards as an authentic contribution to the country rock genre that was just getting started in the late 1960s. The Byrds version Byrds producer Gary Usher acquired `` Was n't Born to Follow '' before it was released or recorded by anyone else through his connections at the Screen Gems production company and his personal acquaintance with Carole King. The Byrds recorded the song on November 30, 1967 as one of the last songs recorded in the sessions for The Notorious Byrd Brothers. Roger McGuinn sings the lead vocal. The Byrds ' instrumentalists are augmented by Red Rhodes on pedal steel guitar and Clarence White on guitar. As Byrds ' drummer Michael Clarke had left the group during the recording of the album, Jim Gordon, who also performed on the City 's version, plays drums. The album recording ends with the sound of a door slamming. Rogan points out that the Byrds revamped King 's melody and also added some `` starting '' effects, including the juxtaposition of White 's country - style guitar playing and `` a cascade of exotic phrasing. '' According to Allmusic critic Thomas Ward the Byrds play the song `` with supreme modesty '' in recognition of `` beauty of the purest forms of American music. '' Perone regards the Byrds ' recording as the `` definitive version of the song. '' Perone suggests that `` Was n't Born to Follow '' takes on extra poignancy on the album due to its placement right after the anti-military draft song `` Draft Morning, '' suggesting that `` the singer was not born to follow the sheep ( draftees ) into slaughter. '' While Roger McGuinn was writing the theme song for the film, Easy Rider star Peter Fonda wanted to also include two songs from The Notorious Byrd Brothers, `` Was n't Born to Follow '' and `` Draft Morning, '' in the film. In the end, only `` Was n't Born to Follow '' was used, accompanying the two bikers riding through the mountains and taking a hitchhiker to a commune. The song was used in the film to express `` the search for America. '' CBS Records took advantage of its prominent use in the film to release `` Was n't Born to Follow '' as a single in the unfulfilled hope of scoring a fluke hit. `` Was n't Born to Follow '' was also issued as the B - side of some copies of the single of the title song of the film, `` Ballad of Easy Rider. '' Other versions The City recorded the song under the title `` I Was n't Born to Follow '' for their 1968 album Now That Everything 's Been Said. King sang the lead vocals and keyboards. Danny Kortchmar played guitar, Charles Larkey played bass and Gordon played drums with Lou Adler producing. The City 's version is longer and more meandering than the Byrds ' version. Perone describes some of King 's piano playing as gospel - influenced. '' According to Allmusic critic Tim Sendra, as a vocalist King is `` able to wrench all the emotions she can... with her expressive amateurism. '' King recorded a solo version of `` Was n't Born to Follow '' for her 1980 album Pearls : Songs of Goffin and King. Perone describes this version as being more country music influenced than either the Byrds ' or the City 's versions. Perone also praises her multitracked vocal harmonies. Dusty Springfield recorded `` Was n't Born to Follow '' during the sessions for her See All Her Faces album. The song was not released on the album and had to wait until the 1990s to be released on compilation albums. Paul Howes and Petula Clark describe Springfield 's version as being similar to King 's, with its `` undulating rhythm and urgent delivery. '' But they note that she changes the gender of the pronouns of the final verse from female to male. The Monkees covered the song on their 2016 album Good Times ! in a version that Will Hodgkinson of The Sunday Times said `` rolls along with mellow ease. '' The recording was begun in 1968 and completed in 2016. References ^ Jump up to : Perone, James E. ( 2006 ). The Words and Music of Carole King. Praeger. pp. 18, 23, 93. ISBN 0275990273. ^ Jump up to : Ward, Thomas. `` Was n't Born to Follow ''. Allmusic. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 21. ^ Jump up to : Rogan, Johnny ( 1997 ). The Byrds : Timeless Flight Revisited. Rogan House. pp. 243 -- 245, 291. ISBN 095295401X. ^ Jump up to : Hjort, Christopher ( 2008 ). So You Want To Be A Rock ' n ' Roll Star : The Byrds Day - By - Day ( 1965 -- 1973 ). Jawbone Press. pp. 152, 222 -- 223. ISBN 1 - 906002 - 15 - 0. Jump up ^ Perone, James E. ( 2004 ). Music of the Counterculture Era. Greenwood Publishing Company. p. 54. ISBN 9780313326899. Jump up ^ Donnelly, Kevin J. ( 2015 ). Magical Musical Tour : Rock and Pop in Film Soundtracks. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 36. ISBN 9781628921281. ^ Jump up to : Sendra, Tim. `` Now That Everything 's Been Said ''. Allmusic. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 21. Jump up ^ Viglione, Joe. `` Pearls : Songs of Goffin and King ''. Allmusic. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 21. ^ Jump up to : Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. `` Come for a Dream : The U.K. Sessions 1970 - 1971 ''. Allmusic. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 21. ^ Jump up to : Howes, Paul & Clark, Petula ( 2012 ). The Complete Dusty Springfield. Titan Books. ISBN 9781781165409. CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) ^ Jump up to : Leeson, Edward ( 2001 ). Dusty Springfield : A Life in Music. Robson Books. p. 121. ISBN 9781861053435. Jump up ^ Hodgkinson, Will ( May 27, 2016 ). `` The Monkees : Good Times ! ''. The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 21. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics The Byrds Roger McGuinn Gene Clark David Crosby Chris Hillman Michael Clarke Kevin Kelley Gram Parsons Clarence White Gene Parsons John York Skip Battin Studio albums Mr. Tambourine Man Turn ! Turn ! Turn ! Fifth Dimension Younger Than Yesterday The Notorious Byrd Brothers Sweetheart of the Rodeo Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde Ballad of Easy Rider ( Untitled ) Byrdmaniax Farther Along Byrds Live albums ( Untitled ) Live at the Fillmore - February 1969 Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971 Compilations The Byrds ' Greatest Hits Preflyte The Byrds ' Greatest Hits Volume II The Best of The Byrds : Greatest Hits, Volume II History of The Byrds The Byrds Play Dylan The Original Singles : 1965 -- 1967, Volume 1 The Original Singles : 1967 -- 1969, Volume 2 Never Before In the Beginning 20 Essential Tracks from the Byrds Box Set ( 1965 - 1990 ) The Very Best of The Byrds The Preflyte Sessions The Essential Byrds Box sets The Byrds There Is a Season Tribute albums Time Between -- A Tribute to The Byrds Singles `` Mr. Tambourine Man '' / `` I Knew I 'd Want You '' `` All I Really Want to Do '' / `` I 'll Feel a Whole Lot Better '' `` Turn ! Turn ! Turn ! '' / `` She Do n't Care About Time '' `` Set You Free This Time '' `` It Wo n't Be Wrong '' `` Eight Miles High '' / `` Why '' `` 5D ( Fifth Dimension ) '' `` Mr. Spaceman '' `` So You Want to Be a Rock ' n ' Roll Star '' `` My Back Pages '' `` Have You Seen Her Face '' `` Lady Friend '' / `` Old John Robertson '' `` Goin ' Back '' `` You Ai n't Goin ' Nowhere '' `` Lay Lady Lay '' `` Was n't Born to Follow '' `` Ballad of Easy Rider '' `` Jesus Is Just Alright '' / `` It 's All Over Now, Baby Blue '' `` Chestnut Mare '' `` Full Circle '' Other notable songs `` You Showed Me '' `` Spanish Harlem Incident '' `` Here Without You '' `` The Bells of Rhymney '' `` Chimes of Freedom '' `` Lay Down Your Weary Tune '' `` He Was a Friend of Mine '' `` The World Turns All Around Her '' `` If You 're Gone '' `` The Times They Are a-Changin ' '' `` Triad '' `` Hickory Wind '' `` Nothing Was Delivered '' Associated people Bob Dylan Jimmi Seiter John Guerin Terry Melcher Gary Usher Jacques Levy Kim Fowley Derek Taylor Johnny Rogan See also : Discography Carole King Studio albums Writer Tapestry Music Rhymes & Reasons Fantasy Wrap Around Joy Thoroughbred Simple Things Welcome Home Touch the Sky Pearls : Songs of Goffin and King One to One Speeding Time City Streets Colour of Your Dreams Love Makes the World Compilations Her Greatest Hits : Songs of Long Ago The Legendary Demos Live albums In Concert The Carnegie Hall Concert : June 18, 1971 The Living Room Tour Live at the Troubadour Other albums A Holiday Carole Singles `` It Might as Well Rain Until September '' `` It 's Too Late '' / `` I Feel the Earth Move '' `` So Far Away '' / `` Smackwater Jack '' `` You 've Got a Friend '' / `` Beautiful '' ( Scandinavia only ) `` Sweet Seasons '' `` Been to Canaan '' `` Jazzman '' `` Nightingale '' `` Only Love Is Real '' `` One Fine Day '' `` Now and Forever '' Other songs `` Was n't Born to Follow '' `` Goin ' Back `` I Ca n't Hear You No More '' `` Up on the Roof '' `` Where You Lead '' `` Will You Love Me Tomorrow '' `` It 's Going to Take Some Time '' `` Some Kind of Wonderful '' `` ( You Make Me Feel Like ) A Natural Woman '' Related articles Discography Troubadour Reunion Tour A Natural Woman : A Memoir Tapestry Revisited : A Tribute to Carole King Beautiful : The Carole King Musical Book Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wasn%27t_Born_to_Follow&oldid=843199419 '' Categories : The Byrds songs Carole King songs Songs with lyrics by Gerry Goffin Songs written by Carole King 1967 songs 1969 singles CBS Records singles Song recordings produced by Gary Usher Song recordings produced by Lou Adler Dusty Springfield songs The Monkees songs Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 27 May 2018, at 15 : 34. 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Question: who wrote i wasn't born to follow
Answer: Gerry Goffin