1966 Ballad That Won an Oscar for 'Best Original Song' 59 Years Ago Was Almost Cut From the Movie
Just because somebody is a movie producer doesn't necessarily mean they always know what's destined to be a hit. As proof, we have the story of the title song from the 1966 classic film, Born Free. While the song ended up being so popular it went on to win the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1967, it almost got cut from the movie entirely.
Born Free tells the true tale of a couple who raise an orphaned lion cub, later releasing her into the wild. Written by John Barry and Don Black and sung by Matt Monro (otherwise known as "The Man with the Golden Voice"), the song reflects the movie's themes, but doesn't explicitly mention anything about lions:
"Born free, as free as the wind blows / As free as the grass grows / Born free to follow your heart / Live free and beauty surrounds you / The world still astounds you / Each time you look at a star"
Unfortunately, producer Sam Jaffe thought the song should have been more about big cats than freedom.
"The film was about lions, so the producers were determined that the song should be all about lions. I argued that it had to be about freedom. When you write a lyric, you look for the universal theme," Black told the Sunday Times in 2008, per Songfacts.
Black and Monro successfully fought for the song's inclusion in the film, and after it won the Oscar, the producer had a change of heart.
"He put his arm round my shoulder and said, 'Well, it does grow on you,'" Black recalled.
'Born Free' was based on a book by Joy Adamson
The movie Born Free was based on the book of the same name by wildlife activist Joy Adamson. Published in 1960, Born Free tells the story of how Joy and her husband George raised orphaned lion cub Elsa in Kenya and later reintroduced her successfully back into the wild. (Elsa went on to give birth to three cubs of her own.)
As The Telegraph reported, six million books translated into 25 languages were sold within a year of Born Free's publication. When the movie premiered in Leicester Square six years later, the audience included the Queen.
Related: 1979 Classic Ballad Won an Oscar for 'Best Original Song' 47 Years Ago
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This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 7:05 PM.